Sorry. I'm too depressed and sick to want to write something worth reading today. Maybe I'll entertain you tomorrow.

No blog tonight. Sorry.

Comic Book Resources LA Con Pictures.

Geeks in Love. Because linking to it once just wasn't enough.

Colleen Doran tells us what happened to Chef.

Aaron Williams talks about the Wheel of Time series.

Congrats to my friend Paul Cornell for being nominated for a Hugo Award!

Here's the full list of nominees. Three episodes of Doctor Who, including Paul Cornell's Father's Day.

Speaking of Doctor Who, Dave directs us to directions on how to make a Dalek Cake.

The Beat links to an article at Buzzscope by Eric Shanower about the incorrect use of photo references.

Dark Horse Interviews Kazuo Koike, the co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner.

Colleen Doran gives us some LEGO love.

Colleen also finds the results of the Iranian Holocaust Cartoon Contest. As she points out, there's a hilarious warning about the United States shutting down the website (?) because of its content: Attention Regarding to clarification of the issue of "Holocaust" this website possibly will be closed by United States

There are TONS of helicopters in the air above my house right now. I was really confused to hear it, so I started trying to find information about it. Anything at all about it.

I checked all the local stations: KIRO, KING 5, KOMO... It wasn't until I checked Northwest Cable News that I saw this little "traffic advisory": Police have blocked off some streets in downtown Bothell, in the vicinity of 187th and 104th, while they search for a burglary suspect.

HOLY CRAP!

Update: KING5 reports (login required).

BOTHELL, Wash. - Police in Bothell arrested a suspect on Tuesday morning after a woman came home to find a burglary in progress.

At about 9:20 a.m., the woman had returned to her home in the 10400 block of NE 187th St. to find a man in the home. The suspect ran out the back door when he saw the resident. He then entered another residence and a church.

Police blocked off several roads in the area as they searched for the suspect. A nearby school and day care center were locked down.

The King County Sheriff's Dept. helicopter and a police dog aided in the search.

A man was arrested and taken into custody.

No one was injured.

Update: It was less than a block away. They caught the guy in a housing development less than a block away from where I'm sitting. One of the houses burgled was four houses up the street. There are newsvans and police gathered just up the road, less than a half a block away. And one of the TV news reports included a shot of my house from the helicopter. I went out onto my front lawn and took a quick picture of the view. As I took the picture, another cop car came up behind me to join the two up the road.


Update: It's not quite over yet. First, KIRO has a report, and second, the police were wandering through my yard just a few minutes ago and I went to the door to talk with them. They thought there might have been a second burglar, so they are searching just to make sure. Lovely. Makes me feel so safe.

KING5 has a video, raw footage, of the capture.

Publishers Weekly is reporting that Eric Shanower is considering taking Age of Bronze to a webcomic format, like Girl Genius. The reason is because more and more people are waiting for the collections, so the sales of the single comics are no longer breaking even.

While he hasn't decided yet, I think going to a web format is a GREAT idea. And I think he should start at the beginning like The Dreamland Chronicles. Either that or do the dual posting that Girl Genius has been doing. I also wouldn't mind a slow pace, like a page a week, if that is needed.

I've bought every single issue from the start of Age of Bronze, and all the hardcovers so far as well. I'm looking forward to many more.

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #42.

Kirk Jarvinen reviews Doctor Who. Looks like we have more to talk about than just Aquaman.

Project Rooftop is a new endeavor by Dean Trippe and Chris Arrant, and its goal is to promote new artists and good costume design. Just go look, and enjoy. I'm looking forward to seeing more takes on DC characters.

The Secret Origin of the AiT/Planet Lar name.

The Top 1000 books held by libraries.

DRM wastes energy. Literally. It makes iPods run for a shorter amount of time.

The Canadian Record Industry Association did a study. They found that suing PSP file-sharers is counter productive. Isn't that what we've been saying all alone? Suing your customers is a BAD idea?

Rachel Hartman's sister uses math to analyze health care in America. Her conclusions surprised me a little, but not a lot.

McDonald's Employees Improvise when they make their own meals. I know when I worked at a pizza place I used to make excellent little meals that weren't on the menu.

Jesse Kornbluth wants a V mask (perhaps he should ask for a Guy Fawkes mask instead?) Interesting note in the comments: "Now that many people see a Guy Fawkes mask as an image of political resistance, I wonder if it will affect the 400 year old psyche of an entire country?"

Maybe they're just seeing things? Ghosts appear at an optical museum.

Consider the story of Oney Judge. Follow the links in the main entry for some horrible insight into the life of George and Martha Washington.

Garrett finds an interesting article about forgiveness versus punishment.

Theaters may ask to jam cell phones.

Silly. There are a lot of things that theaters could do to get me to like going to the movies again. While jamming cell phones is on the list, it's far from the highest point.

Here's what the movie industry could do to get me to come back and watch movies at their house:

1) Clean. No more sticky floors and gunk on the chairs. Mop the floors, instead of just having a couple of ushers run through with garbage bags between showings.

2) Have an usher. If other movie-goers are being truly rude, they should be thrown out, and it shouldn't be up to other customers to leave the theater and hunt down a manager. There should be an employee stationed either IN the theater or just outside ready to remove disruptive people so everyone else can enjoy the movie.

3) Stadium seating. I really don't want to go to a theater if I can't see the movie. If the seats are built such that the person in front of me can block the screen by shifting in their seat, the seats aren't built right.

4) Comfortable seats. Most theater seats seem like cloth over boards to me. Make them just a little more comfortable if you expect me to sit in them for a two hour plus movie.

5) Speaking of "plus", reduce the crap before the movie. I don't mind a couple of trailers. Heck, I'll even tolerate a couple of ads. But the last movie I went to had a half-hour of ads and trailers before the movie started, and then there was a short film about how evil I am for wanting to illegally tape their film (which I didn't want to do before the short ranting film started). By the end, I wished I had downloaded the film, so I wouldn't have to deal with all the garbage.

6) Lower the volume a bit. I know some people like having their eardrums destroyed. I don't. Lower the volume just a little. We can hear it. We don't have to feel it in our bones and still be shaking from it two hours after the film is over. And I'm not saying "make it quiet" - I'm saying put the volume at a level that won't damage your customers permanently.

7) Lower the price. Yeah, it's counter-intuitive, but tickets are TOO MUCH for most people, especially when they have to put up with ads, sticky seats, and inconsiderate idiots talking during the movie. They'd fill theaters if the price was semi-reasonable.

8) Make sure the movie plays. I've been to movies where there was nobody in the projection booth, and when the film broke, nobody was around to fix it. Make sure that somebody in the theater is watching for problems and knows how to fix them. (As an aside, if there was an usher in the theater, they could report problems like broken film).

9) Don't allow people to enter during the movie. Once the movie has started, only let people who were already in the theater to come back in. Don't have people come in during the opening credits looking for seats and asking people to move down a seat or two so they can sit together. Once the movie has started, LET PEOPLE WATCH IT.

10) Don't put the toilets upstairs/far away. To many theaters put the toilets so far away that you miss half the movie hunting for them and using them. Have them in a reasonable spot on the ground floor and keep them clean.

11) Price the concessions reasonably, and have enough people staffing the concessions stand that folks don't have to miss most of the movie to just get popcorn. Heck, I might even buy popcorn at theaters again if it didn't cost more than the movie to get some.

12) Parking. Have enough parking for the people who are coming to the movie. If I have to roam around the parking lot six times before finding a place to park, I'm not inclined to come see a movie at your theater again.

I haven't really enjoyed going to the movies in years. I'm always uncomfortable in seats that were made for people with steel butts, sticky floors that make it nearly impossible to walk, ads that are half the length of the movie, and people who talk throughout the movie (whether to their seat-mate or on a phone, doesn't matter). We can't really afford to go to a regular showing, so when we go to a movie we have to find a matinee and not buy any popcorn or treats.

So, there's my list. You got a list? I hate going to the theater (can you tell?). What about you?