Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Live-Blogging Hallowe'en
Longtime readers of my blog know that I'm a fan of Hallowe'en. I enjoy the fact that kids get a chance to dress up and visit their neighbors. I love giving out comic books and candy (yes, that was comics and candy).
This years treats from the Gjovaags to any children who come in costume to their door and say the magic words are: three or four mini-comics, a full size comic, and a full-size candy bar (none of those "fun size" jokes from me!). They also get my gratitude for coming to my door and showing off their creativity and enthusiasm.
I don't expect a big turnout tonight. It is a school night, and the tradition of trick-or-treating is slowly dying. But I promise that kids who come to my door will get their effort's worth, and as they come, I intend to update this entry.
5:00 pm - No kids yet. It's going to be a disappointing night, I think. The good news is that hubby-Eric should be getting home from Sylvan very early, so I'll have someone to commiserate to soon. I'm reading through past entries to entertain myself: 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
5:54 pm - First two! Two boys, one in a black mask, one in camo paint (I think the best description of their costumes is "thugs"). They were surprised at getting four comics and a candy bar each. I spotted their mother on the street and asked if she wanted a candy bar as well, but she declined.
6:40 pm - Two more... a dragon and something pink (a bunny?). Very young. They got Disney comics with the ashcans and a candy bar each. Their dad brought them up to the door, and he got a candy bar as well.
7:28 pm - Three more. A vampire, A Batman, and a witch. They were delighted with the comic books. Escort stood on lawn watching. Seven kids so far...
7:40 pm - A HUGE CROWD!!!!! My niece and nephews arrived, A pumpkin fairy, Spider-Man, and a Punkin. And my brother claimed he was dressed up as a "dad". In addition, we had a crowd of five older kids who came up behind the relatives, and we had to bring the family into the house to give out stuff to the others. One of the older kids was an invisible man, but I didn't manage to catch the rest. Eight people all at once! That makes 15 total. We've matched last year. I'm happy.
8:08 pm - One more, a football (soccer) player. We have now surpassed last year!
8:39 pm - Two more, a 30's Chicago gangster and a geisha. The geisha was absolutely delighted and told us we were awesome. That makes 18.
10:00 pm - And that seems to be that. I think I'm too tired to stay up and watch the Ghost Hunters special, and I don't think any more kids are going to come this late. Time to close up the house. But hey, we got 18 kids this year, which was far more than I was expecting. It was a much better year than I had even hoped.
This years treats from the Gjovaags to any children who come in costume to their door and say the magic words are: three or four mini-comics, a full size comic, and a full-size candy bar (none of those "fun size" jokes from me!). They also get my gratitude for coming to my door and showing off their creativity and enthusiasm.
I don't expect a big turnout tonight. It is a school night, and the tradition of trick-or-treating is slowly dying. But I promise that kids who come to my door will get their effort's worth, and as they come, I intend to update this entry.
5:00 pm - No kids yet. It's going to be a disappointing night, I think. The good news is that hubby-Eric should be getting home from Sylvan very early, so I'll have someone to commiserate to soon. I'm reading through past entries to entertain myself: 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
5:54 pm - First two! Two boys, one in a black mask, one in camo paint (I think the best description of their costumes is "thugs"). They were surprised at getting four comics and a candy bar each. I spotted their mother on the street and asked if she wanted a candy bar as well, but she declined.
6:40 pm - Two more... a dragon and something pink (a bunny?). Very young. They got Disney comics with the ashcans and a candy bar each. Their dad brought them up to the door, and he got a candy bar as well.
7:28 pm - Three more. A vampire, A Batman, and a witch. They were delighted with the comic books. Escort stood on lawn watching. Seven kids so far...
7:40 pm - A HUGE CROWD!!!!! My niece and nephews arrived, A pumpkin fairy, Spider-Man, and a Punkin. And my brother claimed he was dressed up as a "dad". In addition, we had a crowd of five older kids who came up behind the relatives, and we had to bring the family into the house to give out stuff to the others. One of the older kids was an invisible man, but I didn't manage to catch the rest. Eight people all at once! That makes 15 total. We've matched last year. I'm happy.
8:08 pm - One more, a football (soccer) player. We have now surpassed last year!
8:39 pm - Two more, a 30's Chicago gangster and a geisha. The geisha was absolutely delighted and told us we were awesome. That makes 18.
10:00 pm - And that seems to be that. I think I'm too tired to stay up and watch the Ghost Hunters special, and I don't think any more kids are going to come this late. Time to close up the house. But hey, we got 18 kids this year, which was far more than I was expecting. It was a much better year than I had even hoped.
Labels: Halloween
Happy Hallowe'en!
from Adventure Comics #193 (Oct 1953), art by Ramona Fradon
Labels: Halloween
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone
Mark Evanier has some concerns about the 2007 Marvel Stamps.
MacQuarrie has some concerns about Smallville's Green Arrow.
Wizard interviews the Foglios about moving Girl Genius to the web.
Diane Duane responds to Wil Wheaton, and then Wil Wheaton responds to Diane Duane. Very cool, and lots of neat material in those entries.
I love Unshelved's Sunday Book Reviews, and I've read a number of the books they recommend. I need a list of all the review strips so I can figure out which of the books I've read so far... UPDATE: There is a List, many thanks to Anne for pointing it out to me!
Jack Black's Green Lantern has been shelved. Whew.
In other bad movie news: The Dark is Rising. *sigh*
Shut Up And Sing Trailer. If the networks won't air it, I figure folks ought to be able to see the ad on-line if they are curious.
Ducktor Who.
Crescent Venus and Crescent Moon. Wow.
The Highest Scrabble Score Ever: 830.
This isn't just cute, it's evil cute. And yes, this is for the in-laws.
MacQuarrie has some concerns about Smallville's Green Arrow.
Wizard interviews the Foglios about moving Girl Genius to the web.
Diane Duane responds to Wil Wheaton, and then Wil Wheaton responds to Diane Duane. Very cool, and lots of neat material in those entries.
I love Unshelved's Sunday Book Reviews, and I've read a number of the books they recommend. I need a list of all the review strips so I can figure out which of the books I've read so far... UPDATE: There is a List, many thanks to Anne for pointing it out to me!
Jack Black's Green Lantern has been shelved. Whew.
In other bad movie news: The Dark is Rising. *sigh*
Shut Up And Sing Trailer. If the networks won't air it, I figure folks ought to be able to see the ad on-line if they are curious.
Ducktor Who.
Crescent Venus and Crescent Moon. Wow.
The Highest Scrabble Score Ever: 830.
This isn't just cute, it's evil cute. And yes, this is for the in-laws.
Labels: Diane Duane, Doctor Who, Girl Genius, Green Lantern, Links, Pug, Smallville, Unshelved, Webcomics
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Linkdump
Johnny B's NFL Picks.
I really enjoyed this entry about comic criticism and comic book journalism.
Heidi has a Variant Cover Survey up, go pitch in your opinion.
I dropped Seven Soldiers less than halfway through, so I was surprised to read this very positive review of the collection of mini-series.
Bully on Daredevil. Another Bully Ten of a Kind.
Oh fine, I'll mention the stamps.
Some idiot disses comics in Wired (and he is an idiot, because he doesn't even know what "genre" means) and Neil Gaiman sets him straight: "It's always best to be offended by things you haven't read. That way you keep your mind uncluttered by things that might change it."
Loren Coleman's Top Cryptids. And the Top 50 Cryptids. Just in time for Hallowe'en.
A good patch for Boy Scouts to earn. Free culture.
Boing Boing has more on Net Neutrality, and why it's a good thing: As Craig "craigslist" Newmark put it, imagine if you tried to order a pizza and the phone company said, "AT&T's preferred pizza vendor is Domino's. Press one to connect to Domino's now. If you would still like to order from your neighborhood pizzeria, please hold for three minutes while Domino's guaranteed orders are placed." That's why we need Net Neutrality.
We welcome our new Elephant Overlords.
Today's Foxtrot is a must-read.
Martial Law. Yep, America died on October 17th. More at Slashdot.
I really enjoyed this entry about comic criticism and comic book journalism.
Heidi has a Variant Cover Survey up, go pitch in your opinion.
I dropped Seven Soldiers less than halfway through, so I was surprised to read this very positive review of the collection of mini-series.
Bully on Daredevil. Another Bully Ten of a Kind.
Oh fine, I'll mention the stamps.
Some idiot disses comics in Wired (and he is an idiot, because he doesn't even know what "genre" means) and Neil Gaiman sets him straight: "It's always best to be offended by things you haven't read. That way you keep your mind uncluttered by things that might change it."
Loren Coleman's Top Cryptids. And the Top 50 Cryptids. Just in time for Hallowe'en.
A good patch for Boy Scouts to earn. Free culture.
Boing Boing has more on Net Neutrality, and why it's a good thing: As Craig "craigslist" Newmark put it, imagine if you tried to order a pizza and the phone company said, "AT&T's preferred pizza vendor is Domino's. Press one to connect to Domino's now. If you would still like to order from your neighborhood pizzeria, please hold for three minutes while Domino's guaranteed orders are placed." That's why we need Net Neutrality.
We welcome our new Elephant Overlords.
Today's Foxtrot is a must-read.
Martial Law. Yep, America died on October 17th. More at Slashdot.
Labels: Bully, Copyfight, Cryptozoology, FoxTrot, Johnny B, Links
Saturday, October 28, 2006
QuickLinks
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #74, complete with a picture of the DC water-ski team.
Savage Chickens. Good as always.
STEREO views of the Sun. Cool!
Savage Chickens. Good as always.
STEREO views of the Sun. Cool!
Labels: Astronomy, Comic Book Urban Legends, Links, Webcomics
Friday, October 27, 2006
Celebrity Paranormal Project
I've been addicted to Ghost Hunters for awhile now, and enjoy the show when it's on. So when I saw an ad for the Celebrity Paranormal Project on VH1 I couldn't resist checking it out. I finally watched the episode, and it was not what I was expecting.
The first episode featured Gary Busey, three young women, and a very subdued comedian. The location was the Waverly Sanitorium, which the Ghost Hunters visited as well. The format was set up to send the team in, first in pairs then as a group. With five people, this meant that one person only went into the place once as part of a pair. She was also the only one that didn't have an "experience".
I expected them to have camera crews, but they didn't. Each person carried a camera set in a backpack, and there were a number of stationary cameras set up around the areas they were investigating. As a result, there were never more than five people in the building at one time, and usually only two. The producers also split up the pairs frequently (a no-no in ghost hunting) which resulted in some interesting moments (including one that illustrated why you don't split up when ghost hunting, as a terrified person got lost).
The show uses the same annoying sound and video effects as Ghost Hunters in an attempt to make everything more dramatic. It works, true, but it also manages to hide any "real" evidence they might have collected. While Ghost Hunters is very careful to make sure any evidence is presented on its own apart from the effects, no effort was made in this show to distinguish what the team was hearing or seeing from what was added later.
And, by that standard, it was also difficult to tell if the team were really alone in the place or if the production crew were just off-camera pulling strings and scaring people. It was entertaining, sure, but it was impossible to tell if the team was set-up or if what they were seeing was real. The last mission, with all five team members going in to basically perform a seance, was ridiculous.
All told, an interesting format, but there are too many doubts about it to make it a real ghost hunting show. It's a psychological project, seeing how people react to scary situations (Gary Busey was a riot), but not much of a paranormal project. I may watch more episodes for the background on the haunted places they visit (since they did a very good job with that), but not for the actual ghost hunting.
The first episode featured Gary Busey, three young women, and a very subdued comedian. The location was the Waverly Sanitorium, which the Ghost Hunters visited as well. The format was set up to send the team in, first in pairs then as a group. With five people, this meant that one person only went into the place once as part of a pair. She was also the only one that didn't have an "experience".
I expected them to have camera crews, but they didn't. Each person carried a camera set in a backpack, and there were a number of stationary cameras set up around the areas they were investigating. As a result, there were never more than five people in the building at one time, and usually only two. The producers also split up the pairs frequently (a no-no in ghost hunting) which resulted in some interesting moments (including one that illustrated why you don't split up when ghost hunting, as a terrified person got lost).
The show uses the same annoying sound and video effects as Ghost Hunters in an attempt to make everything more dramatic. It works, true, but it also manages to hide any "real" evidence they might have collected. While Ghost Hunters is very careful to make sure any evidence is presented on its own apart from the effects, no effort was made in this show to distinguish what the team was hearing or seeing from what was added later.
And, by that standard, it was also difficult to tell if the team were really alone in the place or if the production crew were just off-camera pulling strings and scaring people. It was entertaining, sure, but it was impossible to tell if the team was set-up or if what they were seeing was real. The last mission, with all five team members going in to basically perform a seance, was ridiculous.
All told, an interesting format, but there are too many doubts about it to make it a real ghost hunting show. It's a psychological project, seeing how people react to scary situations (Gary Busey was a riot), but not much of a paranormal project. I may watch more episodes for the background on the haunted places they visit (since they did a very good job with that), but not for the actual ghost hunting.
Labels: Paranormal
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Thoughts
Captain Underpants Is Not An Acceptable Superhero to dress up as on Superhero Day. At least the principal didn't do this to the students.
Zombie Love.
More on the Aquaman Showcase volume.
Unshelved has a series of strips about graphic novels in libraries: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Looking forward to tomorrow's strip, too.
Kids in Vending Machines.
Sesame Street and how it emphasizes our commonalities.
No Vegemite Ban? What, I can't believe everything I read on teh internets?
A Steam Car. It could have been interesting if this had been developed.
Slashdot debates an article on how to hack the election.
Pets in Costumes. Yes, there's a pug for the in-laws.
Zombie Love.
More on the Aquaman Showcase volume.
Unshelved has a series of strips about graphic novels in libraries: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Looking forward to tomorrow's strip, too.
Kids in Vending Machines.
Sesame Street and how it emphasizes our commonalities.
No Vegemite Ban? What, I can't believe everything I read on teh internets?
A Steam Car. It could have been interesting if this had been developed.
Slashdot debates an article on how to hack the election.
Pets in Costumes. Yes, there's a pug for the in-laws.
Labels: Aquaman, Links, Pug, Unshelved, Urban Legends, Webcomics
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Randoms
More Shipping Delays for Aquaman, which means I'm spending more time curled up in a ball crying that I haven't had a new hit of Aquaman in too long.
Heidi looks at the top five Movie Magicians, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Ooooh, a Dalek o'Lantern!
Six word stories for your enjoyment.
USA Today has the full list of the 101 most influential people who never lived. It's a very odd list.
Firefox 2.0 is out, but I'm going to wait a couple of weeks (at least) before upgrading. I happen to really like my current version, and I don't like upgrading just for the sake of upgrading.
In another story of technology: Quebec bans electronic voting. Until the problems are fixed, this is the best solution.
Heidi looks at the top five Movie Magicians, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Ooooh, a Dalek o'Lantern!
Six word stories for your enjoyment.
USA Today has the full list of the 101 most influential people who never lived. It's a very odd list.
Firefox 2.0 is out, but I'm going to wait a couple of weeks (at least) before upgrading. I happen to really like my current version, and I don't like upgrading just for the sake of upgrading.
In another story of technology: Quebec bans electronic voting. Until the problems are fixed, this is the best solution.
Labels: Aquaman, Doctor Who, Links
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Linkdump
Savage Chickens Halloween Contest 2006. I haven't got enough brain cells active to come up with anything, personally.
You ought to be reading Bully's blog, cuz he has another great Ten of a Kind. And another post, Math, is a classic of the genre already.
I'm boggling at this. To be honest, I've loved Tamora Pierce's writing for many many years, and that statement about Civil War was incredibly mild, even from a fellow writer. I can't believe she got so much crap about it.
Watching the Space Shuttle launch from the ISS. Cool.
The Bad Astronomer has news of the Spirit Rover.
Scott Adams' Voice.
Somebody doesn't understand Fair Use or Copyright laws.
You ought to be reading Bully's blog, cuz he has another great Ten of a Kind. And another post, Math, is a classic of the genre already.
I'm boggling at this. To be honest, I've loved Tamora Pierce's writing for many many years, and that statement about Civil War was incredibly mild, even from a fellow writer. I can't believe she got so much crap about it.
Watching the Space Shuttle launch from the ISS. Cool.
The Bad Astronomer has news of the Spirit Rover.
Scott Adams' Voice.
Somebody doesn't understand Fair Use or Copyright laws.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Firefox Won't Load CSS Properly?
My sister's computer (Windows XP) was having trouble with IE6 since she got it. It would not load CSS files, so it wouldn't show webpages properly. She installed Firefox and it worked fine, so she started using Firefox.
Last night she visited and I noticed that she had a previous version of Firefox, so I suggested she use our cable internet to get upgraded to the latest. She thought that was a nifty idea, so she upgraded... only now Firefox wouldn't load CSS anymore and every website that used CSS looked bad.
So we started a marathon troubleshooting session with her friend A-- and later his uncle (both of whom work at Microsoft). Early in the troubleshooting we focused on the browsers, but eventually we figured out that it had to be something else. My sister installed Netscape and Opera, and both of them worked fine, just like the older version of Firefox.
After trying everything we could think of (firewall, anti-virus, possible spyware problem, maybe we need to get an exorcist) we started checking through the accessibility options. Eventually we found that in the control panel, under Accessibility Options, in the Display tab... my sister's computer had "Use High Contrast" selected. When we took that away, the CSS loaded on both IE6 and Firefox.
The difference in the computer itself was minor. It had apparently been set on High Contrast a long time ago, possibly by the vendor (she bought the computer new). I admit it was one of the strangest problems I'd ever seen on a computer. I figured I would blog about it so that we'd have a record of it in case anyone else runs across a strange "browser won't load CSS" or "websites don't look right" problem. I Googled the heck out of this last night and never ran across a solution.
Last night she visited and I noticed that she had a previous version of Firefox, so I suggested she use our cable internet to get upgraded to the latest. She thought that was a nifty idea, so she upgraded... only now Firefox wouldn't load CSS anymore and every website that used CSS looked bad.
So we started a marathon troubleshooting session with her friend A-- and later his uncle (both of whom work at Microsoft). Early in the troubleshooting we focused on the browsers, but eventually we figured out that it had to be something else. My sister installed Netscape and Opera, and both of them worked fine, just like the older version of Firefox.
After trying everything we could think of (firewall, anti-virus, possible spyware problem, maybe we need to get an exorcist) we started checking through the accessibility options. Eventually we found that in the control panel, under Accessibility Options, in the Display tab... my sister's computer had "Use High Contrast" selected. When we took that away, the CSS loaded on both IE6 and Firefox.
The difference in the computer itself was minor. It had apparently been set on High Contrast a long time ago, possibly by the vendor (she bought the computer new). I admit it was one of the strangest problems I'd ever seen on a computer. I figured I would blog about it so that we'd have a record of it in case anyone else runs across a strange "browser won't load CSS" or "websites don't look right" problem. I Googled the heck out of this last night and never ran across a solution.
Labels: Firefox, Troubleshooting
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Latenight Links
Johnny B's Fearless NFL Picks. Last week he did a dreary 7-6, but the week before he went 14-0.
How to make a Cylon Jack O'Lantern. Um. Cool? Via Querldox.
The Modulator directs us to two websites about twins: Genetics and Health and Gene Expression. Why the interest? Look at the pictures.
The United States Bans Vegemite, and not because of its taste.
How to make a Cylon Jack O'Lantern. Um. Cool? Via Querldox.
The Modulator directs us to two websites about twins: Genetics and Health and Gene Expression. Why the interest? Look at the pictures.
The United States Bans Vegemite, and not because of its taste.
Four Years...
Wow. I've been blogging daily for four years. And now I have a nice little four-year-old blog. I've made every usual blogging mistake somewhere along the way. And I don't plan to finish this any time soon.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Some Linkage
Being Real by Sherwood Smith. A different take on reality TV and its uses in our culture.
The Dorothy 2007 Calendar is a go, but you won't be able to get it through Diamond. You can get it here.
Seattle has a really dumb new tourist slogan. Ug. "Metronatural"? Ug. I miss Lesser Seattle (and Emmett Watson).
Wired says an FBI website for children breaks child protection laws by asking for private information (including street addresses) from children without getting parental permission first.
Here's a blog of good print advertising. Mostly clever and interesting, some not safe for work.
I think the in-laws should get this costume for their pug.
The Dorothy 2007 Calendar is a go, but you won't be able to get it through Diamond. You can get it here.
Seattle has a really dumb new tourist slogan. Ug. "Metronatural"? Ug. I miss Lesser Seattle (and Emmett Watson).
Wired says an FBI website for children breaks child protection laws by asking for private information (including street addresses) from children without getting parental permission first.
Here's a blog of good print advertising. Mostly clever and interesting, some not safe for work.
I think the in-laws should get this costume for their pug.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Links and Rant
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #73. I'm constantly amazed that they keep coming up with new legends to talk about.
The Beat on swiping.
And there's more on the Fantagraphics store, which I'm going to have to figure out how to get to soon. I may not like all of Fantagraphic's stuff, but I'm going to have to check it out, at least.
Erik Larsen on his love of Oz. He takes a couple of digs at comics I like, but it's otherwise an ok column.
And to counter Larsen's limited view of Oz, I'll direct people to Dorothy of Oz to read the news about the calendar being cancelled by Diamond, although Chapter 7 is still on track. Looking forward to Chapter 7, the last two chapters were spectacular.
Cthulhu parsnip.
Ooooh, Scrabble Benches. I want.
And lastly, I had a TON of poker spam in my comments this morning. I deleted a bunch of comments without looking too closely, and I may have deleted legit comments because I was so peeved at the poker spammers. I somehow really doubt there was anything legit, I just don't get that many real comments, but just in case: if you did post something since yesterday afternoon and it hasn't shown up, you might want to post it again.
And I also wanted to rant about the comment spammers, so this gave me an excuse. (Rant on) Can't they figure out that I'm not going to post their crap? ARGH! The ones I really hate are the "Wow, nice site! http://spamscamsite.com" comments. You pay me a generic compliment, and expect me to post your link? Worse, you usually post about 50 of them at once, all on posts I made two years ago? I HATE COMMENT SPAM! ARGH! (rant off) It's funny, every time I think, Hey, maybe I can stop moderating my comments, I haven't gotten any spam in awhile, I suddenly get another batch of clearly automated comment spam.
*sigh*
The Beat on swiping.
And there's more on the Fantagraphics store, which I'm going to have to figure out how to get to soon. I may not like all of Fantagraphic's stuff, but I'm going to have to check it out, at least.
Erik Larsen on his love of Oz. He takes a couple of digs at comics I like, but it's otherwise an ok column.
And to counter Larsen's limited view of Oz, I'll direct people to Dorothy of Oz to read the news about the calendar being cancelled by Diamond, although Chapter 7 is still on track. Looking forward to Chapter 7, the last two chapters were spectacular.
Cthulhu parsnip.
Ooooh, Scrabble Benches. I want.
And lastly, I had a TON of poker spam in my comments this morning. I deleted a bunch of comments without looking too closely, and I may have deleted legit comments because I was so peeved at the poker spammers. I somehow really doubt there was anything legit, I just don't get that many real comments, but just in case: if you did post something since yesterday afternoon and it hasn't shown up, you might want to post it again.
And I also wanted to rant about the comment spammers, so this gave me an excuse. (Rant on) Can't they figure out that I'm not going to post their crap? ARGH! The ones I really hate are the "Wow, nice site! http://spamscamsite.com" comments. You pay me a generic compliment, and expect me to post your link? Worse, you usually post about 50 of them at once, all on posts I made two years ago? I HATE COMMENT SPAM! ARGH! (rant off) It's funny, every time I think, Hey, maybe I can stop moderating my comments, I haven't gotten any spam in awhile, I suddenly get another batch of clearly automated comment spam.
*sigh*
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Randoms
Leonard Kirk's Balls Part VIII.
Fantagraphics is opening a shop here in Seattle. While there are a lot of Fantagraphics books I don't like, there's enough I do enjoy to make me want to check it out sometime. Too bad it's down near Boeing Field, about as far away from my home as you can get and still be in Seattle.
Mike Sterling and the mystery arrow.
The 101 Most Influential People who Never Lived includes Superman and Batman.
Cats via Aaron Williams. Also check out the printer that delivers ripped up documents.
The 100-Mile Diet attempts to get people to think about where their food is produced.
Shock the Monkey.
Slate reports that YouTube makes life difficult for sports officials. They link to a long video showing all the officiating errors in the SuperBowl, as one example out of many.
Wil Wheaton's Scary Movie Story.
Iraqi Bloggers have a Dust-Up.
Reward Offered. On the same topic, Wired news has an article on building a better voting machine.
Habeas Corpus, the right to ask why you are being held, has been taken away. The government now has the right to throw you in jail and torture you without giving any reason for it. As of October 17th 2006, our democracy became a farce. Keith Olbermann has more:
Puggage for the In-Laws and anyone sick of the political stuff. We all need our bread and circuses, right?
Fantagraphics is opening a shop here in Seattle. While there are a lot of Fantagraphics books I don't like, there's enough I do enjoy to make me want to check it out sometime. Too bad it's down near Boeing Field, about as far away from my home as you can get and still be in Seattle.
Mike Sterling and the mystery arrow.
The 101 Most Influential People who Never Lived includes Superman and Batman.
Cats via Aaron Williams. Also check out the printer that delivers ripped up documents.
The 100-Mile Diet attempts to get people to think about where their food is produced.
Shock the Monkey.
Slate reports that YouTube makes life difficult for sports officials. They link to a long video showing all the officiating errors in the SuperBowl, as one example out of many.
Wil Wheaton's Scary Movie Story.
Iraqi Bloggers have a Dust-Up.
Reward Offered. On the same topic, Wired news has an article on building a better voting machine.
Habeas Corpus, the right to ask why you are being held, has been taken away. The government now has the right to throw you in jail and torture you without giving any reason for it. As of October 17th 2006, our democracy became a farce. Keith Olbermann has more:
Puggage for the In-Laws and anyone sick of the political stuff. We all need our bread and circuses, right?
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Thoughts
Heidi went to the Comicard show in Seattle, and has a post-show report.
Mike Sterling does a ... sterling link post.
The Beat on Ursula K LeGuin and the sci-fi channel's blocking of Miyazake's Earthsea.
More on Lichtenstein the thief.
Google Earth can be used to find archaeological sites and even illegal marijuana patches.
Mike Sterling does a ... sterling link post.
The Beat on Ursula K LeGuin and the sci-fi channel's blocking of Miyazake's Earthsea.
More on Lichtenstein the thief.
Google Earth can be used to find archaeological sites and even illegal marijuana patches.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Links and Links and Links
Kryptonite!
Brian Wood gets an odd e-mail.
New eBay policy might hurt Comics Retailers.
Colleen Doran tells us about Agatha Christie's strange disappearance.
Bonnie R "won" Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge, then wrote to tell about the experience of beating out George Lucas. Via Mark Evanier.
The best ever My Little Pony Project.
The people are watching Big Brother.
Is there a link between TV and Autism?
Absolutely right: Sea Scouts lose free use of a public marina because the Boy Scouts of America, which they are affiliated with, discriminates. I think the Boy Scouts is a fine organization. I also think that they are a religious organization that shouldn't receive any public money that wouldn't be given to a church.
And, to wipe the seriousness from your eyes: Best Pocket Lint Evah!
And, unrelated to anything else, I went to the doctor today and was told that, according to their scales, I've lost 46 pounds since my last check-up in early May. Boo-yAh!
Brian Wood gets an odd e-mail.
New eBay policy might hurt Comics Retailers.
Colleen Doran tells us about Agatha Christie's strange disappearance.
Bonnie R "won" Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge, then wrote to tell about the experience of beating out George Lucas. Via Mark Evanier.
The best ever My Little Pony Project.
The people are watching Big Brother.
Is there a link between TV and Autism?
Absolutely right: Sea Scouts lose free use of a public marina because the Boy Scouts of America, which they are affiliated with, discriminates. I think the Boy Scouts is a fine organization. I also think that they are a religious organization that shouldn't receive any public money that wouldn't be given to a church.
And, to wipe the seriousness from your eyes: Best Pocket Lint Evah!
And, unrelated to anything else, I went to the doctor today and was told that, according to their scales, I've lost 46 pounds since my last check-up in early May. Boo-yAh!
Aquaman for January 2007
Solicits for DC Comics due to ship in January 2007 have been posted on various websites: Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Comics Continuum, Pop Culture Shock, IGN, and The Official DC Site. Here's the Aquaman stuff I spotted:
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48 is resolicited for January to fix the scheduling problems. Starting with issue #46, which should ship in late November, the book will be coming out monthly again.
JLA: Classified #31 concludes the six-part "Sacred Trust" storyline, which involved Aquaman. Whether or not Aquaman shows up in the rest of the story remains to be seen.
Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol 1 looks like it's going to be a fun package, and a must-have for anyone who wants to learn about the Silver Age Aquaman. It appears that they plan on starting with Aquaman's new origin in Adventure Comics #260, and going up to at least Mera's first appearance in Aquaman #11. The solicit uses the cover to Showcase #31 to advertise the book.
Reposted from The Aquaman Website.
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48 is resolicited for January to fix the scheduling problems. Starting with issue #46, which should ship in late November, the book will be coming out monthly again.
JLA: Classified #31 concludes the six-part "Sacred Trust" storyline, which involved Aquaman. Whether or not Aquaman shows up in the rest of the story remains to be seen.
Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol 1 looks like it's going to be a fun package, and a must-have for anyone who wants to learn about the Silver Age Aquaman. It appears that they plan on starting with Aquaman's new origin in Adventure Comics #260, and going up to at least Mera's first appearance in Aquaman #11. The solicit uses the cover to Showcase #31 to advertise the book.
Reposted from The Aquaman Website.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Random Thoughts
Leonard Kirk's Balls Part VI, and Leonard Kirk's Balls Part VII.
Greg went to the Seattle Comicard Show. I'm sorry I missed it, but I really didn't need the stress of a trip into Seattle yesterday.
Bully's Ten of a Kind, leaving edition. And extra bonus: Two of a Kind.
Scans Daily on Dying in the Gutters.
Sean Collins found Bollywood does Thriller. Oh. My.
How to build Stonehenge, using ropes and sticks and just one person.
Making the 'net safer?
Has a Chupacabra been captured?
Greg went to the Seattle Comicard Show. I'm sorry I missed it, but I really didn't need the stress of a trip into Seattle yesterday.
Bully's Ten of a Kind, leaving edition. And extra bonus: Two of a Kind.
Scans Daily on Dying in the Gutters.
Sean Collins found Bollywood does Thriller. Oh. My.
How to build Stonehenge, using ropes and sticks and just one person.
Making the 'net safer?
Has a Chupacabra been captured?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Really Rapid Reviews
I'm going to continue with my mini-capsules: one sentence per book (unless I feel like writing a bit more) with whether or not I recommend the book. I'm afraid my starfish ratings are probably gone for good.
52 Week Twenty-Three: "The Island of Professor Morrow": I like the "seeing if it's contagious" bit. Mildly Recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #5: "The Hunt": Not interested in Guy. Natu's story is much more compelling, and it's back to the part of it that is so compelling. Mildly Recommended.
JLA Classified #28: "Secret History, Sacred Trust, Part Three": Huh. I didn't expect Aquaman to do that. The chat with the president was fine, but the rest. Huh. Mildly Recommended.
Powers #20: Wow, that ending was a bit more intense than I was expecting. Mildly Recommended.
Phantom #12: "Tiger's Blood, Part One": The art is a wee bit too sketchy for me, but the story is fine. Mildly Recommended.
DMZ #12: "Guide to the DMZ": The ads really detract from this issue, as it's sometimes really difficult to tell the ads apart from the content. Mildly Recommended.
11 October 2006
52 Week Twenty-Three: "The Island of Professor Morrow": I like the "seeing if it's contagious" bit. Mildly Recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #5: "The Hunt": Not interested in Guy. Natu's story is much more compelling, and it's back to the part of it that is so compelling. Mildly Recommended.
JLA Classified #28: "Secret History, Sacred Trust, Part Three": Huh. I didn't expect Aquaman to do that. The chat with the president was fine, but the rest. Huh. Mildly Recommended.
Powers #20: Wow, that ending was a bit more intense than I was expecting. Mildly Recommended.
Phantom #12: "Tiger's Blood, Part One": The art is a wee bit too sketchy for me, but the story is fine. Mildly Recommended.
DMZ #12: "Guide to the DMZ": The ads really detract from this issue, as it's sometimes really difficult to tell the ads apart from the content. Mildly Recommended.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Linkdump
Johnny B's NFL Picks. He was 14-0 last week! I hope he's wrong about Seattle this week, though.
Austrian Kangaroos (no, NOT Australian).
America's Most Fonted: The worst fonts. Hmmm. I use Comic Sans on a comic book website, and I don't feel at all guilty about it.
The ISS Crossing the Moon.
What would happen if we all vanished? How long would it take the Earth to recover from our presence?
Blogging as a teaching tool. Third graders get used to writing when they have their own (carefully monitored and controlled) blogs. Teachers are able to post assignments for students and parents to check on-line. I can think of a LOT of uses for blogs in teaching, as long as precautions are taken.
The Dutch attempt to fix their voting machines.
Austrian Kangaroos (no, NOT Australian).
America's Most Fonted: The worst fonts. Hmmm. I use Comic Sans on a comic book website, and I don't feel at all guilty about it.
The ISS Crossing the Moon.
What would happen if we all vanished? How long would it take the Earth to recover from our presence?
Blogging as a teaching tool. Third graders get used to writing when they have their own (carefully monitored and controlled) blogs. Teachers are able to post assignments for students and parents to check on-line. I can think of a LOT of uses for blogs in teaching, as long as precautions are taken.
The Dutch attempt to fix their voting machines.
Unrelated to Anything Else
Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 40 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th. I was amused to see that Peter David is having success with the same methods I'm using to lose weight. I'll point out that it isn't easy to lose weight until you hit some sort of true motivation. It took me years of trying before I finally had a moment of truth that made it possible for me to change my diet and lifestyle for good.
If you want to look at my inspirations: Jeremy Zawodny's spreadsheet started me out. Chris Pirillo's tips are a weekly read. Mark Evanier's Gastric Bypass Surgery made me certain I never wanted to need surgery, so I had to make a real effort to lose weight or face that as a realistic possibility.
And lastly, CalorieKing.com was something other folks recommended, so I used it to look up foods while I used Zawodny's spreadsheet, then I finally gave in and bought their software, which I haven't regretted. It's a solid piece of software, even without the extra on-line functions. And I really love seeing the graph of my weight loss (I enter my weight every morning):
If you want to look at my inspirations: Jeremy Zawodny's spreadsheet started me out. Chris Pirillo's tips are a weekly read. Mark Evanier's Gastric Bypass Surgery made me certain I never wanted to need surgery, so I had to make a real effort to lose weight or face that as a realistic possibility.
And lastly, CalorieKing.com was something other folks recommended, so I used it to look up foods while I used Zawodny's spreadsheet, then I finally gave in and bought their software, which I haven't regretted. It's a solid piece of software, even without the extra on-line functions. And I really love seeing the graph of my weight loss (I enter my weight every morning):
Friday, October 13, 2006
Linkdump
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #72. I seriously thought they would run out of urban legends before now.
Heroes and Wildcards?
Down with DRM Videos.
Spamland Cartoons.
More on Voting Machines.
Extra! Extra! Jack O'Lantern eats Cat!
Heroes and Wildcards?
Down with DRM Videos.
Spamland Cartoons.
More on Voting Machines.
Extra! Extra! Jack O'Lantern eats Cat!
Overdue Reviews
Mini-capsules. One sentence or so per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. Just trying to catch up at the moment, and maybe ooze into my old style of capsules eventually, though I doubt it.
52 Week Twenty-One: "Teambuilding Exercises": More of Lex's scheming, but I'm more interested in the single page of Red Tornado. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #843: "Back In Action, Part 3: All-Out Action": Aquaman, who clued in Superman to the fact that their powers weren't entirely supressed, has a breathing problem. Recommended.
Batman #657: "Batman & Son, Part 3: Wonderboys": I really don't see how this new kid will fit into Batman's life at all. Mildly Recommended.
JSA Classified #17: "The Venom Connection, Part 1 of 2": I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Bane, especially when he seems to be working on the side of the angels. Recommended.
Justice League of America #2: "The Tornado's Parth, Chapter Two: Tornado-Red/Tornado-Blue": Lots of Tornado on that final splash page, but no answers to whatever it is Faust did to the real guy. Mildly Recommended.
Secret Six #4: "Six Degrees of Devastation, Part Four: Spiders on the Wind": All the stuff my commenter complained about in my previous review actually happened in this issue (that's how far behind I was). I didn't even realize what Hatter was doing until I saw the comment. Neutral.
Trials of Shazam #2: "Grounded": Finally, we get to see what happened with some of the other Marvels... except, what's the deal with Black Adam, then? Mildly Recommended.
Lions, Tigers & Bears Vol 2 #3: This is a cute little book, but I feel like the last two issues haven't gone anywhere. Mildly Recommended.
True Story, Swear to God (Image) #1: "Payday": Another all around look at Tom's life in another culture... I liked how he got his clients to pay (though I wonder if any of them will hire him again) and I feel for his terror at the idea of putting his work out in public to be bashed. I do enjoy this book. Recommended.
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #12: I'm to the point where I'm mostly sick of The Simpsons, but I still enjoy the Treehouse of Horror stories. These aren't as good as other years, but overall funny. Mildly Recommended.
Wonderland #2: "The Tulgey Wood & the Treacle Well": Mary Ann is interesting, but I really need to read the Alice in Wonderland stories. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #97: "Boss Hamanaka's Fortune, Part Two": No hints of the overall arc in this one, but a satisfying conclusion to this particular story. Recommended.
52 Week Twenty-Two: "Burial Ground": Super-Chief, huh? Hrm. Mildly Recommended.
Detective Comics #824: "Night of the Penguin": The sub-plot with the dog is hilarious. Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #26: "The Ghosts of Atlantis": Yay! Aquaman! And Booster Gold and Fate, but Yay! Aquaman! Recommended.
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #9: "Chapter Nine": Much better conclusion than I was actually expecting. I really enjoyed the final to this. Recommended.
Fallen Angel #9: Ah, this one ties into the background story that I liked so much, but that's not clear until the final page. Recommended.
PS238 #18: I really like Satori. Definitely the best new character since Tyler was introduced. Highly Recommended.
Archie Comics Halloween Ashcan: A great little tale of people working together to find solutions to everyone's problems. Good for all ages.
Donald Duck Halloween Ashcan: The usual sort of Donald Duck story, where everything goes wrong but still manages to go right in the end. Mostly. Good for all ages.
Death Jr Halloween Ashcan: Whew, a bit brutal and less than pleasant. Very morbid. Good for older Trick Or Treaters.
Marvel Adventures Avengers Halloween Ashcan: A pretty standard Avengers tale. Nothing special. Good for all ages.
Hey, I'm pretty much caught up. Only this last week's books to go now!
27 September 2006
52 Week Twenty-One: "Teambuilding Exercises": More of Lex's scheming, but I'm more interested in the single page of Red Tornado. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #843: "Back In Action, Part 3: All-Out Action": Aquaman, who clued in Superman to the fact that their powers weren't entirely supressed, has a breathing problem. Recommended.
Batman #657: "Batman & Son, Part 3: Wonderboys": I really don't see how this new kid will fit into Batman's life at all. Mildly Recommended.
JSA Classified #17: "The Venom Connection, Part 1 of 2": I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Bane, especially when he seems to be working on the side of the angels. Recommended.
Justice League of America #2: "The Tornado's Parth, Chapter Two: Tornado-Red/Tornado-Blue": Lots of Tornado on that final splash page, but no answers to whatever it is Faust did to the real guy. Mildly Recommended.
Secret Six #4: "Six Degrees of Devastation, Part Four: Spiders on the Wind": All the stuff my commenter complained about in my previous review actually happened in this issue (that's how far behind I was). I didn't even realize what Hatter was doing until I saw the comment. Neutral.
Trials of Shazam #2: "Grounded": Finally, we get to see what happened with some of the other Marvels... except, what's the deal with Black Adam, then? Mildly Recommended.
Lions, Tigers & Bears Vol 2 #3: This is a cute little book, but I feel like the last two issues haven't gone anywhere. Mildly Recommended.
True Story, Swear to God (Image) #1: "Payday": Another all around look at Tom's life in another culture... I liked how he got his clients to pay (though I wonder if any of them will hire him again) and I feel for his terror at the idea of putting his work out in public to be bashed. I do enjoy this book. Recommended.
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #12: I'm to the point where I'm mostly sick of The Simpsons, but I still enjoy the Treehouse of Horror stories. These aren't as good as other years, but overall funny. Mildly Recommended.
Wonderland #2: "The Tulgey Wood & the Treacle Well": Mary Ann is interesting, but I really need to read the Alice in Wonderland stories. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #97: "Boss Hamanaka's Fortune, Part Two": No hints of the overall arc in this one, but a satisfying conclusion to this particular story. Recommended.
4 October 2006
52 Week Twenty-Two: "Burial Ground": Super-Chief, huh? Hrm. Mildly Recommended.
Detective Comics #824: "Night of the Penguin": The sub-plot with the dog is hilarious. Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #26: "The Ghosts of Atlantis": Yay! Aquaman! And Booster Gold and Fate, but Yay! Aquaman! Recommended.
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #9: "Chapter Nine": Much better conclusion than I was actually expecting. I really enjoyed the final to this. Recommended.
Fallen Angel #9: Ah, this one ties into the background story that I liked so much, but that's not clear until the final page. Recommended.
PS238 #18: I really like Satori. Definitely the best new character since Tyler was introduced. Highly Recommended.
Archie Comics Halloween Ashcan: A great little tale of people working together to find solutions to everyone's problems. Good for all ages.
Donald Duck Halloween Ashcan: The usual sort of Donald Duck story, where everything goes wrong but still manages to go right in the end. Mostly. Good for all ages.
Death Jr Halloween Ashcan: Whew, a bit brutal and less than pleasant. Very morbid. Good for older Trick Or Treaters.
Marvel Adventures Avengers Halloween Ashcan: A pretty standard Avengers tale. Nothing special. Good for all ages.
Hey, I'm pretty much caught up. Only this last week's books to go now!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Overdue Reviews
Yet more mini-capsules. One sentence per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. Though I reserve the right to break any rules I make, of course.
52 Week Nineteen: "History Repeats": Flying dolphins, and Skeets is... what is Skeets? Recommended.
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #44: "Masters": Back to the muddy coloring... but I like the story a lot. Recommended.
JLA Classified #27: "Secret History, Sacred Trust, Part Two": I like Aquaman's part in this story, both as politician and as decoy. Recommended.
Green Lantern #13: "Revenge of the Green Lanterns, Part Four": This book is also late, like Aquaman, but with all the other GL books it's less noticable. Neutral.
Green Lantern Corps #4: "Hunted": Natu is the only character that makes this book readable for me. Mildly Recommended.
DMZ #11: "Zee, NYC": Compelling story with more hints of just what really happened in this version of the United States. Recommended.
Truth, Justin, & the American Way #4: The suit saves the day, but I'm still having bad 70s TV flashbacks. Recommended.
Nodwick #34: While it's not quite as good as PS238, in my opinion, it's still one of the most fun books out there. And who can resist a flying hamster? Recommended.
52 Week Twenty: "God Is Fragged": Mostly space stuff, so I'm mostly uninterested. Mildly Recommended.
Superman #656: "Men & Monsters": Arion is a bit of a jerk at the end of this one, and the rest of the tale is mostly fighting. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #6: "Torch Bearer, Part 6": I like the twist with Nero, but I'm not sure I care enough about Kyle to be horrified by the cliffhanger. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #98: "Headhunt, Part Three: False Idol": Ok, who the heck is this new Batgirl? Recommended.
Shadowpact #5: "One Year Later": Not much seems to happen in this issue. Mildly Recommended.
Checkmate #6: "Rogue Squad, Part One": The Rogues forming the Suicide Squad I get, but what's with Rick Flag? Mildly Recommended.
Conan #32: "Wild Cimmerian Bull": More of the very powerful young Conan not understanding the world around him. Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #3: "The Eye of the Demon": I like the wizard's final words in this one. Recommended.
13 September 2006
52 Week Nineteen: "History Repeats": Flying dolphins, and Skeets is... what is Skeets? Recommended.
JLA Classified #27: "Secret History, Sacred Trust, Part Two": I like Aquaman's part in this story, both as politician and as decoy. Recommended.
Green Lantern #13: "Revenge of the Green Lanterns, Part Four": This book is also late, like Aquaman, but with all the other GL books it's less noticable. Neutral.
Green Lantern Corps #4: "Hunted": Natu is the only character that makes this book readable for me. Mildly Recommended.
DMZ #11: "Zee, NYC": Compelling story with more hints of just what really happened in this version of the United States. Recommended.
Truth, Justin, & the American Way #4: The suit saves the day, but I'm still having bad 70s TV flashbacks. Recommended.
Nodwick #34: While it's not quite as good as PS238, in my opinion, it's still one of the most fun books out there. And who can resist a flying hamster? Recommended.
20 September 2006
52 Week Twenty: "God Is Fragged": Mostly space stuff, so I'm mostly uninterested. Mildly Recommended.
Superman #656: "Men & Monsters": Arion is a bit of a jerk at the end of this one, and the rest of the tale is mostly fighting. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #6: "Torch Bearer, Part 6": I like the twist with Nero, but I'm not sure I care enough about Kyle to be horrified by the cliffhanger. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #98: "Headhunt, Part Three: False Idol": Ok, who the heck is this new Batgirl? Recommended.
Shadowpact #5: "One Year Later": Not much seems to happen in this issue. Mildly Recommended.
Checkmate #6: "Rogue Squad, Part One": The Rogues forming the Suicide Squad I get, but what's with Rick Flag? Mildly Recommended.
Conan #32: "Wild Cimmerian Bull": More of the very powerful young Conan not understanding the world around him. Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #3: "The Eye of the Demon": I like the wizard's final words in this one. Recommended.
Overdue Reviews
Even more mini-capsules. One sentence per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. Hey, I'm into last month already!
52 Week Seventeen: "Last of the Czarnians": Best cover so far, but the rest of the issue is pretty boring. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #842: "Back in Action, Part 2: Action & Reaction": Artie Joe makes his first guest appearance as Aquaman! YAY! Recommended.
JLA Classified #26: "Secret History... Sacred Trust, Part One of Six": Yay, Aquaman shows up, using his waterhand powers to control water again! Recommended.
Justice #7: Yay, Aquaman shows up, making it three completely different versions of Aquaman in three different books this week! And this one even has an Aquatic cliff-hanger! Recommended.
Trials of Shazam #1: "The Boy & The Man": I'm not sure what that cliff-hanger means, but I sure wasn't expecting it. Mildly Recommended.
Solo #12: "Brendan McCarthy": The art doesn't just do nothing for me, it actually drives me away... I was unable to read any story in this book. Not Recommended.
Fallen Angel #8: After the slightly pleasant interlude into the past of the Angel, we're back to the gritty city. *sigh* Mildly Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #96: "Boss Hamanaka's Fortune, Part One": Fairly standard start to an Usagi tale, more menacing when you pair it with what happened in the previous (almost Usagi-less) story. Recommended.
52 Week Eighteen: "Dismantled": A serious hint to what might have happened to Orin in this one. Recommended.
Detective Comics #823: "Stalked": A solid enough story, but the art bothered me. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #25: "The Devil May Care": Poor Danny. Recommended.
Noble Causes #23: I really don't like how Race is drawn in this one, like he has flame hair and is related to Heat Miser. Mildly Recommended.
Local #6: "megan and gloria, apartment 5a": Megan finally gets a glimpse of herself through someone else's eyes, and doesn't like what she sees. Recommended.
30 August 2006
52 Week Seventeen: "Last of the Czarnians": Best cover so far, but the rest of the issue is pretty boring. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #842: "Back in Action, Part 2: Action & Reaction": Artie Joe makes his first guest appearance as Aquaman! YAY! Recommended.
JLA Classified #26: "Secret History... Sacred Trust, Part One of Six": Yay, Aquaman shows up, using his waterhand powers to control water again! Recommended.
Justice #7: Yay, Aquaman shows up, making it three completely different versions of Aquaman in three different books this week! And this one even has an Aquatic cliff-hanger! Recommended.
Trials of Shazam #1: "The Boy & The Man": I'm not sure what that cliff-hanger means, but I sure wasn't expecting it. Mildly Recommended.
Solo #12: "Brendan McCarthy": The art doesn't just do nothing for me, it actually drives me away... I was unable to read any story in this book. Not Recommended.
Fallen Angel #8: After the slightly pleasant interlude into the past of the Angel, we're back to the gritty city. *sigh* Mildly Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #96: "Boss Hamanaka's Fortune, Part One": Fairly standard start to an Usagi tale, more menacing when you pair it with what happened in the previous (almost Usagi-less) story. Recommended.
6 September 2006
52 Week Eighteen: "Dismantled": A serious hint to what might have happened to Orin in this one. Recommended.
Detective Comics #823: "Stalked": A solid enough story, but the art bothered me. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #25: "The Devil May Care": Poor Danny. Recommended.
Noble Causes #23: I really don't like how Race is drawn in this one, like he has flame hair and is related to Heat Miser. Mildly Recommended.
Local #6: "megan and gloria, apartment 5a": Megan finally gets a glimpse of herself through someone else's eyes, and doesn't like what she sees. Recommended.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Linkdump
Sadly, hubby-Eric and I won't be going to this weekend's Seattle ComiCard Convention. Eric's job situation has left him with too much to do on weekends for us to spare the time.
Did you know that DC made a bunch of changes to Infinite Crisis in the HC edition? Well, now you have a list of them. And they may be very significant.
The many swipes of Roy Lichtenstein.
Savage Chickens on the "effects" in the Batman TV series.
Scott McCloud's Making Comics.
IDW President's Son on the no-fly list as a potential 4-year-old terrorist.
Speaking of flying, Geologist's favorite rock confiscated.
More news on $100 Laptops.
Disney Exec recognizes piracy as a business model, one they have to beat by having a better business model. Meanwhile, TiVo breaks because of stupid DRM.
More Boing Boing: Think Pink.
The Decline of Cursive Writing. I always hated cursive, and avoided using it if I could. Drove my teachers batty.
Did you know that DC made a bunch of changes to Infinite Crisis in the HC edition? Well, now you have a list of them. And they may be very significant.
The many swipes of Roy Lichtenstein.
Savage Chickens on the "effects" in the Batman TV series.
Scott McCloud's Making Comics.
IDW President's Son on the no-fly list as a potential 4-year-old terrorist.
Speaking of flying, Geologist's favorite rock confiscated.
More news on $100 Laptops.
Disney Exec recognizes piracy as a business model, one they have to beat by having a better business model. Meanwhile, TiVo breaks because of stupid DRM.
More Boing Boing: Think Pink.
The Decline of Cursive Writing. I always hated cursive, and avoided using it if I could. Drove my teachers batty.
Overdue Reviews
More mini-capsules. One sentence per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. Will I manage to catch up? Watch this space to find out.
52 Week Fourteen: "Sand and Rust": This one was definitely weak on everything for me. Neutral.
Superman #655: "Cold Comfort": Arion, like I've never seen him (no, I haven't read much Arion) and Superman facing a new heavy hitter. Mildly Recommended.
Secret Six #3: "Six Degrees of Devastation, Part Three: The Darkest House": An odd and often disgusting book, but I like Catman, otherwise I wouldn't read it. Neutral.
JSA Classified #15: "Double of Nothing Part Two: Dealing From The Bottom": Still not much of a story. Not Recommended.
Squadron Supreme #6: "Questions of Loyalty": Stan continues to be the only character on the team I care about, and this issue focused on his concerns. Mildly Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #2: "The Ring of Fire": Ah, more Conan goodness, with a nice contrasting character to whine at him. Mildly Recommended.
52 Week Fifteen: "Outshined": Booster go Boom. Recommended.
Checkmate #5: "Selection": Checkmate's selection process revealed, along with Mr Terrific's love life. Recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #3: "Homecoming": Soranik Natu has a posse. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #5: "Torch Bearer Part 5": Those Oans on the final splash page are the ugliest Oans I've ever seen, and that's saying something. Not Recommended.
Shadowpact #4: "Blue Devil: A Night in the Life": Poor Danny. Recommended.
Ghost Rider #2: "Vicious Cycle Part Two": Ah! The Previous Issue Recap explains what happened in the first issue so it actually makes sense... maybe I should stick to just reading those from now on. Neutral.
Conan #31: "The Hall of the Dead": This is a fun one, I think I need to hunt down the story it was based on to reread. Recommended.
True Story Swear to God #17: "Home": Tom Beland shows that you can't go home again when he goes home to Napa and nothing is what he expects, despite just having had the best adventure of his life at the comicon. Recommended.
52 Week Sixteen: "Uhebbuki": I hate to admit it, but the most interesting thing about this issue was the "Next in 52" box. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League of America #1: "The Tornado's Path, Chapter One: Life": Nice appearance by "Deadman", which makes me wonder just what has been done... good setup. Recommended.
Batman #656: "Batman & Son Part 2: Man-Bats of London": Nice use of the setting to create effects for the fight. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #97: "Headhunt Part Two: The Piper Must Be Paid": Black Alice is really scary, and now we have no idea if she's good or not. Recommended.
JSA Classified #16: "Double or Nothing Conclusion: Busted!": Still not much of a story, I'm glad this is the end of it. Not Recommended.
DMZ #10: "Body of a Journalist: Conclusion": Interesting way to get out of a bad situation. Recommended.
Action Philosophers: The Peoples Choice: This book is the only way to learn about philosophy. Highly Recommended.
9 August 2006
52 Week Fourteen: "Sand and Rust": This one was definitely weak on everything for me. Neutral.
Superman #655: "Cold Comfort": Arion, like I've never seen him (no, I haven't read much Arion) and Superman facing a new heavy hitter. Mildly Recommended.
Secret Six #3: "Six Degrees of Devastation, Part Three: The Darkest House": An odd and often disgusting book, but I like Catman, otherwise I wouldn't read it. Neutral.
JSA Classified #15: "Double of Nothing Part Two: Dealing From The Bottom": Still not much of a story. Not Recommended.
Squadron Supreme #6: "Questions of Loyalty": Stan continues to be the only character on the team I care about, and this issue focused on his concerns. Mildly Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #2: "The Ring of Fire": Ah, more Conan goodness, with a nice contrasting character to whine at him. Mildly Recommended.
16 August 2006
52 Week Fifteen: "Outshined": Booster go Boom. Recommended.
Checkmate #5: "Selection": Checkmate's selection process revealed, along with Mr Terrific's love life. Recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #3: "Homecoming": Soranik Natu has a posse. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #5: "Torch Bearer Part 5": Those Oans on the final splash page are the ugliest Oans I've ever seen, and that's saying something. Not Recommended.
Shadowpact #4: "Blue Devil: A Night in the Life": Poor Danny. Recommended.
Ghost Rider #2: "Vicious Cycle Part Two": Ah! The Previous Issue Recap explains what happened in the first issue so it actually makes sense... maybe I should stick to just reading those from now on. Neutral.
Conan #31: "The Hall of the Dead": This is a fun one, I think I need to hunt down the story it was based on to reread. Recommended.
True Story Swear to God #17: "Home": Tom Beland shows that you can't go home again when he goes home to Napa and nothing is what he expects, despite just having had the best adventure of his life at the comicon. Recommended.
23 August 2006
52 Week Sixteen: "Uhebbuki": I hate to admit it, but the most interesting thing about this issue was the "Next in 52" box. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League of America #1: "The Tornado's Path, Chapter One: Life": Nice appearance by "Deadman", which makes me wonder just what has been done... good setup. Recommended.
Batman #656: "Batman & Son Part 2: Man-Bats of London": Nice use of the setting to create effects for the fight. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #97: "Headhunt Part Two: The Piper Must Be Paid": Black Alice is really scary, and now we have no idea if she's good or not. Recommended.
JSA Classified #16: "Double or Nothing Conclusion: Busted!": Still not much of a story, I'm glad this is the end of it. Not Recommended.
DMZ #10: "Body of a Journalist: Conclusion": Interesting way to get out of a bad situation. Recommended.
Action Philosophers: The Peoples Choice: This book is the only way to learn about philosophy. Highly Recommended.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Overdue Reviews
Still doing mini-capsules. One sentence per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. I'm actually enjoying the rereading with this method of "review".
52 Week Eleven: The new Batwoman, joy. Mildly Recommended.
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #43: "Conversations With Vulko": Love the cover, love the splash page, love the title, love the revelations, and for the first time I also loved the coloring. Highly Recommended.
Checkmate #4: "A Game of Kings Part 4": A very confusing book, but I like Alan Scott and Mr Terrific, so I'll keep reading. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #4: "Torch Bearer Part 4": Wha-? Neutral.
Justice League of America #0: "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow": A nice summing up of how we got here, but not a promising start in my opinion. Neutral.
Shadowpact #3: "The (Short) Year of Living Dangerously": I feel cheated, since it wasn't a whole year. Mildly Recommended.
Conan #30: "The Serpent": As good as Mike Mignola is, I'd prefer Kurt Busiek on this book. Mildly Recommended.
52 Week Twelve: "Mighty": I like the new Isis. Recommended.
Batman #655: "Batman & Son Part 1: Building A Better Batmobile": Nicely creepy start to what promises to be a nicely creepy story, but I wish the coloring was better. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #96: "Headhunt Part One: Through the Shards of a Looking Glass": Black Alice has the potential to be the scariest character in the DCU, if the writers don't manage to mess her up. Recommended.
Action Comics #841: "Back in Action": Lots of great guest appearances in this one. Recommended.
Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #3: "Dead Again: Conclusion": This one was very hard to read, as what was coming was telegraphed well in advance. Recommended.
JLA Classified #25: "A Game of Chance Conclusion: All In!": Was there any point at all to having Aquaman appear in this storyline? Not Recommended.
JSA Classified #14: "Double or Nothing Part One: Fast Shuffle": I didn't like the JLA Classified version of this storyline, why would I like the JSA version? Not Recommended.
Astro City Samaritan Special: "The Eagle and the Mountain": A powerful tale spanning all the time in the world. Recommended.
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #8: "Chapter Eight": We finally get to the roles of all the players, and the story is nearly done. Recommended.
Powers #19: Too much sex, not enough story. Neutral.
Highlander #0: A very strange book, trying to bridge the gap between the first movie and... something else? Mildly Recommended.
Xena #1: "Contest of Pantheons Part One: Holy Acrimony": Fun little tale of Xena, with a nice setup for the rest of the story. Recommended.
PS238 #17: Satori is the best new character since Tyler! Highly Recommended.
Lullaby #4: I wonder if this book would make any sense if it came out more regularly, so I wouldn't forget what happened before I read the latest issue. Neutral.
Castle Waiting Vol II #1: Tons of story, and the best kind. Highly Recommended.
52 Week Thirteen: "Haystack": I want to like this, but are we seeing things through Ralph's insanity, or did Sue really come back? Mildly Recommended.
Detective Comics #822: "E. Nigma, Consulting Detective": An actual detective story in Detective Comics! Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #24: "Alone Among the Stars": This book always has pretty solid done-in-one stories. Recommended.
Noble Causes #22: Ah, another good installment of the best soap opera comic about superheroes. Recommended.
Fallen Angel #7: "All Fall Down": I like the past of the Fallen Angel in this book. Recommended.
Mouse Guard #4: "The Dark Ghost": Good art, intriguing story makes this the darling book of the blogosphere. Recommended.
Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #1: I want the Wizard's baseball cap. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #95: "Shizukiri": Not much Usagi in this one, but a very compelling story nonetheless. Recommended.
19 July 2006
52 Week Eleven: The new Batwoman, joy. Mildly Recommended.
Checkmate #4: "A Game of Kings Part 4": A very confusing book, but I like Alan Scott and Mr Terrific, so I'll keep reading. Mildly Recommended.
Ion #4: "Torch Bearer Part 4": Wha-? Neutral.
Justice League of America #0: "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow": A nice summing up of how we got here, but not a promising start in my opinion. Neutral.
Shadowpact #3: "The (Short) Year of Living Dangerously": I feel cheated, since it wasn't a whole year. Mildly Recommended.
Conan #30: "The Serpent": As good as Mike Mignola is, I'd prefer Kurt Busiek on this book. Mildly Recommended.
26 July 2006
52 Week Twelve: "Mighty": I like the new Isis. Recommended.
Batman #655: "Batman & Son Part 1: Building A Better Batmobile": Nicely creepy start to what promises to be a nicely creepy story, but I wish the coloring was better. Mildly Recommended.
Birds of Prey #96: "Headhunt Part One: Through the Shards of a Looking Glass": Black Alice has the potential to be the scariest character in the DCU, if the writers don't manage to mess her up. Recommended.
Action Comics #841: "Back in Action": Lots of great guest appearances in this one. Recommended.
Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #3: "Dead Again: Conclusion": This one was very hard to read, as what was coming was telegraphed well in advance. Recommended.
JLA Classified #25: "A Game of Chance Conclusion: All In!": Was there any point at all to having Aquaman appear in this storyline? Not Recommended.
JSA Classified #14: "Double or Nothing Part One: Fast Shuffle": I didn't like the JLA Classified version of this storyline, why would I like the JSA version? Not Recommended.
Astro City Samaritan Special: "The Eagle and the Mountain": A powerful tale spanning all the time in the world. Recommended.
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #8: "Chapter Eight": We finally get to the roles of all the players, and the story is nearly done. Recommended.
Powers #19: Too much sex, not enough story. Neutral.
Highlander #0: A very strange book, trying to bridge the gap between the first movie and... something else? Mildly Recommended.
Xena #1: "Contest of Pantheons Part One: Holy Acrimony": Fun little tale of Xena, with a nice setup for the rest of the story. Recommended.
PS238 #17: Satori is the best new character since Tyler! Highly Recommended.
Lullaby #4: I wonder if this book would make any sense if it came out more regularly, so I wouldn't forget what happened before I read the latest issue. Neutral.
Castle Waiting Vol II #1: Tons of story, and the best kind. Highly Recommended.
2 August 2006
52 Week Thirteen: "Haystack": I want to like this, but are we seeing things through Ralph's insanity, or did Sue really come back? Mildly Recommended.
Detective Comics #822: "E. Nigma, Consulting Detective": An actual detective story in Detective Comics! Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #24: "Alone Among the Stars": This book always has pretty solid done-in-one stories. Recommended.
Noble Causes #22: Ah, another good installment of the best soap opera comic about superheroes. Recommended.
Fallen Angel #7: "All Fall Down": I like the past of the Fallen Angel in this book. Recommended.
Mouse Guard #4: "The Dark Ghost": Good art, intriguing story makes this the darling book of the blogosphere. Recommended.
Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #1: I want the Wizard's baseball cap. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #95: "Shizukiri": Not much Usagi in this one, but a very compelling story nonetheless. Recommended.
A Handful of Links
Polite Scott has another PSA for us.
How to make a Green Lantern Ring.
Slashdot tells us how to get buff while geeking out.
Roman necropolis soon to open to visitors.
Doonesbury's Sandbox is up and running.
How to make a Green Lantern Ring.
Slashdot tells us how to get buff while geeking out.
Roman necropolis soon to open to visitors.
Doonesbury's Sandbox is up and running.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Overdue Reviews
Ha! "Reviews"! Like I have the willpower to actually really review anything. I do capsules. Quick and semi-mindless. And lately I haven't even been able to do that. So I'm going to try to catch up by giving you even less than I used to! Ground Rules: One sentence per book followed by whether or not I recommend it. That's it. Nothing more. Maybe if I do this, I'll get the "review"ing done before next June...
JSA Classified #13: "The Fall and Rise of Vandal Savage part four": Finale of the Green Lantern/Vandal Savage story, and not completely satisfying... but passable. Mildly Recommended.
Shadowpact #2: "Pentacle": Rex the Wonder Dog and Witchfire? Awesome. Recommended.
Justice #6: Not enough Aquaman. Still, Recommended.
Noble Causes #21: Lots of soap opera-y twists. Recommended.
Stardust Kid #4: I've been disappointed with this series so far: I wanted to like it, but it doesn't live up to its big brother Abadazad. Not Recommended.
Nodwick #33: I loved seeing Yeagar quiz Yeagar, and I'm curious to see the results of that conversation. Recommended.
52 Week Eight: "Thief": The Booster hits the fan while iron becomes steel, and I'm still enjoying this slightly disjointed ride through the DCU. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #840: "Up, Up, and Away! Finale: The Adventures of Superman": Nice finish to the story, right down to the pretzel. Recommended.
Batman #654: "Face the Face Conclusion": Another conclusion, but the story was too confusing for me to ever really get into it. Mildly Recommended.
Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2: "Dead Again Part Two": I really don't like the Spectre in this, but he's far spookier, and thus more effective and interesting, than he's been for years. Recommended.
Ion #3: "Torch Bearer Part 3": Too... Many... Green... Lantern... Stories... Neutral.
JLA Classified #23: "A Game of Chance Part Two: Bet": Pointless Aquaman cameo, pointless JLA team. Not Recommend.
Brave New World: A sampler/preview that didn't convince me to even take a second look at any of the books it previews. Not Recommended.
Solo #11: "Sergio Aragones": A whole book of Sergio? Of course it's Highly Recommended!
The Phantom #11: "Nanamaru": Going into Phantom's history, which I'm just not interested in. Neutral.
Truth, Justin, and American Way #3: Having old TV flashbacks... not entirely unpleasant, but not all fun and games, either. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #94: "Remnants of the Dead": A bitter-sweet story, with an edge to it. Highly Recommended.
52 Week Nine: "Dream of America": I enjoy the Steel side of the story a lot, as well as the Question bit, but the space stuff does nothing for me. Recommended.
Detective Comics #821: "The Beautiful People": Nice little done-in-one story. Recommended.
Secret Six #2: "The First Cut Is The Deepest": Such a nasty book. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #23: "Heroes": I love stories from the common man point of view, so I really enjoyed this issue. Highly Recommended.
JSA #87: "Ghost in the Castle": Ma Hunkel utters the best line in the entire history of the Justice Society. Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #1: Standard Conan tale, not bad. Recommended.
Dark Horse: Twenty Years: A whole bunch of pin-ups, which isn't bad if you like pin-ups by artists doing characters they don't normally do... but if you were hoping for more substance, you are out of luck. Neutral.
52 Week Ten: "Stop The Press": Huh. I'm actually enjoying the Black Adam side of the story. Recommended.
Superman #654: "On Our Special Day": Cute story. Recommended.
Green Lantern #12: "Revengs of the Green Lanterns": Can't... keep... Green... Lantern... stories... straight... Neutral.
JLA Classified #24: "A Game of Chance Part Three: Raise": Yet another time Aquaman uses blood to stay alive... ICK. Neutral.
Green Lantern Corps #2: "Death Trail": Soranik Natu is the only Green Lantern I actually like! Mildly recommended.
Ghost Rider #1: "Vicious Cycle": What a depressing book. Not Recommended.
Squadron Supreme #5: "Blood and Sand Part II": Is Stan really the only character in this book that I like? Neutral.
Dorothy #6: "Heartless": If you aren't reading this book, you should start reading it. Highly Recommended.
21 June 2006
JSA Classified #13: "The Fall and Rise of Vandal Savage part four": Finale of the Green Lantern/Vandal Savage story, and not completely satisfying... but passable. Mildly Recommended.
Shadowpact #2: "Pentacle": Rex the Wonder Dog and Witchfire? Awesome. Recommended.
Justice #6: Not enough Aquaman. Still, Recommended.
Noble Causes #21: Lots of soap opera-y twists. Recommended.
Stardust Kid #4: I've been disappointed with this series so far: I wanted to like it, but it doesn't live up to its big brother Abadazad. Not Recommended.
Nodwick #33: I loved seeing Yeagar quiz Yeagar, and I'm curious to see the results of that conversation. Recommended.
28 June 2006
52 Week Eight: "Thief": The Booster hits the fan while iron becomes steel, and I'm still enjoying this slightly disjointed ride through the DCU. Mildly Recommended.
Action Comics #840: "Up, Up, and Away! Finale: The Adventures of Superman": Nice finish to the story, right down to the pretzel. Recommended.
Batman #654: "Face the Face Conclusion": Another conclusion, but the story was too confusing for me to ever really get into it. Mildly Recommended.
Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #2: "Dead Again Part Two": I really don't like the Spectre in this, but he's far spookier, and thus more effective and interesting, than he's been for years. Recommended.
Ion #3: "Torch Bearer Part 3": Too... Many... Green... Lantern... Stories... Neutral.
JLA Classified #23: "A Game of Chance Part Two: Bet": Pointless Aquaman cameo, pointless JLA team. Not Recommend.
Brave New World: A sampler/preview that didn't convince me to even take a second look at any of the books it previews. Not Recommended.
Solo #11: "Sergio Aragones": A whole book of Sergio? Of course it's Highly Recommended!
The Phantom #11: "Nanamaru": Going into Phantom's history, which I'm just not interested in. Neutral.
Truth, Justin, and American Way #3: Having old TV flashbacks... not entirely unpleasant, but not all fun and games, either. Recommended.
Usagi Yojimbo #94: "Remnants of the Dead": A bitter-sweet story, with an edge to it. Highly Recommended.
6 July 2006
52 Week Nine: "Dream of America": I enjoy the Steel side of the story a lot, as well as the Question bit, but the space stuff does nothing for me. Recommended.
Detective Comics #821: "The Beautiful People": Nice little done-in-one story. Recommended.
Secret Six #2: "The First Cut Is The Deepest": Such a nasty book. Mildly Recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #23: "Heroes": I love stories from the common man point of view, so I really enjoyed this issue. Highly Recommended.
JSA #87: "Ghost in the Castle": Ma Hunkel utters the best line in the entire history of the Justice Society. Recommended.
Conan & The Songs of the Dead #1: Standard Conan tale, not bad. Recommended.
Dark Horse: Twenty Years: A whole bunch of pin-ups, which isn't bad if you like pin-ups by artists doing characters they don't normally do... but if you were hoping for more substance, you are out of luck. Neutral.
12 July 2006
52 Week Ten: "Stop The Press": Huh. I'm actually enjoying the Black Adam side of the story. Recommended.
Superman #654: "On Our Special Day": Cute story. Recommended.
Green Lantern #12: "Revengs of the Green Lanterns": Can't... keep... Green... Lantern... stories... straight... Neutral.
JLA Classified #24: "A Game of Chance Part Three: Raise": Yet another time Aquaman uses blood to stay alive... ICK. Neutral.
Green Lantern Corps #2: "Death Trail": Soranik Natu is the only Green Lantern I actually like! Mildly recommended.
Ghost Rider #1: "Vicious Cycle": What a depressing book. Not Recommended.
Squadron Supreme #5: "Blood and Sand Part II": Is Stan really the only character in this book that I like? Neutral.
Dorothy #6: "Heartless": If you aren't reading this book, you should start reading it. Highly Recommended.
Linkdump
Colleen Doran may not go to San Diego next year because she's on a waiting list of exhibitors.
Bully is amazing. He did 24 Hour Comics Day in his own way: by reviewing a comic each hour!
Bully also has Ten of a Kind covers, featuring Chess.
Paul Cornell directs us to a Robin Hood fansite.
If you haven't already seen it, check out this picture of the Earth at night. I'm awed every time I look at the full-size image.
Google Buys YouTube. Wow.
MetaFilter tells us about one of the first women to get the vote.
LEGO Ice Cube tray. If I used ice at all, I'd be tempted to get this. I know about this thanks to Querldox.
Querldox also links to The Code Monkey Song.
Slate dissects an Ad.
Voting Machine Whistleblower now running against the man who asked him to alter the programming of a voting machine.
Oh yeah, one last thing: Johnny B's NFL Picks were very good this week. VERY good. If I didn't make a mistake, he's 13-0 for the week, and if Denver wins tonight, he'll have a perfect week. Congrats, Johnny!
Bully is amazing. He did 24 Hour Comics Day in his own way: by reviewing a comic each hour!
Bully also has Ten of a Kind covers, featuring Chess.
Paul Cornell directs us to a Robin Hood fansite.
If you haven't already seen it, check out this picture of the Earth at night. I'm awed every time I look at the full-size image.
Google Buys YouTube. Wow.
MetaFilter tells us about one of the first women to get the vote.
LEGO Ice Cube tray. If I used ice at all, I'd be tempted to get this. I know about this thanks to Querldox.
Querldox also links to The Code Monkey Song.
Slate dissects an Ad.
Voting Machine Whistleblower now running against the man who asked him to alter the programming of a voting machine.
Oh yeah, one last thing: Johnny B's NFL Picks were very good this week. VERY good. If I didn't make a mistake, he's 13-0 for the week, and if Denver wins tonight, he'll have a perfect week. Congrats, Johnny!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Flipping Through Previews...
I haven't done this for awhile, but it's that time again... time for "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". I'm going to start with the bulk of the book, and then come back and cover the "big four" at the end. Please remember, I'm listing what looks interesting. My actual purchase list is going to be much smaller. The numbers after each title are usually the page number in Previews Magazine, so you can follow along at home.
Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (8-9)...nothing that appeals to me. I'm felling picky today. This could be bad news for finding interesting stuff.
Ok... skipping over the frontal four, and into the main chunk of books... absolutely nothing in the Featured Items made me look twice. The only thing that caught my eye at all was the Phantom Annual, and that only because I have a friend who really loves the character.
Airship Entertainment (214) is offering the trades of volumes 3 & 4 again. That's just due to them selling out constantly. They've been having trouble keeping the books in stock, which is always a mixed blessing. The B&W omnibus should be coming out soon... well, in a few weeks. It'll make a great gift for the holiday of choice.
Another publisher putting out more previously published material is AiT/Planet Lar (214-215). 1000 Steps to World Domination is one of those I haven't quite gotten around to yet that I want to read. The Black Diamond: On Ramp is in the same category, but not as high on my list. Smoke & Guns bothered me, but it was still good, somehow. And True Story, Swear to God: 100 Stories made me buy all of Tom Beland's stuff. Huh.
They also have a 2-pack of the fantasy classics Alice in Wonderland and Oz: The Manga. I bought both in serial format and enjoyed them both.
Archaia Studios Press (226-227) has the final issue of Mouse Guard. I await in anticipation.
Dynamite Entertainment (258-260) is publishing a TON of licensed stuff right now. Wow. At some point hubby-Eric and I ought to watch the new Battlestar Galactica, then we might read some of the comics... And I've always liked Highlander... then, of course, there is Xena. At the moment, though, I haven't gotten any of them.
Up next is Dork Storm Press (274), and the wonderful Nodwick #36. Well, at least I think it'll be wonderful.
Evil Twin Comics (278) has two Action Philosophers collections. This is a book I highly recommend, and getting the collections would be a great way to have these books.
Up next is Fantagraphics and Castle Waiting Vol 2 #4. I love this book, and I'm eager to see the next issue.
The other offering is the Dorothy Necklace. I have one of these. As hubby-Eric pointed out, it was only the third piece of jewelry he ever bought for me. The other two were rings. That's gotta count for something, right?
Flipping... flipping... ok, pages 466-467 have all Doctor Who stuff. For the first time in my memory, Doctor Who is really popular. Neat. We'll have to see if we can afford any of these.
Back to the front of the book, now.
Dark Horse has a book called Alice in Sunderland (27) by Bryan Talbot. Tempting, but not at that price.
DC Comics has Aquaman, of course. And we'll still get our usual books.I'm not sure why, but I find the cover to DCU Infinite Christmas Special to be oddly sinister. We'll also get the FIVE Green Lantern related books. Ack. Another book that looks good is The Spirit #1. We'll probably check it out. Freaky cover to Astro City
Image Comics has a Wonderful Wizard of Oz (138) graphic novel that hubby-Eric has been looking forward to getting. I think I maybe ought to order it. And there's a new issue of Age of Bronze (147). And more True Story Swear to God.
No comments on Marvel, since they insist on making me read a different book to read their previews.
And there it is... I'm finally all the way through. Huzzah. So that's it for this month's "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". Comments? Questions? Did I miss any really cool books that you know about and would like to point out? Do you disagree with something I wrote, and want to correct me? There's the comments, right below. Post something. And, yes, I accept review copies. I'm willing to give almost anything a try.
Elephants?
Elephant Gangs, Elephant Rage, Banning Elephants, Jumbo Post, Baby Elephant Walk, Elephant Never Forgets, Baseball's White Elephants, The Elephant in the Living Room, Mr Aloysius Snuffleupagus' myspace page, and Elephants in Zoos. MetaFilter has gone pachyderm crazy today.
Some Sunday Links
One of the Greats, Rest In Peace.
Paul Cornell has an interesting entry today.
Serious gamers only.
No wonder hotel beds are so lumpy.
Another Millenium Problem may have been solved.
The Amish Forgive.
Paul Cornell has an interesting entry today.
Serious gamers only.
No wonder hotel beds are so lumpy.
Another Millenium Problem may have been solved.
The Amish Forgive.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Legocon 2006
I went to the Legocon today, for the first time in years. I spent the day working for the shop selling Lego. Lots of walking on hard concrete floor, lots of people. It was fun, but lots of hard work. I took a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.
There were a lot of single displays, this was one of many, but it definitely stood out.
These Army men were made by a dealer who creates modern weapons for Lego armies.
There were a lot of single displays, this was one of many, but it definitely stood out.
These Army men were made by a dealer who creates modern weapons for Lego armies.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Links
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #71. I always figured they would run out of material long ago...
Banned Comic Books?
Who Wants To Be A Superhero gets a second season. Hrmmm... I'm not sure it will work, but I'll pay attention. I didn't think the first season would work either... but it was good.
Augie Asks: is this the "Age of Al"?
This sounds far too good to be true. And, as the inventor is refusing to divulge just how it works, it may well be.
Mosquito Trap. Very nice idea.
The Ig-Nobels have been awarded. I like the award for Mathematics. Physics is good too. And Literature.
Hyperspace. It makes my head hurt.
Banned Comic Books?
Who Wants To Be A Superhero gets a second season. Hrmmm... I'm not sure it will work, but I'll pay attention. I didn't think the first season would work either... but it was good.
Augie Asks: is this the "Age of Al"?
This sounds far too good to be true. And, as the inventor is refusing to divulge just how it works, it may well be.
Mosquito Trap. Very nice idea.
The Ig-Nobels have been awarded. I like the award for Mathematics. Physics is good too. And Literature.
Hyperspace. It makes my head hurt.
A Thought...
A linkdump is coming later, I haven't compiled all my links yet. But I have a ... blog concept... in mind. I recently completed my Aquaman want list. I now have, in some form or another, every single solo Aquaman tale from 1941 until the latest issue. And I want to do something to commemorate that before I start focusing on all Aquaman's team-ups, JLA appearances, and guest shots. So I've decided that I intend to start reading Aquaman from the beginning, one story a day, and posting a few words about each story on this blog and on the Aquaman website. They won't be reviews. They will be comments, snark, emotions, whatever... and a scan of the splash page or cover of the story.
How long will it take? I recently checked my lists, and Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #43 is the 500th Aquaman solo tale by my counting (which, I'll admit, may be off a bit. We'll learn as I go). You can do the math.
When will I start? Well, I have a thought on that as well. More Fun #73, which included the first appearance of Aquaman, was cover dated November 1941. In just a few weeks, it'll be November 2006... 65 years later. I think I'll start on November 1st.
So. What do you think? Decent concept for blogging? Should I do it?
How long will it take? I recently checked my lists, and Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #43 is the 500th Aquaman solo tale by my counting (which, I'll admit, may be off a bit. We'll learn as I go). You can do the math.
When will I start? Well, I have a thought on that as well. More Fun #73, which included the first appearance of Aquaman, was cover dated November 1941. In just a few weeks, it'll be November 2006... 65 years later. I think I'll start on November 1st.
So. What do you think? Decent concept for blogging? Should I do it?
Thursday, October 05, 2006
"Oh Look, They've Got Nibbles!"
Eric Shanower gets more Media Coverage.
Lovely interview with Greg Beettam and Stephen Geigen-Miller, about Xeno's Arrow (you can read the whole first issue at that link, and I recommend it. Great book.).
The Beat has more on Gordon Lee and his Free Comic Book Day nightmare.
Ed Brubaker in the Seattle Times.
I watched the trailer for 300 The Beat linked to, and now I've put the book on hold at the library.
The Search for the USS Grunion.
Aztec Altar discovered in Mexico City. It may be part of the main Temple that the conquistadors destroyed.
Oz and Ends reports on a Banned Book Week Display that was... banned.
Arrested for smiling.
Smallville fan behind the scenes.
Flu Shot Myths. All I know for sure about the flu shot is that I got violently ill with flu-like symptoms every time I've had the shot. Since I couldn't possibly have gotten the flu itself, it seems likely that some other ingredient in the shot makes me sick. I stopped getting the flu shot some years ago now.
In other medical news: ketamine may help the clinically depressed. Um. I'm not volunteering.
I do not think it's a good idea for a company to have the ability to disable my computer if they think I don't have a legitimate copy of their software. If they know for sure, that's another issue, but this has too much potential for stupid errors. I will not be upgrading to Vista, and Linux is looking better and better to me.
The Dutch have voting machine problems, just like Diebold in the United States. Unlike most of the US, though, they Dutch are fighting mad over the problem.
I want a sound clip from that commercial about the fish business in which everything is going wrong, and the tired worker comes up and says "Boss, we got cats," followed by a scene of a couple of cats cornering a worker holding a fish. I just want that phrase and the cat screeching right after it. It makes me giggle every time I hear it.
Another Pug for the In-Laws.
The title of this post is entirely the fault of hubby-Eric. If you want to know what it is, ask him.
Lovely interview with Greg Beettam and Stephen Geigen-Miller, about Xeno's Arrow (you can read the whole first issue at that link, and I recommend it. Great book.).
The Beat has more on Gordon Lee and his Free Comic Book Day nightmare.
Ed Brubaker in the Seattle Times.
I watched the trailer for 300 The Beat linked to, and now I've put the book on hold at the library.
The Search for the USS Grunion.
Aztec Altar discovered in Mexico City. It may be part of the main Temple that the conquistadors destroyed.
Oz and Ends reports on a Banned Book Week Display that was... banned.
Arrested for smiling.
Smallville fan behind the scenes.
Flu Shot Myths. All I know for sure about the flu shot is that I got violently ill with flu-like symptoms every time I've had the shot. Since I couldn't possibly have gotten the flu itself, it seems likely that some other ingredient in the shot makes me sick. I stopped getting the flu shot some years ago now.
In other medical news: ketamine may help the clinically depressed. Um. I'm not volunteering.
I do not think it's a good idea for a company to have the ability to disable my computer if they think I don't have a legitimate copy of their software. If they know for sure, that's another issue, but this has too much potential for stupid errors. I will not be upgrading to Vista, and Linux is looking better and better to me.
The Dutch have voting machine problems, just like Diebold in the United States. Unlike most of the US, though, they Dutch are fighting mad over the problem.
I want a sound clip from that commercial about the fish business in which everything is going wrong, and the tired worker comes up and says "Boss, we got cats," followed by a scene of a couple of cats cornering a worker holding a fish. I just want that phrase and the cat screeching right after it. It makes me giggle every time I hear it.
Another Pug for the In-Laws.
The title of this post is entirely the fault of hubby-Eric. If you want to know what it is, ask him.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Ooooh! Hallowe'en Ashcans!
I just got my shipment of Hallowe'en Ashcans in to give out on the big night, perhaps my favorite holiday of all!
I've just been reading through my old entries: 2002 (we gave out stuff at the Pug House of Horrors that year, and hubby-Eric had to grab the pugs every time someone came to the gate. More than once he offered the pugs to the giggling Trick-or-Treaters.), 2003 (we got 19 on that Friday night, and I explained a bit more why I like Hallowe'en), 2004 (we got 20 on a Sunday night who got a big loot bag), and 2005 (a disappointing 15 on a Monday night... not totally unexpected... but lots of compliments).
This year Hallowe'en is on a Tuesday, so I'm not expecting many costumes. We'll have full size candy bars and a full size comic for each Trick-or-Treater, along with the four ashcans (I've got 25 of each, 24 of each once I claim my copies, that should be plenty). We might try to add something more before the big day. It all depends on external factors.
Now I'm really looking forward to it.
I've just been reading through my old entries: 2002 (we gave out stuff at the Pug House of Horrors that year, and hubby-Eric had to grab the pugs every time someone came to the gate. More than once he offered the pugs to the giggling Trick-or-Treaters.), 2003 (we got 19 on that Friday night, and I explained a bit more why I like Hallowe'en), 2004 (we got 20 on a Sunday night who got a big loot bag), and 2005 (a disappointing 15 on a Monday night... not totally unexpected... but lots of compliments).
This year Hallowe'en is on a Tuesday, so I'm not expecting many costumes. We'll have full size candy bars and a full size comic for each Trick-or-Treater, along with the four ashcans (I've got 25 of each, 24 of each once I claim my copies, that should be plenty). We might try to add something more before the big day. It all depends on external factors.
Now I'm really looking forward to it.
Somewhat Random Links
Lea Hernandez still having problems because of the house fire... now it's the rental house and the Home Owners Association in that neighborhood.
Dick Tracy is 75. More here.
This is right out of Girl Genius. The roving fishbowl:
Georgia woman continues her crusade to ban Harry Potter books from elementary school libraries.
If you've ever wanted your own TARDIS, one is up for auction on eBay.
Damn Interesting has a fascinating, if flawed, theory about time. The comments have some intriguing rebuttals and some really stupid rebuttals. I'll let you decide which are which.
Think you are parked legally? Think again.
So, a horse walks into a bar... and the bartender says, "Wha-?"
Ask Yahoo tackles the origins of Hallowe'en.
How to describe this? It defies description, but it involves Stephen Colbert.
Uh, oops. I think the victim here deserves some sort of compensation from the police for this mistake.
Dick Tracy is 75. More here.
This is right out of Girl Genius. The roving fishbowl:
Georgia woman continues her crusade to ban Harry Potter books from elementary school libraries.
If you've ever wanted your own TARDIS, one is up for auction on eBay.
Damn Interesting has a fascinating, if flawed, theory about time. The comments have some intriguing rebuttals and some really stupid rebuttals. I'll let you decide which are which.
Think you are parked legally? Think again.
So, a horse walks into a bar... and the bartender says, "Wha-?"
Ask Yahoo tackles the origins of Hallowe'en.
How to describe this? It defies description, but it involves Stephen Colbert.
Uh, oops. I think the victim here deserves some sort of compensation from the police for this mistake.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Not-At-All Random Links
I find the best books to read through Oz and Ends. An excellent blog for any lovers of all-ages lit.
Please tell me that this is a parody in honor of Banned Books Week.
Ouch. People finding artifacts with metal detectors are destroying priceless archeological knowledge.
Also via Colleen, B-Movie Biology.
I found this Warren Ellis description of Second Life to be fascinating. I haven't gamed in a long time, but it all sounds so familiar.
What song do you want played at your funeral? What a morbid topic... I chose Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Summer.
On that same sort of note: Songs that freak you out. Be sure to read the comments. I'd have to say "Teddy Bears Picnic" is the freakiest "innocent" song.
Day Against DRM makes it sound like DRM is an STD.
Garry Trudeau Blogs.
Kitten Thinks Of Nothing But Murder All Day.
Update: It's a good thing I write my blog posts in a text editor then copy and paste them over to Blogger, because Blogger has been eating my posts right and left this morning. Grr. At least I didn't lose anything.
Please tell me that this is a parody in honor of Banned Books Week.
Ouch. People finding artifacts with metal detectors are destroying priceless archeological knowledge.
Also via Colleen, B-Movie Biology.
I found this Warren Ellis description of Second Life to be fascinating. I haven't gamed in a long time, but it all sounds so familiar.
What song do you want played at your funeral? What a morbid topic... I chose Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Summer.
On that same sort of note: Songs that freak you out. Be sure to read the comments. I'd have to say "Teddy Bears Picnic" is the freakiest "innocent" song.
Day Against DRM makes it sound like DRM is an STD.
Garry Trudeau Blogs.
Kitten Thinks Of Nothing But Murder All Day.
Update: It's a good thing I write my blog posts in a text editor then copy and paste them over to Blogger, because Blogger has been eating my posts right and left this morning. Grr. At least I didn't lose anything.
Depression
Polite Scott lets us know that this Friday is National Depression Screening Day, when doctors are encouraged to screen their patients for depression. Scott also posts a great PSA about mental illness, and directs people to the Zung Questionnaire, which is a very basic test to see if you suffer from depression.
Depression is an illness I'm intimately familiar with, as I've been diagnosed with it for well over a decade now, but I've struggled with it my entire life. Clinical depression is not something you can simply shake off, despite what some idiots will say. If you take that questionnaire and score higher than 50, you should see a doctor. It's better than living in a haze for the rest of your life.
Trust me. I know.
Depression is an illness I'm intimately familiar with, as I've been diagnosed with it for well over a decade now, but I've struggled with it my entire life. Clinical depression is not something you can simply shake off, despite what some idiots will say. If you take that questionnaire and score higher than 50, you should see a doctor. It's better than living in a haze for the rest of your life.
Trust me. I know.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Some Linkages
Linda Medley has some new previews up on her site.
Speaking of on-line comics, Xeno's Arrow joins the club of on-line books! Yay! All my favorite indy books are slowly coming to the web. GirlAMatic has Galaxion and The Mad Bun, and Graphic Smash has Jax Epoch. And of course, Kaja and Phil went web on Girl Genius. And now... Modern Tales adds Xeno's Arrow. Excellent! To celebrate, here's Greg Beettam's Aquaman sketch, done at San Diego 2000.
Biff's Question Song. Was that real manure?
Hmmm, a five game suspension. Should have been more.
Speaking in a foreign language while in an airport is now cause for concern.
Torture Bill as C Code. There's a fatal bug in the program.
The Bad Astronomer responds to criticism about his political blogging.
Speaking of on-line comics, Xeno's Arrow joins the club of on-line books! Yay! All my favorite indy books are slowly coming to the web. GirlAMatic has Galaxion and The Mad Bun, and Graphic Smash has Jax Epoch. And of course, Kaja and Phil went web on Girl Genius. And now... Modern Tales adds Xeno's Arrow. Excellent! To celebrate, here's Greg Beettam's Aquaman sketch, done at San Diego 2000.
Biff's Question Song. Was that real manure?
Hmmm, a five game suspension. Should have been more.
Speaking in a foreign language while in an airport is now cause for concern.
Torture Bill as C Code. There's a fatal bug in the program.
The Bad Astronomer responds to criticism about his political blogging.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Science Project
My recent weight loss has been due, in part, to a complete change in eating habits. While most of the changes have been in the form of eating less (smaller portions, in particular), I've also started eating more fruits and veggies. I found that in my old age (heh) I prefer blueberries and cream to candy bars any day. Another food I'm enjoying with sandwiches and such is avocado.
When I got my first avocado earlier in the summer, someone mentioned to me that you can grow avocado trees from the seeds. I laughed and said nothing at all would grow if I tried. But it got me thinking. Why don't I do the little avocado experiment? It's dead simple, and the worst that can happen is I'll waste a bit of time and nothing will grow.
So every time I've gotten an avocado this summer I've been checking the seed and I put a few of them into water to try and sprout something. I've got three going right now, none have sprouted so far. I doubt they ever will. But I figured that you might want to see my silliness, so here's my current science project.
If they start sprouting, I'll take more pictures.
When I got my first avocado earlier in the summer, someone mentioned to me that you can grow avocado trees from the seeds. I laughed and said nothing at all would grow if I tried. But it got me thinking. Why don't I do the little avocado experiment? It's dead simple, and the worst that can happen is I'll waste a bit of time and nothing will grow.
So every time I've gotten an avocado this summer I've been checking the seed and I put a few of them into water to try and sprout something. I've got three going right now, none have sprouted so far. I doubt they ever will. But I figured that you might want to see my silliness, so here's my current science project.
If they start sprouting, I'll take more pictures.
Spacey Links
Earth at night.
The Smell of Space.
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
The Bad Astronomer directs his readers to a fun essay on Calculus. Must... read...
The Smell of Space.
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
The Bad Astronomer directs his readers to a fun essay on Calculus. Must... read...
