Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog Archive January 2007

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #137 (February 1949) - The Undersea Lost World!

Aquaman is commissioned by the United Nations Marine Bureau to help Professor Peabody find valuable mineral deposits on the ocean floor.

Great splash image of Aquaman shoving a rock down the throat of a prehistoric-snake-thing that has Prof Peabody wrapped in its coils, with the UN flag in the background! Very exciting.

Aquaman and Peabody are considered explorers and compare themselves to Amundsen, Perry, and Byrd. Aquaman gets a ticker-tape parade and a medal for his efforts.

Peabody's pressure suit contains a supply of liquid oxygen, and allows him to stay down for days. That's some pressure suit! It's clearly got some level of robotics, or Peabody wouldn't be able to move at all. But there's no worries about the bends... Aquaman drags Peabody up from the ocean floor to an island to fix the suit very rapidly, as the oxygen to Peabody had been cut off. This story requires a little extra suspension of disbelief.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman gets some porpoises to pull a giant shell chariot that he and Peabody ride in. Aquaman attempts to stop the prehistoric monster from attacking, but says, "No use, this species doesn't know me! I'm not King of the Sea here!" Aquaman gets a sawfish to free him from the giant clam that Black Jack puts him in, and then the fish fights off monsters while Aquaman escapes to the surface. A large seal deals with Black Jack's crew while Aquaman beats up Black Jack.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Peabody is knocked out by Black Jack while working on his diving suit, then Aquaman is knocked out by Black Jack (in the diving suit) while claiming the copper bed for the UN.

Quotefile: Peabody, "Ever been here before, Aquaman?" Aquaman, "I doubt it! The ocean is three times the land area! It would take me ten lifetimes to see all of it!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

I made a quick run to the comic shop, but half the shipment was misshipped or something, and there wasn't much to pick up. I did get the latest "52", which is good as it features Aquaman in a very tiny cameo.

My throat goes from mildly irritated to massively painful in just a couple of minutes now. I'm gulping down bucketloads of lemon ginger tea, but when I'm not drinking hot tea I'm in pain. I'm tired of being miserable.

I apologize to anyone who reads this blog via RSS. I want to take full advantage of the tag/label function, and so I've been going back and adding tags to old posts. I originally thought it wouldn't send those posts to the RSS feed... but I was wrong. So I turned off the feed, updating the tags, then turned the feed back on... but it still flooded the feed. ARGH!!!

My kitchen light is out. It's a florescent light, and it turns on but has a lovely headache-inducing flickering effect and gives out almost no actual light. This makes it incredibly difficult to cook anything. Worse is trying to wash dishes, since the dishwasher is in a corner with no light at all. So I called some local electricians and finally managed to get ahold of a live one instead of an answering machine. He could send someone out, sure... 6:30 am tomorrow. Yikes. Still, I like the idea of it possibly being fixed in time for making breakfast, and I'm not going to be able to tolerate it much longer broken anyway. Ok, what the heck. I've already set my alarm for 6 am.

Unfortunately, this means hubby-Eric and I are headed for a very financially tight month. I'm looking at putting up his Green Lantern stuff on eBay a little earlier than originally planned in the hopes that it'll keep us afloat. This puts our summer plans in jeopardy as well... I really want to go down to the Winkie convention with Eric this year, but it may not happen.

Speaking of conventions, tickets are now on sale for the Emerald City Comicon. At the moment, I plan to attend both days. I'll probably be with my "twin" sister for the first day and hubby-Eric the second. I hope to see other Seattle area folk there...

Labels: 52, Aquaman, blogger, Diamond, eBay, Emerald City Comicon, Frankenhaus, Health, Links, Winkies

It's National Gorilla Suit Day!

I haven't gone out because 1) I don't have a gorilla suit, and 2) I still have a nasty cold and don't want to get sicker.

I want. I mean I REALLY want. But it says on the store's website: "Sorry, this product is not available." AHHHHH!!!! It's only available in Europe!!!!! Ack!!!! UPDATE: as Jonathan Miller reports, this is in this month's Previews on page 468. I'm getting one.

Is This Gratuitous?

Scott Adams argues for an intelligent universe. Then he defends his position.

Daniel Radcliffe appears nude on stage. Parents of Harry Potter fans up in arms. End of the world coming. Via Colleen. See here for the full set of photos.

Maine Blogger Vindicated, corrupt state official who attacked him has been fired. Thanks to Garrett for the tip.

YouTube link: Powerpuff Girls Z Episode 1 part 1, Powerpuff Girls Z Episode 1 part 2, and Powerpuff Girls Z Episode 1 part 3. Via Mah Two Cents.

Labels: Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Health, Links, National Gorilla Suit Day, Powerpuff Girls

I have a nasty cold and am feeling very sorry for myself, which is why I haven't blogged any nice links today. Sorry.

Labels: Health

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #136 (January 1949) - Water Boy!

Chuck Finn is a fantastic swimmer who wants to become more like Aquaman, but a criminal gang sees potential is Chuck's skills.

Chuck is one of the first to want to be like Aquaman, but he's far from the last. There will be many other people who try to become Aquaman in the future.

The criminals have a decent idea for a job, robbing a riverboat at a point in the river that is apparently impossible to swim across. If Chuck hadn't already written to Aquaman, the plan would have worked. They convinced Chuck to participate by threatening to blow up the levees if he refused.

Finny Friends Report: An octopus delivers Chuck's letter to Aquaman. Aquaman later has fish retrieve the stolen gems and put them in the pockets of the thieves.

Captured/Knocked Out report: One of the thieves hits Aquaman on the back of the head with the butt of a pistol.

Quotefile: Chuck's letter, "Dear Aquaman, I love to swim. I swim to school every day, and to the store. I want to swim like you. Can you tell me how to do it? You are the best swimmer I know. Very truly yours, Chuck Finn. P.S. I can swim across the Mississippi now!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I just put up another round of eBay auctions to support KBTC. We haven't started selling hubby-Eric's Green Lantern stuff yet, but that'll come soon, I think. I know at least one reader of this blog bought an item off me in the last round of auctions, and I thank you kindly for supporting PBS through us!

I laughed aloud at this one: Poorly Positioned Firing Squads.

The Dorothy folks have announced the shipping date of the much-delayed chapter seven. If you ordered it, look for it on February 28th. If you didn't order it, why not?

Those same folks also alert us that The Baum Bugle is out, a fact which I can confirm as hubby-Eric's copy arrived in the mail today.

Ha! Check out the poster on the wall in this comic. I'm surprised I didn't notice it in previous strips (I checked, it did appear, along with some other interesting posters).

The Templar Arizona Preorder Project worked! $3227 was raised to get the story onto paper. You can still preorder and keep up with the news on the project. Congrats to Spike for the success!

If you have access to the NY Times page (free registration, I think), check out Unhappy Meals, which is about what you need to eat. It's all pretty obvious, until you start to compare it to what you are eating in general. Then you realize that most of this country has a long way to go to get to healthy eating habits.

Labels: Dorothy, eBay, Health, Links, Webcomics, Wizard of Oz

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #135 (December 1948) - The Ship That Dared Not Land!

The Proteus is a strange ship that doesn't land in any port, and Aquaman's curiousity leads him to find out why.

Three scientists create new life, but it eats everything in its path and they cannot figure out how to kill it. They decide to ride around the ocean on their ship for ten years, trying to destroy it, while chasing away anyone who comes to investigate. This makes them a legend, and Aquaman goes to check them out.

The three scientists all have long beards, and they eat only fish, drink only rain water, and use whale oil to run their engines. Um. Ok. Aquaman just happens to stop by right when the Malignant Amoeba breaks free from its cage (killing two of the scientists) and heads out to sea.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides on a giant turtle as he approaches the Proteus. He sends his fiercest finny friends to attack the Malignant Amoeba, including a whale, but they are all eaten by it.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman apparently dies when he leads the amoeba into the area of Bikini, hoping that the radioactivity will destroy it.

Quotefile: Dr Blaine, "Artificial life, Aquaman! Then years ago we created it, and kept it alive! But then we found that it couldn't die! We named it the Malignant Amoeba!

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I'm not really interested in dealing with the template fun stuff yet, so I'm mostly working with the new labels/tags for posts. Lovely system, well overdue. Indeed, just about every other piece of blogging software had tagging a long time ago. I can't say I like the implementation, particularly for my FTP blog, as it eats up disc space I haven't got. But for the blogger/blogspot posts, it's very nice.

They also put it in its own css class, so I was able to style it to my tastes. That was useful. I'll be playing with my other blogs over the next few days, and updating tags on this blog. The one set of tags that is complete on this blog is the "Ripples Through Time" tag... but we'll see if that's actually useful as I go along. Eh, I'm enjoying myself. That's the important thing.

My upgrade to new Blogger was quick, relatively painfree, and apparently didn't lose any of my archives (as other people have reported). It took less than 5 minutes to convert. I already had a gmail account, so that wasn't an issue. They seem to have worked out the kinks now.

Update: Just discovered this problem and I'm oddly upset about it. How useful is it, really, to only have the last 20 posts under a label available? C'mon, Blogger. You can do better. Fix it for people who don't want to lose every single thing they've worked on with their templates over the last few years.

And believe me, now that I've played with the new Blogger templates (I created a new blog specifically for that purpose), I really hope I never have to switch over. You have to learn a whole new set of coding if you want to personalize it. I don't even have a clue where to start in converting my current template over to it... I only know that it would take a long time just to get back to where I currently am, which is annoying at the least and aggravating at the worst.

Labels: blogger

I've just upgraded to New Blogger. I apologize to all the folks whose RSS feeds are flooded. As far as I can tell, the new Blogger is pretty much the same as the old for us folks who don't want to take advantage of the new features. I'm sure I'll figure out any other issues over the next few days...

Labels: blogger

Up in arms about the very odd teaser image released by DC? I'm not. No Aquaman = No interest. Besides, it looks like somebody took figures from a larger image with a different background and inserted them like colorforms into this image. Show me the real image, instead of the badly pasted teaser image, and maybe I'll try to pretend some interest.

Kurt Mitchell and the Justice Society. Now I suddenly want to buy those books... hmmm.

Leonard Kirk gets a root canal. Ouch.

Polite Scott sums up my feelings exactly on the new Bridge to Terabithia movie.

Bully stars in a movie. Oh dear. Don't say I didn't warn you. Via Bully.

Self-Link: Who's the Number One Aquaman fan?

Cartwheels in a Swimsuit at the South Pole. BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Labels: Aquaman, DC Comics, JSA, Links, Movies

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #134 (November 1948) - Exiled from the Sea!

Aquaman is attacked by all his marine friends after putting out a chemical fire, and is exiled from the ocean for 30 days.

Lots of newspapers in this one, all with headlines that shouldn't be announced to the world when Black Jack is about. The Bulletin says, "Aquaman Exiled From The Sea!" and The Trumpet says, "King of the Sea to Be Landlubber for 30 Days!" and The Star says "Monarch of the Waves "Grounded"!" No surprise that a later headline is "Black Jack Plunders Seven Seas, Unguarded by Aquaman!" Apparently, there weren't any medical privacy laws in 1948, much to the dismay of Black Jack's victims.

Chemical names on the barrels near Aquaman during the fire: Propylene, Ethyl Carbolate, Hexene Dichloride, Methylate, and Carnotite. No, I really don't know what they are, or why they'd all be on one ship next to one another.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman gets seals to help him put out the fire by forming a bucket brigade. When Aquaman enters the water, he's attacked by an octopus, giant turtle, sharks, dolphin, sworfish, and whales. When Black Jack knocks him into the ocean, Aquaman is chased out by sharks. At the end of the tale, we see Aquaman hanging out with all the fishy friends who attacked him except the sharks.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman has to be rescued by a passing ship after he first is attacked. After Black Jack knocks him into the water, he is forced to outswim the sharks.

Quotefile: Doctor, "I'm afraid it will take 30 days for a new growth of skin to replace your stained skin! There is no way of removing those chemicals from your skin!" Aquaman, "You mean--?" Doctor, "Yes, Aquaman! Stay out of the sea for 30 days!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

Bigfoot found footless.

The Barenaked Ladies on DRM, again. BNL has the most sensible position on the problem I've seen, and as a result I'm staying a fan.

The ALA (American Library Association) released the winners of their various awards. Go check 'em out. I've read at least one of them.

Google Video Link: Turkish Star Wars (1982). I don't think I'm likely to watch the whole thing, but the bits I did check out were amazingly awful. With Google video you can start loading where you put the slider, so go check out random bits.

If you think bunnies are cute and fluffy and innocent... go check this out. Oh. My. I love the narration. Reminds me of my Dad.

I may have linked to this before, but Reason Magazine's write-up on the broadcasting hijack of a Doctor Who story is just too well done to pass up.

DI is trying to go to print. I need to look under the seat of the car, in the couch, and anywhere else there might be loose change to pre-order me a copy of the book.

Rumor mill: Muppet Show Season Two on DVD and more Muppet TV. Rumor alert: Take both links with a grain of salt!

Banning Wikipedia as a citation source. Well, duh. You don't cite any type of encyclopedia in a research paper. Wikipedia is an on-line encyclopedia. It's good for basic overview and as a starting point for looking for more information. But it's a tertiary source at best, and should never be cited in a paper. Unless the paper is about Wikipedia.

Google uses algorithm to defuse Googlebombs. In short, no more Googlebombing. Discussion on Slashdot.

Oh my goodness, it's for real. I thought it was a Daily Show joke. Stephen Colbert is "Z".

I have discovered another reason to love our TiVo. I like watching Olbermann, but can't stand any coverage of American Idol. So now I can wait until Olbermann is half over before I start watching it and fast forward through the ads and the Idol garbage. Very nice.

Labels: ALA, Bigfoot, DRM, Google, Links, Muppets, National Gorilla Suit Day, TiVo, Wikipedia

Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 60 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th. I'm about halfway to my goal weight range now. Noticed effects: my clothes are flappy and oversized... my wedding ring is loose... I have more energy and am getting more done during the day... my knee problems are almost gone.

I'm losing weight much slower than before, now, so I have no idea how long it will take me to get down to my goal weight range. I do plan on losing another 5 pounds before the Emerald City Comicon, and I think that's very doable.

Previous Unrelated Posts: 20 pounds, 25 pounds, 30 pounds, 35 pounds, 40 pounds, 45 pounds, 50 pounds, and 55 pounds.

Labels: Emerald City Comicon, Health, Weight Loss

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #133 (October 1948) - The Great White Whale!

A whaler named Captain Mohab goes after the great white whale, and Aquaman gets involved.

This is a truly bizarre story. At first it seems to be a retelling of Moby Dick with Aquaman involved, but then you notice the different details... like Ahab changed to Mohab. But Mohab is missing a leg, just like Ahab... and blames the whale, just like Ahab... and this is an old-fashioned whaler, not a modern ship. And, of course, there's the whale itself.

There is never any indication that this is a dream, or a time travel tale like Adventure #121. The opening text box does say, "Fate plays strange tricks in the deep. This time a great sea-story - the tale of Moby Dick - is re-enacted when Aquaman runs afoul of the brutal Mohab"... so that seems to indicate that this is happening in modern times.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman never actually calls on fish in this tale.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Sharkey hits Aquaman from behind when he gets in a fight with Captain Mohab. Aquaman is hung from the mast as a storm is coming.

Quotefile: Aquaman, thinking, "This Mohab is made of iron - and hate! But iron man can be mastered by Aquaman!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #87.

Free Comic Book Day Titles Announced. As usual, I'm going to try to get as many as possible... in part by offering to buy the comics for my retailer (as you may not know, the books are NOT free for retailers) to give out.

The Joker lives in Holland.

Who's watching the watchers?

I just checked out our TiVo account online... and no one has used tiktok at eskimo dot com as a referral, so we have no points. Oh well, I knew it was a long shot anyway. We're still really enjoying having the TiVo, by the way. I'm not really watching more TV, but instead of having some newscast on in the background when I'm doing stuff, I have music videos recorded overnight. I still have the TV off most of the time.

Anti-EULA:

READ CAREFULLY. By reading this weblog you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.

Labels: Comic Book Urban Legends, Free Comic Book Day, Links, TiVo

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

17 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Seven: "Secret Identities": Way to spoil the story on the cover. Sheesh. And the "Secret of 52" as revealed in the code is the back is hardly a secret at all (Both JSA and Ion have made that clear already). But it's got a great little cliffhanger or two, and just what is Skeets?!?? Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48: "Here Be Monsters": I've been waiting for this story since Kurt told me about it in that phone call over a year ago. And it completely lives up to my expectations. Highly recommended.

Green Lantern #16: "Wanted: Hal Jordan" chapter three: Not entirely bad. Very mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #32: "The 4th Parallel Point of Origin": A new villain, and most of the book is taken up with his origin. Mildly recommended.

Birds of Prey #102: "Freedom of Motion": Oooh, I like Lois versus Barbara face-off. Very fun. Recommended.

Shadowpact #9: "Three Laws Safe": Nice statement of the laws of superheroics. Recommended.

Spirit #2: "The Maneater": Wow, second issue and we're already getting some background on P'Gell. Cool. Recommended.

Wisdom #2: "The Village That Walked Like A Woman": Sorry Paul, you know I love ya and all, but I just can't get into this book. Pete Wisdom doesn't interest me, and the writing style that works so well for prose seems jumpy in this comic. I hate to do this to you: Not recommended.

Conan #36: "Silent to the Sea": Nice finish to the Pict story. I still wish Kurt was on the book. Mildly recommended.

Stardust Kid #5: "An Endless Ending": I wanted to like this book. But I didn't. Not recommended.

Phantom #14: "Walker's Line" part one: Nice flashback tale tying into other stories. Mildly recommended.

Castle Waiting vol II #4: OOOOH! OOOOH! More about Lady Jain's lover, Pindar's father. Lots of neat stuff spilled in this one. Highly Recommended.

24 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Eight: "Breathless": This one had very little of interest for me in it. Very mildly recommended.

Checkmate #10: "The End in Sight": Well, that explains why no one can infiltrate Kobra. Mildly recommended.

DMZ #15: "Public Works 3/5": I didn't think Matty would go through with it, but I'm not entirely sure just what he did. Recommended.

Noble Causes #26: Too much going on that I don't understand. I'll probably enjoy this one more once I've seen where it's going. Mildly recommended.

Fallen Angel #12: Asia Minor actually comes across as creepy in this one. Mildly recommended.

Mouse Guard #6: "A Return to Honor": Very soon I'm going to sit down with all six issues and read this one through from the beginning. And I bet it'll get even better when I do. Recommended.

True Story, Swear to God #3: Lots of good bits in here, from Tom dealing with a neighbor's barking dog to Lily's act of shaving her head being an inspiration. Highly recommended.

Yay! I'm caught up again! Well, except for that review copy I just got from Larry and the Previews review. But hey, I'm closer than I've been for many weeks.

Labels: 52, Aquaman, Birds of Prey, Castle Waiting, Checkmate, DMZ, Fallen Angel, JLA Classified, Mouse Guard, Noble Causes, Phantom, Reviews, Shadowpact, Spirit, Stardust Kid, True Story STG, Wisdom

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #132 (September 1948) - The Aquagirl!

When millionaire Mark Windham sees a mermaid, he can't rest until Aquaman gets to the bottom of the mystery for him.

Back in Adventure #110, Aquaman says, "I've explored every ocean on Earth and never have I seen a mermaid!" In this story, Aquaman scoffs at Mark's certainty that he's seen a mermaid, and says "I've swum the seven seas and searched for all kinds of things, but this is the first time I've had to hunt for a mermaid!" No one is more surprised to find out that she exists than Aquaman.

Aquaman's suspicions are first roused when Thetis the Mermaid makes it clear that she has not "mastered the uncanny method of communication all sea creatures understand". He realizes that she's not a mermaid when her fishtail is caught by a stray fishhook and she doesn't feel pain.

Finny Friends Report: Porpoises bring word of a fire on a yacht, then carry Aquaman and Thetis to the disaster. A whale helps Aquaman put out the fire. Aquaman gets oyster friends to supply pearls for a priceless present for the bride.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman isn't captured or knocked out in this tale.

Quotefile: Mark's message in a bottle, "Aquaman: I have actually seen a mermaid three different time. My friends think I'm crazy - but I know I'm now. Please help me."

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Technogreek shows off two Green Lantern pieces.

Astronauts in Trouble at the South Pole.

Self-link: Threat Down - Wizard of Oz.

The Doctor's Girls. Thanks, Jonathan.

People applying for passports in Canada are finding out they aren't actually Canadian thanks to some little known and incredibly stupid Canadian citizenship laws.

I finally got Ubuntu to run (non-installed version) on my laptop, and I must say I'm impressed. It works nicely (slow, because it wasn't installed) and has just about every program I already use. I guess the next step is to figure out how to set it up to dual-boot with XP and give it a real trial.

Labels: Doctor Who, Links, Ubuntu, Wizard of Oz

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #131 (August 1948) - The Undersea Post Office!

Cap'n Gregg is about to earn the mail charter for a remote island router after a year's trial, but his final trip runs into disruptions.

There's a map on the opening page, upon which someone is pointing out Cap'n Gregg's route, but for the life of me I can't figure out where in the world it's supposed to be. I think it's an attempt to draw Indonesia and the Phillipines, but not only does that not make a lot of sense, it's also missing a lot of key land mass.

The opening splash actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the story. It shows Aquaman with a trident attacking two men in diving suits opening a safe full of cash. No post office there, no mail, and there aren't any diving helmets in the rest of the story. This might be the first time a splash page for Aquaman depicted something completely different than the story. It won't be the last time.

Aquaman gets a whole sack of mail from Cap'n Gregg. Fan mail, "as usual". Heh.

Finny Friends Report: At the beginning of the story, Aquaman is riding on a giant sea turtle. He has a giant turtle, two octopi, and a swordfish fight off sharks to save a member of Cap'n Gregg's crew. Aquaman has a swordfish, flying fish, and a sea-eel deliver mail. When the flying fish and their mail bag are shot by Barton's crew, Aquaman has tiny squids plug the holes in the bag, then dolphins carry the mail to its destination while Aquaman takes a ride on another large fish to deal with Barton. Aquaman has a whale bump the ship then lobsters attack Barton and his crew.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Not in this story.

Quotefile: Opening Text box: " "Neither snow nor rain, nor heat nor gloom of night, nor undersea deeps and marine dangers, stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds!" Does this familiar quotation seem wrong with that underlined phrase? You'll see how right it is when Aquaman, the Sovereign of the Seven Seas, makes sure that the mails go through, by the victory of... "The Undersea Post Office!" "

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book. The dates of the reviewed books are the dates I received them, which may be different from the official shipped dates due to West Coast delays.

28 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Four: "Suicial Tendencies": Mostly set-up in this issue, for events that are about to happen. Mildly recommended.

Detective Comics #827: "Double Talk": A new scarface, huh? How soon before the Orca comes back? Mildly recommended.

Age of Bronze #24: "Betrayal 5": If you are reading this, good for you. If you aren't, START READING THIS BOOK. Highly recommended.

Usagi Yojimbo #99: "Bridge of Tears": It's rare to see Usagi being a cad, but it's going to get him into more trouble in the future, isn't it? Recommended.

4 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Five: "Rain of the Supermen": Worst pun title ever. Hey, Lorena shows up in this one! Mildly recommended.

Batman #661: "Grotesk" part 3: While I don't much like this story so far, having the groups of bad guys go after each other was nice. Very mildly recommended.

Superman #658: "The Last Tomorrow": Arion's flash-forward finishes, and I'm not sure he's saying what he's saying. Mildly recommended.

Guy Gardner Collateral Damage #2: Meh. Not recommended.

JSA Classified #20: "Skin Trade Part Two: Surgical Strike": This whole tale is just ick. Very mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #31: "Secret History, Sacred Trust" part six: I like Aquaman's different outfits in this one. Otherwise, I'm just glad the story is over. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #5: "Born Again": I just can't work up any sympathy for this story. Needs some Aquaman. Mildly recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #29: "Untamed": This is what a good all-around DC Universe book should be like. B'wana Beast! Heh. Recommended.

Justice #9: Um. Ok. We'll just have to see where this goes, I guess. Recommended.

Powers #22: The opening of this one had to hit home to all the fanboys reading it. Recommended.

10 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Six: "How to Win a War in Space": Is the answer to the title "get Lobo so peeved he joins in"? Nice subtle cliffhanger. Recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #8: "The Dark Side of Green" part two: I don't like Guy, I don't like space sruff all that much. So this isn't my kind of story. Neutral.

Batman #662: "Grotesk" conclusion: Didn't we just get an issue of this last week? Yes? Stupid shipping delays. At least this is the last issue of this storyline. Very mildly recommended.

Justice Society of America #2: "The Next Age": Love the cover. Yet another book (besides Ion) which indicates that (spoilers)(end spoilers). Mildly recommended.

JSA Classified #21: "Best Served Cold...": This is all Hawkman. Nothing here for me. Neutral.

Only last week's books to go... and this week's books by the time I get to last week's books. *sigh*

Labels: 52, Age of Bronze, Batman, Detective, GLC, Guy Gardner, JLA, JLA Classified, JLU, JSA, JSA Classified, Justice, Powers, Reviews, Superman, Usagi

Hubby-Eric and I are starting to sell stuff on eBay. The first round is stuff we're selling to raise money for KBTC. At some point, we'll also start selling off Eric's Green Lantern collection (mostly action figures). If you want to see what we're selling, it's under the user tegan. Anything that says "Androgums KBTC" is for the station.

Coyote V. Acme.

Oscar Nominees. I have not seen any of the films.

The Golden Raspberry Nominees. I have not seen any of the films.

Crowd Control during the Hajj may have saved lives, as no one was trampled to death in this year's event.

The State of the Union Drinking Game 2007. The only way I'd watch it is if I was already drunk. Which is saying something, as I don't drink alcohol.

I kind of wonder if the guy attacking Esther Grable in the last Ripples Through Time was just an overenthusiastic Gorilla Suit'er?

Labels: eBay, Links, Movies, National Gorilla Suit Day

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #130 (July 1948) - The Sweetheart of the Seven Seas!

Aquaman sees a movie starring Esther Grable and falls in love, so he decides to go to Hollywood and marry her.

The movie that Esther Grable is in is called "Swimantics of 1948" ("Swim Antics"?) and has two reviews that we can see, one from the Daily Bugle... Aquaman manages to watch a whole movie and spends the night in a sleeper car on a train without any special water help, so I think it's safe to say that he still has no "one hour limit" here... Once Aquaman finds Esther, he immediately has to save her from a gorilla in pants. No, I'm not joking. She's attacked by a gorilla in pants. Or maybe it's supposed to be Bigfoot. Wearing pants. I don't know... Esther doesn't want to give up her career to marry Aquaman, so she sets him some tasks. The first is to fetch Arctic ice for her "daily beauty refresher", the second is to get her a string of pearls, and the last is to jump over a rainbow. He manages all three feats... There's a bit of twist ending after Esther tells Aquaman that she won't go into the water because it would ruin her makeup, and also that she can't swim, but I'll leave that as a surprise for folks who someday get a chance to read this wonderful little story.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman's fishy friends tell him where to find pearls for Esther. He also has whales blow liquid into the air so he can jump over a rainbow for her.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman falls asleep on the train to Hollywood, and faints when Esther refuses to go into the water.

Quotefile: Aquaman, "Gosh, she's beautiful! And look at her swim! There's a pain in my head, a ringing in my ears, I'm seeing double, my feet hurt - Hey! I think I'm falling in love! There's a fit mate for the captain of the seven seas! I've got to see her - I've got to meet her - I believe I've got to marry her!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Time to try to catch up on my reviewing... These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

13 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Two: "Seven Days in Nanda Parbat": I really have to wonder how Dibny's tale is going to end. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #4: "Being Human": This is a confusing morass of a story with a mildly shocking ending. Neutral.

JLA Classified #30: "Secret History, Sacred Trust" part five: Aquaman talking about horses and zebras? Um. Ok. Mildly recommended.

DCU Infinite Holiday Special: Cute. Some of the stories were great, one was incomprehensible, and there was even an Elseworlds marked as an Elseworlds. Recommended.

Batman #660: "Grotesk" part 2: Too many characters all fluffled together. I might enjoy the story if I could keep it straight. Mildly recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #7: "The Dark Side of Green" part one: Wow, I'm just so uninterested in this book that I wonder why I bothered to read it. Neutral.

Spirit #1: "Ice Ginger Coffee": Wow, that's jumping right into it! I think I like this, let's see if it stays good. Recommended.

Fallen Angel #11: "The Long, Slow Seduction of Jude" part one: Still strangely compelling. I don't know why I read this book, but I continue to read it. Mildly recommended.

DMZ #14: "Public Works 2/5": Nasty, nasty, nasty. Ouch. Recommended.

PS238 #19: I named it best book of 2006, what more do you need? Seriously, a great finale to an interesting story. Highly recommended.

20 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Three: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year": It feels like the story took a break for Christmas. Oh well. Very mildly recommended.

Checkmate #9: "Pawn 502" part 2: Nice. I just like the way this book puts pieces together. It is like a chess game. Recommended.

Birds of Prey #101: "Broken Wing": I really like Zinda. But I'm not sure about the rest of the gang. Mildly recommended.

Ion #9: "Off on a Tangent": Ok, I like the Tangent universe... but just what's up with this? Mildly recommended.

Shadowpact #8: "Ragtime": I like the backstory on Ragman. Very cool. Recommended.

Secret Six #6: "Cutting the Cord": I don't think I'll be getting any more minis featuring these guys. Neutral.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #47: "Coral Song": Nice ending to the flashback, nice fleshing out of Aquaman's world. Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis TPB: "Once and Future": A basic collection. I would've enjoyed it more if there were some extras... any extras. Recommended, but only if you don't have the individual issues.

Conan #35: "They Shall Be Lords Again": Not a bad little tale, but not enough to make me regret dropping this book. Mildly recommended.

Next up: I try to finish last year's books and get into this year. Wish me luck. I need it.

Labels: 52, Aquaman, Batman, Birds of Prey, Checkmate, Conan, DMZ, Fallen Angel, GLC, Ion, JLA, JLA Classified, PS238, Reviews, Secret Six, Shadowpact

Regarding DC's "secret message" about 52: Is it really a secret if everyone already knew? I mean, with events both in 52 and other books I'd already figured it out. Hadn't everyone? I still don't know what it means in relation to 52, but it's not like it was a surprise.

On-line comic of 1984, with lots of supporting materials. The first two chapters are up now.

Bully shows us the Disney Multiverse.

Scott Adams describes the cure to his condition, and is pretty persuasive.

Diane Duane on "Goody Two Shoes".

Get a First Life. Note that the parody has a link at the bottom asking for "Comments or cease and desist letters?" Linden Labs, who created Second Life (which this is a parody of) sent a letter. The letter is a MUST-READ.

How to buy condoms cheaply.

The Poe tribute continues, despite last year's near-disruption.

Labels: 52, DC Comics, Links, Second Life

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #129 (June 1948) - The Treasure Beneath The Lake!

When Aquaman and Ark go on vacation to a new lake created by Brentwood Dam, they quickly stumble across villainy.

I love the splash page on this one, with Aquaman (and Ark) inside a bottle with a model ship. I also like the implication that Aquaman goes on vacation to "new" bodies of water created by man. In this case, the lake created by a new dam. Aquaman tells Ark that there are still trees, roads, and houses in the lake.

Naturally, the vacation doesn't last long, as Aquaman spots a diver being attacked by three other divers. He rescues the victim, Frank, who tells Aquaman about a fortune in gold dust that his old partner hid before being murdered by Duke. Aquaman takes up the treasure hunt, and plays an underwater ghost to scare off Duke's thugs. But Duke himself isn't frightened, and Aquaman soon requires rescue.

Despite his problems, Aquaman spends a lot of this tale smiling. His grin after he scares off Duke's thugs is pretty amusing.

Finny Friends Report: Ark is the only sea-life assist in this story, and he helps Aquaman search as well as rescues him near the end of the tale.

Captured/Knocked Out report: After Aquaman scares off Duke's thugs and lets his guard down, Duke himself sneaks up and wallops him with a wrench underwater.

Quotefile: Aquaman, "Here goes my vacation - because crime never seems to take one."

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ark, Ripples Through Time

A new Blogaround Challenge has been issued. Get yer browsers fired up, folks.

Apple's Next Product Photoshopping Contest.

Here's hubby-Eric at the KBTC Doctor Who Pledge Drive, being harrassed by a mad penguin. It's three minutes long, but the most fun moment happens in the first 30 seconds. In case you are wondering what Eric's shirt says, it's the Russell T Davies is my master now T-shirt from my Zazzle shop.

Labels: Eric, KBTC, Links, Penguin, Zazzle

Yay! Hey look, your birthday present! A TiVo! I love you hubby-Eric!

Clearly I was unable to post a Ripples yesterday. I will post one tonight. I also plan on using that YouTube account I made to post some of the Pledge Drive from last night. You'll get to see hubby-Eric as "Talent", and Monty the Penguin lose his scarf. I just have to get the vids downloaded and see what we caught on the TiVo.

Many thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday, and to the folks who donated to KBTC through the website during the pledge drive (yes, we noticed!), and especially to the people who called.

Labels: Birthday, Eric, KBTC, TiVo

Yay! I'm 27 again! And spending my day away from the computer. My birthday present from my wonderful hubby-Eric was a TiVo (and that's my present to him, since his birthday is tomorrow). Today I'll be off across the water for the afternoon, then down at the Tacoma PBS station tonight for the Doctor Who pledge drive (we're TiVo'ing it!). I don't know if I'll get home in time to post a Ripples Through Time, so maybe I'll try to get it done in the next two hours before I leave... hmmm...

Labels: Birthday, Doctor Who, Eric, KBTC, TiVo

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #128 (May 1948) - The Sea Circus!

Aquaman starts a circus to raise funds for protecting fish.

Aquaman visits an area he hadn't been to for awhile, and discovers all the fish have left. He learns firsthand why, when a rockslide hits him. After getting free, he checks the hillside, and decides to hire an engineer to support the cliff. To raise the money, he puts on a Sea Circus.

The crowds are HUGE. In fact, we know how much the take is, because some thieves are stealing it while the show is on! Forty grand... but the thieves think that turning out the lights is enough to stop Aquaman. Ha. Aquaman puts aside his top hat and grabs a deep sea fish to light his way. The thieves are quickly stopped, and the show goes on.

Finny Friends Report: A dolphin helps get the boulder off Aquaman's leg. In the sea circus: Flipp the Flying Fish jumps through a flaming hoop. Louie the Leading Lungfish climbs a tree, two seals and a pod of whales put on a rescue show, and a balloon fish swells and deflates. When the lights go out, luminous fish spell out "Aquamans Sea Circus" and an unknown fish works as a flashlight for Aquaman. The criminals are attacked by an octopus, then a walrus bursts through ice at them. The ever-present electric eels shock one thug. The lungfish chases another thug up a tree. The trained seals throw things at another thug and the whales spout off to finish him off. As a final act, Aquaman has starfish do a water ballet.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Nope, not in this tale.

Quotefile: Advertising Sign: "Aquaman's Sea Circus! A whale of a show! Nothing fishy about it! See it, and you'll never crab!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #86.

Tony Loco Review. Check out this book!

The Boneville Blog has a bunch of images from the new Shazam! mini.

For da Girls: Marvel Swimsuit Beefcake part 1, part 2, and part 3.

And as long as we're looking at scans: Doctor Who meets Death's Head.

Webcomic: A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge.

Pennsylvania 6-5000 Hotel to be demolished. What, it's not a landmark?

More than you want to know about hair.

Labels: Comic Book Urban Legends, Doctor Who, Links, Tony Loco

I couldn't go to Leah's funeral, so I lit a candle this morning for her. There are thousands of words ready to pour out of me about how I feel, but none of them are adequate. So this is all I'm going to say. I lit a candle.

Labels: Leah, Memorial

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #127 (April 1948) - A Fish Out of Water!

As Aquaman is fighting Black Jack, a depth charge goes off too near and Aquaman loses his memory.

Depth charges make a sound like "WHROOM!" ... Aquaman's suit was nearly shredded, and Black Jack's crew spot a piece of it and think they've finally killed Aquaman... The lighthouse keeper, Henry, apparently didn't know Aquaman because there was enough suit left to identify him as Aquaman, but he leaves the lighthouse without any clue to his true identity... Without any memory, Aquaman still walks directly to the docks as he wanders, leading him to conclude that "I seem to like water!" ... Without even thinking about it, Aquaman makes a very Aquaman-like rescue of some sailors from a burning ship... Despite the rescue, no one seems to realize he is Aquaman, except Black Jack... Black Jack immediately hires "Seven Seas Saunders" to work as a mess boy, which gives his crew endless amusement... We get to see Aquaman in a chef's hat.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides up to Black Jack's latest venture on a whale, but tells the whale to turn back once Black Jack starts attacking with depth charges. Once he's regained his memory, Aquaman has swordfish dismantle the hull of Black Jack's ship, then has whales capture Black Jack and his crew to turn over to authorities.

Captured/Knocked Out report: A depth charge knocks Aquaman for a loop and gives him amnesia. Later, as an inexperienced cook, the lid of a pressure cooker hits Aquaman in the head and he regains his memories.

Quotefile: Aquaman, as Seven Seas Saunders the mess boy, "Aquaman! That's a familiar name! Wonder who he is?"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

My birthday is in a couple of days. I'll be celebrating by being at the pledge drive for the Tacoma PBS station, KBTC as they run a Doctor Who marathon. If you are so inclined, drop a few bucks to the station for Doctor Who as a birthday present. If you aren't inclined, please do not. If you're really daring, you can even try calling during the pledge drive itself and see if I answer the phone (if you do please donate some money, and ask for Laura not Tegan).

Fun Fifty of 2006 part 4 and Fun Fifty of 2006 part 5.

Heroes returning for a second season.

I gotta get this issue. Power Man and Iron Fist meet... WHO???

We're going to have to introduce Bully to Torvald someday.

Colleen wants us to watch an ad.

What does 200 calories look like?

How Big Is YOUR Starship?

The secrets of the 1918 flu, and what it can tell us about bird flu.

If the snow and ice continue much longer, I will have to order a pair of these just to get around. I don't want to completely stop walking when the weather gets like this, but I cannot risk falling. At least it's raining today, and the ice is pretty much gone.

Speaking of weather, here's a video of car crashes in a tunnel when there's ice on the roadway. And I thought Seattle drivers were bad. And, in case you missed it, here's video of that icy hill in Portland. The Modulator also links to another version of the video.

The Comet.

Police need to be educated in the use of tasers, as shown by another tasering incident in which a man was tasered for refusing to take off his hat at a city council meeting. Too many police departments seem to think that tasers are a stun gun... they aren't. Tasers can kill. No police officer should use a taser unless they think they situation is so bad that they are willing to kill the person they are tasering to stop them. Getting unruly after an officer forcibly steals your hat from your head doesn't seem to be a drastic enough situation for tasering.

More on Leah, from Colleen.

Labels: Birthday, Bully, Doctor Who, Heroes, KBTC, Leah, Links, Memorial, Torvald, Weather

About eleven years ago, I decided I wanted to make a website. I had done some searching, and hadn't found even one website about Aquaman, so I decided I'd make my website an Aquaman fan site. I posted an incredibly sparse page with the limited information I knew and asked for help.

The first person to respond to my plea was Leah Adezio. She gave me background information, ideas, and filled in the gaps in my knowledge. She also had an infectious love of Aqualad, and reading her comments on the character made me appreciate him even more.

It's hard to believe how little I knew back then. But Leah, and a few others who also found my page, filled me in and the website grew as I learned. Leah's love of the story and the whole concept of Aquaman and his world pulled me along. She strengthened me. She was a force. I admired her greatly for her even discussion skills and strove to be as eloquent as she was in her fandom.

For years, she and I corresponded on-line. Then an opportunity arose. If I could find a roommate, I could go to the 2000 San Diego Comicon. Leah came to my rescue. She was my roommate that year, and it was the best comic convention I've been to. She, in turn, introduced me to many people she knew at the convention. It was amazing, fantastic, wonderful. It was one of the best times I've had in my life. And much of that was due to Leah's presence.

Leah Adezio, John Coates, Laura Gjovaag, and Nick Cardy

The next year I returned to the San Diego Comicon, and met with Leah again. That year I had some issues with the hotel, and Leah stood by my side and helped me sort them out. She was an anchor. She saved me from myself. I cannot explain how much I owe her for those two short meetings, for those two small times we got to be together. I wish we'd been able to hang out more. If only the entire country wasn't between us, I would have gladly spent more time with Leah.

We continued to correspond. The occassional e-mail, phone call... we read each other's websites (she had a private LiveJournal). I didn't chat with her nearly enough. She was a great artist, and her project "Ari of Lemuria" was a book that I looked forward to someday reading. At San Diego she showed me pages of Aqualad fan work she had done, beautiful artwork that filled in a backstory for Garth. She consulted on the Tempest mini-series, and was thrilled about it.

Leah was active in fandom. She attended conventions, and was a member of Friends of Lulu. She was bold, exciting, interesting, and simply lovable. People who knew her liked her. I've been called many names (and deservingly so, sometimes), but I never heard anyone who mattered say a bad word about Leah.

When Elayne e-mailed me to let me know that Leah was sick, I immediately called Leah and left a message on her phone. I left a second the next day, but I believe she never heard either of them. The third day her phone's inbox was full. I considered flying out to the east coast, but Elayne said it was too late. So instead I waited, while hanging onto some faint thread of disbelief, denying to myself that this could be happening to someone like Leah, so full of life.

Goodbye, my friend.

Labels: Leah, Memorial

Peter David confirmed that Leah Adezio passed away yesterday after liver and kidney failure.

Labels: Leah, Memorial

Solicits for DC Comics due to ship in April 2007 have been posted on various websites: Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Comics Continuum, IGN, ComicList, and The Official DC Site. Here's the Aquaman stuff I spotted:

Tad Williams continues to refine Kurt Busiek's ideas and add his own in Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #52.

Aquaman will also be appearing in the World War III mini-series, planned for week 50 of 52, in Part 2: The Valiant. He may appear in other issues of the mini.

And the Silver Age Aquaman will also show up in Justice #11. The solicit mentions The Challenge of Aquaman, and Aquaman's son.

NOTE: There will be no Ripples Through Time today, because I think I'm going to make the day I put up the Aquaman solicits a scheduled break in the ripples.

In non-Aquaman items... well, there's only one that stands out so much I have to mention it:

I'm SO getting this. I don't want that red robot dude, but Ma Hunkel is a figure not to be missed.

Labels: Aquaman, DC Comics, Previews, Red Tornado Ma Hunkel

Fun Fifty of 2006 part 3.

Wanna help get a webcomic into print? Templar, Arizona needs committed folks to make it to paper.

Sword in Hand, a man helps the police.

Colleen finds a Star Trek vid on YouTube.

Filkertom recommends getting The Last Unicorn on DVD to support Peter S Beagle.

I'll try to write something about the new DC Previews later today, but when I read the Aquaman solicit I started crying for Leah. She would have liked to know that Tempest is returning to the book. Colleen has more details on Leah's condition.

Labels: Bully, Leah, Links, Webcomics

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #126 (March 1948) - The Man In The Iron Shoe!

When wanted criminals start committing suicide by drowning themselves, Aquaman is called in find out why.

We get lots of named criminals in this story, but the main character of focus is never named! We learn of Trigger Malone, a murderer, Mark Smith, a thief, Snatch Uzell, a kidnapper, and Tipper Dale, a jewel thief. All of them apparently commit suicide, always with a police officer as a witness. Well, except for Tipper Dale. His "officer" turns out to be Aquaman in disguise, who follows him into the water.

Once in the water, Aquaman learns that the criminals use iron shoes to drag them into a waiting sub, which then takes them to an underwater resort where they get plastic surgery from a gang doctor who runs the whole operation. Aquaman fights the doctor and his rescued criminals, and uses his knowledge to outwit them.

One big problem... Aquaman lets a lot of oxygen into a room. The doctor then fires a bullet into that room, which bounces off a metal wall. Aquaman (and the doctor) must be really really lucky that the bullet didn't cause a spark, leading to a deadly conflagration.

Finny Friends Report: No fishy help in this story.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman allows himself to be captured when he follows the sub, but escapes as soon as he's sized up the situation.

Quotefile: Narrator, "What's this? Aquaman using a gun, after having sworn never to kill or maim a prisoner? Then why should he reach for a gun now? Will he spurn his sworn code?"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I cannot put it as eloquently as Elayne.

Labels: Elayne, Leah

Bully on Dr. Martin Luther King Day. Also at Newsarama.

The Beat has San Diego Comicon nightmares. I would go this year... I have an offer for a place to stay, entry to the con, and transportation around town... but hubby-Eric and I would still have to figure out how to get to San Diego from Seattle only two weeks after the Winkie Convention in Asilomar (which I really want to go to this year, but may not be able to due to funds). Money is a big issue this year, and I don't think it's going to get better before decisions have to be made. *sigh*

Fun Fifty of 2006 part 2.

A directory of comic folks locations. Yup, I define myself as living in Seattle, although I live a few miles out of town.

Free Hugs (YouTube video). Via filkertom.

Library decides not to close, after all. They had to threaten to close to get anyone to take them seriously, but apparently an effort is now being made to help them deal with rowdy students.

Tamora Pierce was nearly killed by a drunk driver. There is no level of disdain and hatred I can heap upon those who drink and drive that fits what they deserve. I lost a high school friend to a drunk driver, and I have nothing but contempt for people who willingly take alcohol then get behind the wheel of a car. As far as I'm concerned, drinking and driving is premeditated attempted murder, and all drunk drivers who kill should be put in prison for the rest of their miserable lives.

Labels: Comicon, Drunk Drivers, Library, Links, Seattle, Winkies

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #125 (February 1948) - D-Day in Davy Jones' Locker!

Professor Saybrook is attempting to set a world record for deep sea exploration, but Black Jack intends to use Saybrook's equipment to trap Aquaman.

Very straightforward plotline. Black Jack takes over Saybrook's expedition, sends out a false distress signal, then waits for Aquaman to come. Once Aquaman arrives, the battle begins.

Finny Friends Report: A deep sea turtle saves Aquaman from the initial harpoon attack. He then rides the turtle to counter-attack. A saw-fish frees Aquaman from the net. Then an octopus creates a smoke screen when Aquaman is blinded. The octopus then throws boulders at the "pill boxes", leading to Black Jack's men retreating back into the bathysphere. Aquaman uses a ray as a parachute to reach the top of the bathysphere where he ties a rope on, which is taken by a whale who drags the bathysphere to the surface.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is briefly trapped in a barbed wire net.

The bathysphere goes down without a line. Exactly how are Black Jack and his crew able to keep breathing? Black Jack's crew get pounded, the suits they are wearing (that Black Jack claims to have invented) must be really strong, both to resist the pressure and the pounding Aquaman gives them. The whole fight is likened to a war, with Aquaman and his sea friends as the allies. Aquaman drags the bathysphere up very quickly... considering that they were so deep that the pressure was too much for any diver except Aquaman to attempt, they really ought to be suffering from the bends. But then, they already should have suffocated, so the bends would be the least of their worries.

Quotefile: Black Jack, "If it wasn't for Aquaman, I'd be king of the seven seas! But the day has come when he'll interfere with my plans no more! He'll never escape this trap!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

Watching the game, trying not to cringe, compiled some links for you all...

Update: 1:11 pm - Seahawks kept it close, and at the end of regulation... tied 24-24. It's into overtime. I hate NFL overtime.
Update: 4:13 pm - The Seahawks made it a game. And my main objection with the way NFL does overtime was moot by the time it finished, as both teams got to go on offense. Ah well... now I can cheer on New Orleans without guilt.

Bully is once again posting stuff you ought not to miss, including a new Fun Fifty of 2006. If you aren't reading Bully's Blog, you should be, but I'll keep linking to him anyway.

Knitting Club Shut Down By Bank, because a bunch of stodgy old bankers decided that so many people couldn't possibly be interested in yarn, and decided the company providing the yarn was a scam.

I'm suddenly looking at the squirrels who live in our trees in a whole 'nother light.

Boing Boing Links:

Nazi Raccoons Ravage Germany
Innocent teacher may get 40 years in prison for running IE (ok, that's not the headline, but it should be)
More on why you shouldn't buy Vista
Cassette Tape ripper for your PC
Microsoft Windows Promo Vid from 1988, "crack-smoking monkeys" indeed.

Warnings about crippling DRM on the iPhone.

Free on-line courses for people who like to learn. And if you want to learn... I did not know that yesterday!

The comet is visible in daylight. Cool. Maybe I'll be able to see it today, with the skies clearing up.

Water Intoxication can kill you.

Labels: Astronomy, Boing Boing, Bully, Links, Seahawks

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #124 (January 1948) - The Sea Serpent!

Professor Ness, studying giant turtles on Galapagos, discovers a growth serum... but his assistant becomes greedy.

If you are a Golden Age scientist, you simply cannot trust your assistant. You are fated to die by your assistant's hands. If you discover anything whatsoever of value, you won't make it past the second page.

Jack Leach, the assistant, is smoking in the second panel as he asks Ness about the giant turtles. Ness explains that he thinks the secret of why they grow so big is in their food, and follows the turtles around to see what they eat. He finds a type of moss and eventually extracts the growth serum out of it. Leach kills him over it, but the initial sample is spilled, which leads to a water snake getting some and becoming ... a sea serpent!

Aquaman finds Ness's body, and goes to question Leach. He's attacked by a giant bunny, which he distracts with a pile of carrots, No, I'm not making this up, and Leach falls off the bunny and breaks his neck. Aquaman then oils himself down to face the coils of the sea serpent. I have to admit I wonder what happened to the Giant Galapagos Bunny.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman gathers an army of fluorescent fish to attract the sea serpent, then is carried away from the corpse of the serpent by dolphins.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is knocked out by the grenade he feeds to the sea serpent when it explodes.

Quotefile: Aquaman, "A GIANT RABBIT!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

For your edification and amusement, this article from The Seattle Times does a very nice job of explaining why snow is such a problem in Seattle. Now if only someone could explain to us in the Northwest why they have so many problems with rain in southern California...

Labels: Post By Eric, Seattle, Weather

I feel guilty posting good links on Friday and Saturday, because I don't think anyone actually bothers reading my blog on the weekends... oh well, here's what caught my eye recently:

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #85.

Is it sad that the first thing I wondered when I read this DI article was "which episode of Doctor Who was interrupted?"

Studio Foglio has added Buck Godot and What's New with Phil & Dixie to their webcomic line-ups... so now they are posting a page of comics a day. Ok, most of it is reprints, but still!

Slashdot asks a hypothetical question. I have an answer: The hypothetical situation described in the question is simply impossible, therefore the question is meaningless. However, if some magical DRM was conjured that did work, I wouldn't object to it... but I would find it distasteful. DRM assumes that I'm a criminal if I'm a customer. That is always insulting.

Modulator gives a good reason not to switch to Vista. When XP becomes truly obsolete, I'll be moving to Linux or Mac. I will never run Vista on my main machine.

Johnny B calls the NFL playoffs. I'm sad to say I pretty much agree with his pick for the Seahawks game. I'll be thrilled if the Seahawks win it, but also really surprised.

We have a 10% chance of "measurable precipitation" today in the Seattle area. If we get any precip, it'll be frozen. The clouds are glowering at the moment, so I'll be surprised if we don't get something, even if it's just a light flurry. We had brilliant sunlight the last two days, but it's dark and gloomy this morning.

Update: Snow flurry started about noon. Very light at first. It's getting heavier though. Hopefully it'll stop soon.

Update: 1:30pm, still snowing. I'm sure it'll stop soon. I mean, this is so unlike Seattle weather I hardly know what to write.

Update: 3:15pm, still snowing. This defies the definition of "flurry" in my opinion.

Update: 4:30pm, thank goodness indeed, it finally stopped. Let's hope it gets above freezing tomorrow and melts some of this stuff off the roads. Lucky it's a three-day weekend.

Labels: Comic Book Urban Legends, Doctor Who, DRM, Links, Ubuntu, Weather, Webcomics

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Want to read these stories yourself? Write to DC: Dan Didio, Executive Editor, DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New York NY 10019 and ask for a reprint of Aquaman's Golden Age tales.

Adventure #123 (December 1947) - Villainy in Venice!

Dina Lewis spent her life savings to travel to Venice to find romance, instead she stumbled over a plot to steal paintings and ran into Aquaman.

Finny Friends Report: A fish delivers Dina's compact to Aquaman, complete with the note begging for help. He has dolphins patrol the canals of Venice, and they find Dina when the thugs throw her into the water. Dolphins also pull the giant clam shell that Aquaman uses to transport Dina, sealed, to an underwater treasure, then to the pageant. Octopi and dolphins clog the engine of the modified gondola and remove the guns from the crew.

At the beginning of the story, Aquaman is at his "Adriatic Headquarters in the Gulf of Venice". Hmmm. I think this means that Aquaman has multiple headquarters! Which makes sense for a guy who appears to be constantly on the move, checking out the oceans from shore to shore.

I love the opening splash of Aquaman in a "chariot" made from a giant shell pulled by two dolphins. Even better, the chariot shows up later in the tale. The ball is dedicated to Neptune, and Aquaman's "costume" and chariot fit the theme nicely.

The bad guys could've avoided a lot of grief if they'd just killed Dina before tossing her in the canal. Dina, in the meantime, clearly falls for Aquaman and is heartbroken when he leaves her at the end of the story, suggesting that the reward money for the capture of the Count go to her. Let's see... he saved her life twice, took her to an underwater shipwreck filled with treasure, escorted her in style to a ball... yeah, I can see why she's heart-broken.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is briefly choked by the smoke bombs.

Quotefile: Dina, on going to the ball with Aquaman, "I can't go! My dress is ruined - and my other clothes left with my ship this morning!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Emerald City Comicon gets a little press. It's a great show, I will be attending again this year. Looking forward to meeting Brian Wood.

BIG updates from the former Henchman Publishing, now Do Gooder Press, LLC. In short, PS238 is going monthly, Nodwick is going to back-ups, and PS238 is also coming to the web. Go read the entry for full info, but I'm wishing Aaron Williams lots of luck on this one, and will try to keep mentioning updates as they come. I firmly believe that PS238 is the best superhero book out there right now, and perhaps the best comic out of all that I read.

Another use for TiVo (remember, if you get one, please put tiktok at eskimo dot com in as your referrer and maybe Eric and I will eventually get an upgrade), listening to podcasts about Dorothy. That's right, I put the podcast up on the TiVo and listened to it. No special software required, even.

And lastly, if you have any good thoughts or vibes or even prayers to send, please send them to my friend Leah Adezio. She's in the hospital. Leah was my roommate at the 2000 San Diego Comicon, and she's a big reason I had so much fun. In the following image, Leah is in the upper left (the other folks are John Coates, Nick Cardy, and myself).

Labels: Dorothy, Emerald City Comicon, Leah, Links, PS238, TiVo

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #122 (November 1947) - Operation Justice!

Navy officials learn of a man on Bikini atoll just before the July 1946 test, but Aquaman explains who the man is and why he was there.

Nice splash page, with Aquaman drawn on the missile (no, he doesn't ride a missile again). There's also a nice little... um... current events lesson. No, I wouldn't call it history at the time it was written. The Bikini tests would be only a year old when the story was written.

Nice little set-up in this one. Aquaman runs into a mystery on a cruise liner when a strange man who always wears a life preserver is accused of stealing salt. At the same time some jewels are stolen. Aquaman puts the facts together and figures out the crime and the method, and captures the bad guy, Dune, and his hired thugs (comparing himself to Batman in the process).

Dune escapes, though, and that's where Bikini comes in. Because the thief escapes by murdering a guard, Aquaman declares the death of the man on Bikini to be an execution and urges the Navy officials to not spoil their safety record over his death. There are a couple of problems with this, not the least of which is that the Navy apparently let a raft with a living human on it drift into a severely restricted zone. That should spoil their safety record.

Finny Friends Report: No help in this one.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Not in this tale.

Quotefile: Dune, "That noise - a plane circling - it's dropping something! Oh... those ships... that plane! Now I know where I am!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

Yes, 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.

Let's start with the covers. Buffy, not a bad likeness... Black Adam, not too bad either. This one is low on the embarrassment factor. Inside, we have the annual survey and the Free Comic Book Day apparel. Including Free Comic Book Day postage stamps. Hmmm. Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (12-13). Again with Buffy. If I ever finish watching the show (I got through the first season) maybe I'll pick up the comics. Nothing else jumps out at me.

Leaping past the big four and Wizard, into the "Featured Items" (202-205) of the regular publishers... the only item I noticed was Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #1. I want to make it clear, I like Stephen Colbert, mostly. Sometimes he goes a little overboard on the parody, and there are a handful of pieces on his show that I actively dislike ("hate" is too strong a word). Tek Jansen is one of them. I really don't like it, even though I know exactly what he's doing and where it's coming from. Perhaps it hits a little too close to home? Of course, Tek is a parody of a type of comic I don't really like (space adventure), so maybe not. In any case, I won't be getting this.

Flipping... flipping... flipping... Do Gooder Press (271) is the first item that really jumps out, with a new issue of PS238, YAY!

Next up: Fantagraphics (276-277) is putting out Castle Waiting Vol II #6. Yay again!

Next up is a collection of Evil Inc from Greystone Inn Comics (281). I'm tempted by this, because I enjoy the strip, but I may have to pass on it due to lack of funds.

I was very amused to see a Shaun The Sheep Comic #1 coming out from Titan Publishing (314). Tempting, but I think I'll pass.

Skipping merrily through, bypassing lots of stuff, I find Hellboy Heroclix on page 468 from WizKids Games. And I'm going to move back to the front of the book already, because there just isn't a lot in this issue.

Dark Horse... the cover to Usagi Yojimbo #101 is perhaps the creepiest of the entire series so far.

DC Comics has just the standard books. Looks like Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #50 will be a highlight of the month for me, but we'll get the usual JLA and JSA books, and DMZ of course.

Image Comics has Noble Causes and True Story, Swear to God.

Marvel Comics has Wisdom and Powers.

And there it is... all of Previews. 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.

Labels: Previews

Sunday and Monday the news reports had a dire warning... we were going to get a big rainstorm, followed by a big windstorm as a cold front moved in on Tuesday night. Overnight, the rain would turn into snow, and by Wednesday morning we'd be living in a winter wonderland.

Tuesday afternoon the rainstorm moved in as predicted. Not a heavy one, though. Pretty mild. As the night wore on, the windstorm came in. Again, nothing special. But we prepared for power outages and school closures. Wednesday morning, my teacher husband got up to check the reports and the weather. One look outside told him there would be school. We'd gotten a very light dusting, nothing else. So much for the storm.

The day glowered. When I went out to pick up the Wednesday comics, there were snow flurries that quickly went away. As the afternoon wore on, the area prepared for a deep freeze with no more snow.

Ha.

About 4pm it started to snow. I mean really snow. The stuff was coming down so hard in my area that I literally couldn't see the house across the street. Remembering the last nightmare commute (when I called hubby-Eric's evening job and suggested everyone get home, only to have it take Eric two hours to travel four miles home (and another guy took 8 hours to get home!)) I called Eric's job and urged them to let people go home. As it turned out, most of the students weren't showing up because everyone else remembered the last snow and didn't want to get stuck in it. So Eric got home a bit early. It only took him 45 minutes to drive the wild trip home, since the roads hadn't quite frozen yet.

Later in the evening, Eric checked SchoolReport.org and discovered that both his districts were already canceled. With a reported nine inches of snow on the Sammamish Plateau I'm not surprised that the Lake Washington District was canceled, but I was a little shocked at Northshore canceling so early. It looked like we'd only gotten maybe an inch, and the street in front of our house didn't look too bad.

But they were wise. It snowed a bit more overnight, after the freeze had settled in, and the roads look really nasty this morning. So hubby-Eric got to sleep in, and will hopefully make me breakfast in a bit. Most natives of the area will stay home today unless they must travel, so those who do go out probably won't have as bad a time (knock on wood). I plan on staying home and trying to get my comic book order prepared. I think it's due Saturday.

I stepped outside to get some pictures. Very cold, and the sky is absolutely clear, not a cloud in sight.

Labels: Weather

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #121 (October 1947) - Shades of John Paul Jones!

A strange whirlpool throws Aquaman back in time, where he saves the Bon Homme Richard before it can be sunk by the Serapis.

A history lesson for the kiddies, with a distinctly American slant, of course. Aquaman gets caught in a whirlpool and is apparently sent back to the Revolutionary war where he witnesses and participates in the battle between John Paul Jones' ship Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis. During his time travel, Aquaman rescues John Paul Jones himself and patches up his ship long enough for him to defeat the Serapis.

This story evokes The Phantom Fleet, in which Aquaman witnesses a battle between two old ships, only to discover that it's a pageant. In this tale, however, we never learn if Aquaman actually traveled in time or just dreamed he did. The way Aquaman's Golden Age powers worked, it would be slightly strange that the fish of the past so readily obeyed him, so I'm inclined to say it was a dream. You, however, may have your own opinion on it.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman gets his finny friends to patch up the Bon Homme Richard before it sinks. Octopus gather seaweed cut by swordfish as electric eels light the scene, then fish carry the seaweed to the surface where it is packed into the holes by hammerhead sharks.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Not in this tale.

Quotefile: Aquaman sums up his experience, "Was it real? Or was it a dream? Did I journey backward through time? Did I, Aquaman, actually help win one of the greatest battles of all time?"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I sometimes get some odd e-mail. The oddest so far was an e-mail from Kurt Busiek asking for my phone number. But I'm going to give this morning's e-mail from Marv Wolfman a close second. For the result of that e-mail, please see Marv's blog. There is something truly surreal about being asked to give a hand with a weblog by someone whose name is on a good number of my books.

Labels: blogger

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #120 (September 1947) - Aquaman Goes to College!

After Aquaman is stung by the spines of an unfamiliar fish, he decides to attend college to learn more about sea life.

Lovely art in this one. The fish with poisonous spines is genuinely freaky looking. The college scenes are nicely done. Aquaman makes a good-looking student, wearing glasses and a turtleneck. He climbs up to a water tank for a swim after classes.

An alumnus of Weston College, Mr Reed, finances the college almost single-handedly. Professor Hatcher seems certain that the school will close without his money. But Mr Reed wants the school to win athletic events, and threatens to stop financing the school if they don't win a swimming meet. Guess who overhears?

Finny Friends Report: Early in the story, Aquaman is stung by an unfamiliar fish, and became sick for several days. At the swim meet, he is warned about Reed's peril by an eel who swam through "miles of water pipes" to reach Aquaman. Aquaman gets an octopus and a whale to help him free Reed and his crew.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Not in this story. But Aquaman does wear glasses.

Quotefile: Aquaman, explaining why he's leaving to his fishy friends, "The ocean's too big for a man to learn all about it from his own experience! So I've decided to go to college to study about fish!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #119 (August 1947) - The Floating Observatory!

Shooting stars are attacking ships on the high seas, and Aquaman goes to warn the Floating Observatory of pirates.

There was no Aquaman story in Adventure #118.

The whole idea of a floating observatory is ... well ... I hate to say it, but it seems to me that it's ridiculous. The observatory platform itself would have to be kept absolutely still. I just don't think that gyroscopes would manage that feat. And the idea that the thugs could use the telescopes, designed to look at stars, to find victims also seems pretty unlikely. I wonder if the writer remembered the curvature of the Earth?

This does have a lovely splash page. I particularly like the face in the moon. And the whole thing with tying Aquaman to a missile is pretty amusing, too.

Finny Friends Report: A giant octopus frees Aquaman from the missile by squeezing it so the ropes slacken. A group of incredibly lively starfish help Aquaman by attacking the legs of the thugs.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is kicked in the face by the crime boss while being held by his thugs. He's tied to a dud missile and launched.

Quotefile: Aquaman, "Since this is an observatory, I invited some star fish!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I won. Unfortunately, it appears that I didn't win the trip to San Diego, which was the only prize I actually wanted.

The BMI of Marvel characters. Considering that my BMI is still well above any of them, I'm still not doing too badly.

New shirts for Doctor Who fans: Russell T Davies is my master now and Pest Control. Yea, my Zazzle shop is mostly Oz, but I couldn't resist these. The Russell T Davies shirt is a meta-meta shirt, of course, based on the Joss Whedon one but using Dalek-like typeface instead of Star Wars. Since Davies is much less known in the US, I expect this shirt to be a complete in-joke for the handful of people who buy it.

We're buckling down for another storm up here in the Pacific Northwet. Tomorrow's storm has the potential to turn into snow by evening, so we're getting ready for cabin fever. As long as the power doesn't go out (and the cable for that matter) we'll be just fine.

Labels: Doctor Who, Links, Weather, Weight Loss, Zazzle

Aquaman reference on The Simpsons. Thank you TiVo, for letting me get the exact wording.

Leonard Kirk's Balls Part IX.

Y: The Last Man as a videogame.

The Comic Meme of 2006.

Unshelved is doing a "READ" poster for the ALA. I want. I don't know where I'd put it, but I still want.

I love the word "maturismo" as a description of why some adults snub fantasy.

Before you sign up, think about how hard it can be to cancel those accounts.

Labels: ALA, Aquaman, Library, Links, TiVo

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #117 (June 1947) - The Flying Dutchman!

When the Flying Dutchman starts robbing ships, Aquaman goes ghost hunting.

At the beginning of the story, Aquaman is chatting with an old friend, Cap'n Dan Billows, who currently captains the luxury yacht Fantasy. Billows is a bit worried about shipping out with the current attacks by the Flying Dutchman, but his boss Rex Collier doesn't believe in Aquaman, much less a ghost ship. Of course, they get attacked by the Flying Dutchman. But this time, instead of robbing the cargo, the ghost ship kidnaps Collier.

Aquaman puts it all together pretty much the instant he hears that Collier has been kidnapped, and is able to hunt down the specially outfitted submarine that is pretending to be the Flying Dutchman. And he finds Collier just where he expects him to be.

Finny Friends Report: Porpoises report that something has happened to Billows' ship, so Aquaman goes to investigate. He uses gulls as scouts. He has the porpoises help him tangle the submarine in seaweed. The gulls act as bombers and drop the gas pellets on the bad guys.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Not in this story.

Quotefile: Aquaman, swinging with a rope to attack the bad guy, "I'm not a Dutchman - but I can fly when I have to!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

So, I watched the game in fast forward last night, like I said. It was actually a pretty exciting game. Very nice of the Cowboys to give us the win. I wish the Seahawks had played it all a bit better, but at least the result gives them another chance to play. The officiating was as bad as last year. In fact, I kind of wonder if they gave the Seahawks this game like they gave the Steelers the win in the Superbowl last year.

I don't expect the Seahawks to get past their next opponent. Both Chicago and New Orleans are strong teams this year, and the 'hawks never pulled it all together. And if the Seahawks end up playing against New Orleans, I might have trouble deciding who to root for (ok, not really, but I like New Orleans this year, so if they play the Seahawks and win, I won't be as disappointed).

Update: They're playing Chicago. I have very low expectations for this one. Go Seahawks, but wow... they're up against it, aren't they?

And, oh yeah, Johnny B called it. I've been forgetting to link to his predictions, but he's still making them, and he's still doing well. Unless I'm much mistaken, he's 4-0 for the weekend.

Labels: Johnny B, Seahawks, TiVo

We had our delayed-by-the-windstorm Androgums meeting tonight. That's the Doctor Who fan club formed by hubby-Eric many years ago. I wanted to watch the Seahawks playoff game, but I wanted to be a good hostess more. So I TiVo'ed the game and we had the meeting as usual. Now that we've finally managed to get the last person out of the house, I'm watching the game and fast-forwarding through anything that isn't action. Lots of fun. I don't know who won yet, but I will in ... well, whenever I finish.

Labels: Androgums, Doctor Who

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #116 (May 1947) - Peril of Pearl Valley!

Menckin is the only person who is able to dive in Pearl Valley because of the monster that inhabits the waters, but Aquaman is a bit suspicious.

A lovely little tale of pearl divers and a greedy man trying to make a buck through illegal and immoral means. Menckin uses his "monster", a fake giant octopus, to kill a diver who is a native of the local island when he tries to get to the pearls after learning how much they are worth. Menckin is also altering the pearls, creating cultured pearls with a "special fluid". He very kindly talks to himself about his misdeeds while altering the oysters. Aquaman comes to investigate the monster, and runs into Menckin and ends his reign as the only diver who can risk Pearl Valley.

Finny Friends Report: Menckin is killed by a real giant octopus while Aquaman battles the fake monster. Aquaman apparently kills the octopus trying to save Menckin.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is pushed into the arms of the fake monster by Menckin, but isn't knocked out and isn't really captured.

Quotefile: Aquaman, musing about the story of Luna Vaya's Pearl Valley, "It's rather odd - a monster guarding the spot where precious pearls are found!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #115 (April 1947) - The Phantom Fleet!

A society is holding a pageant in remembrance of the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, but Black Jack has plans of his own involving the replica ships.

I love when we get history lessons in Golden Age stories. This one covers the Battle of Hampton Roads. The whole story isn't in there, of course, and reading an article on the subject clears up some of the tale if you aren't familiar with it.

This is a fairly straightforward tale... there's a recreation of the battle happening, only Black Jack has put his thugs on the replica ships. They plan to use the ironclads to rob the various yachts watching the show. To keep the rich folks from fleeing too early, they go ahead with the pageant, but then start using real cannonballs. Luckily, Aquaman is in the area. He rescues a girl who accidently got involved, then scares Black Jack's crews with a ghost ship. Lots of fun.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman has fish call for help when he's tied to a loaded cannon and ditched in the water. The fish bring back a swordfish who frees him. Then he sends the swordfish to get a couple of whales, who help him lift the U.S.S. Cumberland to make the illusion of a ghost ship.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is hit on the back of the head by one of Black Jack's thugs with a ramrod.

Quotefile: Doris, to Black Jack, "You fiend!" Ok, it made me giggle.

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

I'm sure you are all getting bored of Aquaman and TiVo... so here's some links.

The Examiner looks at Spider-Man and the recent events of Civil War.

Boing Boing looks at Death Note, which I've been reading from the library.

I should make an Aquaman version of this t-shirt.

The cover to Dorothy #7 has been posted. Go look. Me want.

Aaron Williams talks about the Doctor Who spin-offs. I enjoyed Torchwood, although I wouldn't let kids see it (I'm a prude that way) and I adored Sarah Jane Adventures and can hardly wait to see more. But I understand people who don't like either.

DI covers Galloping Gertie. If you grew up in the Puget Sound area, chances are good that your school district had an old film of the fall of the bridge which got played repeatedly in forward and reverse.

Just what is an oaf, anyway?

UFO over Chicago.

Library locks up when lazy parents send their kids there as free daycare, causing endless disruptions and danger to the staff. Be sure to read the library's statement to understand just how long they've put up with the problem.

Voting Machine Certifier de-certified after they were caught certifying insecure machines.

Labels: Aquaman, Diebold, Doctor Who, Dorothy, Library, Links, UFO

So I was watching the news this morning, half-heartedly as I was busy trying to clean for tomorrow's party as well. A news item came on about people trying to win Seahawks playoff tickets, and I started paying attention. As the reporter was explaining the process, a women behind her won.

I quickly rewound the TiVo, and sure enough, you can see her look of pure surprise and joy as she wins. She was to the far left of the screen, but they caught that moment.

On a whim I decided to test TiVo's functions. I told TiVo to start recording the newscast I was watching, which it did. Then after a few minutes I stopped the recording and downloaded the video. I used some well-known editing tools to cut it down to just the one news segment I was interested in. Then, in a bid to take a longer break from housework, I created a YouTube account and uploaded it.

If you aren't interested in the explanation, skip to about 70 seconds in, and watch the left side of the screen. No, it's not spectacular, but it's fun. And it's a nice little proof-of-concept for me. I'm having fun with my new TiVo.

Labels: TiVo, YouTube

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #114 (March 1947) - Skyscraper Aquarium!

Aquaman is helping a twelve story Aquarium raise funds, but Black Jack plans to use the opportunity to deal with Aquaman once and for all.

The new Aquarium is twelve stories high and "built of solid glass". Lots of problems with this, from the weight of the water in the aquarium to the effect of sunlight on the sea creatures in the building. And they make a point of saying that the animals are "deep sea creatures" that would be most likely hurt by light.

The next amusing problem is that Aquaman (and the staff of the Aquarium) checked the tanks to make sure none of the fish were missing, but none of them noticed that the octopus was a robot, the jelly fish an electric trap, and that the "Killer Shark" was actually a guy named Spike with a rifle.

Yes... this is the story with the single best ever panel in Aquaman history.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman doesn't actually get help from the fish in this story, but he spends a few panels describing them to interested crowds.

Captured/Knocked Out report: He's slowed down, but never captured or knocked out.

Quotefile: Guards, "But I tell you, Aquaman, we were attacked last night!" Aquaman, "Hmm.. But none of my fish friends are missing! We've checked every tank..."

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

I can't believe that it's been less than two full days since we got the TiVo. I've already made huge strides in playing with it, and I never want to watch live TV without it again. Of course, I say that as I'm about to install a splitter so we can watch live TV without it.

If I could go back in time and warn myself, I'd suggest getting the dual tuner instead of the single tuner. Of course, the extra $$$ that the DT would have cost would have prevented us from buying the TiVo, so I guess it worked out. But if you have the option, I strongly recommend the dual tuner over a single tuner DVR.

I was asked if I could have made this system myself. Well, yes. With about three months of study time, about twice the dollar value in equipment, and a lot of patience. And we wouldn't have gotten some of the features I'm really liking with TiVo already. It's certainly possible for a tech-savvy person to re-create what TiVo does, but the price of TiVo a non-tech-savvy person is doing very well.

Case in point: I like watching The Daily Show and the Colbert Report in the background just after I wake up. I put them on when I go through my morning e-mail, eat breakfast, that sort of thing. For awhile the morning reruns were scheduled to make that possible for me. Not anymore. But this morning... this morning the TiVo had recorded them, and I was able to watch them like I used to... but I could also fast forward through the commercials. Or rewind to hear something again (there's an "instant replay" button that skips back a few seconds).

Another feature... You all know I like Aquaman. Well, Spongebob Squarepants has an Aquaman character named "Mermaid Man". So I put in a Wishlist on TiVo to look for shows that have "Mermaid Man" in the description. Guess what? It recorded one yesterday for me. One I hadn't yet seen, even!

But wait, there's more! I told you I networked the TiVo with my computer? Well, I installed a neat little app called Galleon. It lets me put video ONTO the TiVo. Say, a promo for Doctor Who that aired on the BCC and was posted to Usenet. I convert it to the right standard for my TV, put it on the TiVo, and we can show it at our next party without having to hook up my husband's computer, the way we've been doing it.

And I can also play music and show photo slideshows on the TiVo from my computer. The only issue with the networked computer is that when my RAM maxes out on my laptop, TiVo loses track of the computer and I have to tell it where to find it again. I can live with that problem, because I don't normally max out my RAM.

All this in less than two days.

So, do I recommend TiVo? Well, I've had it for less than two days, so it's hard for me to give a subjective answer... but Yes, I recommend it. There are flaws, of course, but it's light-years ahead of the VCR we've been using. No need for tapes spread out all over the living room. Simple digital recordings. And being able to pause live TV is such a bonus I don't ever want to go back to the old way.

Now, an offer. If you live in the Seattle area and decide to get TiVo, but have trouble setting it up, please drop me a line. For the price of a pizza dinner (for myself and hubby-Eric) I'll do my best to help you (I'll even come over to your house, if you need me to). And if I can't help, you don't have to provide the pizza. That's how much I like this system.

Also, if you decide to sign up for TiVo, and I influenced you positively in any way, please put hubby-Eric's e-mail address (tiktok at eskimo dot com) in as a reference. I think I've said before that if five people put his e-mail in, we can upgrade to a dual-tuner DVR. There are other "rewards", but that's the one I've got my eyes on. I feel a bit like I'm begging when I ask this, but if you aren't going to get a TiVo it's not going to affect you and if you are going to get one, it's just one tiny extra step.

Oh yeah... people want to know how much it costs. Well, we got ours through a special deal, so I can't tell you how much I paid. However, right now TiVo has a pricing plan that gets you three years of service for $299. Add in the actual TiVo box... say the dual-tuner that we ought to have gotten... $70 on sale from TiVo itself. You can get them cheaper if you look around. I bet a used one would come very cheap. The network adapter was a hit in the pocketbook, at $60 for the one we got. But you can find deals at TiVo Community and other places if you look. Wired network adapters are even cheaper, in the $10 range. Or you can just use a phone line. The initial costs aren't tiny, but so far they've been worth it to me.

So, any questions? Comments? Insults? Praise?

Labels: Aquaman, Doctor Who, TiVo

Adventure #113 (February 1947) - Fathoms in Film!

The actor playing the role of Merman in a movie based on Aquaman's adventures becomes jealous when he is constantly told to act more like Aquaman.

It's odd, but no character is actually named in this one. The actor has a point... he's only known as "Merman" and never by his name! This is yet another instance of Aquaman getting involved in show business. I should start counting the times he ends up on TV or Film.

Aquaman knows Morse Code. He sends out an S.O.S. then gives his position in Morse. The fish must've also told him where he was.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman wrestles a shark away from the filming area, and gets a pod of porpoises to chase it away. The fish tell Aquaman who locked him up. An electric eel powers the old radio so Aquaman can call for help. Aquaman uses a torch to free Merman from a "giant man-eating clam".

Captured/Knocked Out report: Merman uses underwater chloroform to knock out Aquaman and then locks him in the radio room of an old wreck.

Quotefile: Merman, in his dressing room, "Aquaman! Do it like Aquaman! Like Aquaman! I'm sick of hearing about Aquaman!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #112 (January 1947) - The Television Thieves!

Black Jack pirates a load of gold from a ship entering a new port, but doesn't realize his crimes are being televised live.

Strange coloring on the splash page, as Aquaman's shirt is green. Perhaps those early DC color TV weren't so faithful at reproducing reality.

The entire heist is captured by cameramen on a plane above the new port, and they follow Black Jack. Aquaman is at a home for retired sailors (who all have pipes and similar hats) and sees the action on their big screen TV. And no, I'm not kidding. It's a big screen.

At the end of the story Aquaman has to convince the audience that the whole thing was done on a stage. Neat trick, that! But those unsophisticated Golden Age TV viewers were fooled anyway. Apparently DCU Golden Age TV special effects were fantastic.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman asks a fish where Black Jack and his gang went. Aquaman has fish untie him after he escapes from Black Jack's thugs.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is knocked out by a wrench dropped by the cameraman on the plane.

Quotefile: Old sailor watching the TV, "Shades of Davy Jones! If it ain't Black Jack! That television can pick up anything!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Black Jack, Ripples Through Time

Ug. Wiring took awhile. The back of the TV was a mess of cobweb, and it took me a few minutes to work out which wires were which. The hook-up of the TiVo, very simple hook-up, was easy. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The composite cable sent no signal to the TV. In fact, I still haven't figured out why that is... but because the TiVo folks kindly suggest alternatives, I used the coaxial cable instead and was able to continue. If I want to set up the method to watch another channel while one channel is recording, I've got to get the composite cable working. But for the moment, I'll live with the coaxial.

The network adapter was simple to set up, too. With one USB wire, though, I was expecting that. Once I got to the Welcome screen the set-up proceeded very smoothly. The Guided Setup is braindead simple, and the only hiccup was adding the MAC address of the TiVo network adapter to the access list. It's also easy to add security, with WEP and WPA supported. Once the TiVo connected via our network a couple of times, the whole thing was up and running, with limited capabilities.

Instead of the usual two weeks or so of program guide, the TiVo starts out with just two days. That was enough for me to go hunting for Jeopardy and set it up as a "Season Pass" show. Again, dead simple. This thing is made for the general public, I can tell. Well, once you get past the cables.

I played with the live TV pausing, replay, and rewind. It's pretty fun. I think everyone ought to have this ability... and I think I'm going to get spoiled by it very quickly. There's also a lovely on-screen TV Guide which will also spoil me quickly. I already can't believe I survived without it.

The DVD player and VCR player both still work as expected. Even better, I was able to pipe the signal through the VCR and yet don't have to turn on the VCR like I do with everything else. Boo-yah!

Hmmm, it's possible to restart the TiVo. Maybe that will force an update of the system? Let's try it. Ooooh, yup. It's updating something. Time to play on-line some while waiting for the update to finish.

Playing with the on-line functions... already set-up a bunch of my shows for recording. Heroes, Numb3rs, The Daily Show... This is cool.

Update finished. I've got the latest software. I wonder if that'll fix the problem with the composite cables? I'll try it later, I don't feel like moving the TV again.

Set-up my computer to connect with the Desktop software, and now the TiVo is playing my music on the TV. Ok, I'm even happier. Oops. I turned it off somehow. Less happy. Hmmm. Going to have to troubleshoot. But later, since Jeopardy is about to start, and I'm just not going to mess with the thing at all during the first show it's supposed to record.

Light on the front of the machine went red. I think it's recording. Time to go do other things.

...

Ok, checking the recording. Not bad! Jeopardy for hubby-Eric! But why is it still recording? Oh, I set up The Daily Show, and so it started with the next one shown... right after Jeopardy! Ok. I'm going to post this and go now. Eric should be home soon, and I've got a lot of showing off to do.

One last thing... should you sign up for TiVo, put hubby-Eric's e-mail address (tiktok at eskimo dot com) in as a reference. If five people say we referred them, we could upgrade to a dual-tuner DVR. That would be nice. Especially if my attempts to get the splitter working... don't.

Labels: TiVo

As I waited for the TiVo to arrive this morning, after doing my other netting and chores and such, I decided to figure out how to connect the thing to our morass of a system using TiVo's on-line help and such. I dug out the user manuals for the TV, VCR, and DVD players, and tried to work out how we currently have everything connected. Then I went to the TiVo site and tried to figure out from their help pages what I would need to do.

Confusion.

The instructions on the TiVo site never once mention a DVD player. A little deeper digging and I discover that they expect you to always hook your DVD player directly up to your TV. Hmmm. Odd, but not totally unacceptable. I think the way we currently have our DVD set-up, connected to a different line on the VCR, might still work. Ok. One problem down.

Next issue: the TV doesn't seem to have the same connections as the TV in the TiVo directions. Could be a problem... no... I've found the explanation in the TV's user manual. All the connections are there, just labeled slightly different. Whew.

The TiVo has a composite line in. Does that mean we could hook up a computer to the TiVo, play some video on the computer, and have the TiVo record it? That might be useful for us to free up Eric's computer while we showed the latest meme video from YouTube to friends. Hmmm. A check through the knowledge base says it's possible. I'll have to look at the user guide when the TiVo finally arrives.

We may need to get a splitter for our line so we can watch a different channel while recording something with the TiVo. Now I'm beginning to wish we'd been able to spring for the Dual-Tuner. Those are standard now, on TiVo. We got in on the very last of the non-DT TiVos. Heh. Still, a splitter shouldn't cost too much. Heck, we might even have one lying around if I could find the "box of extra cables"... ah, a search of the pantry finds it. Lots of extra coaxial cable, some composite cables (those might be needed later), and phone stuff. No splitters. Ok, a run to Radio Shack may be in the cards later. But no field trips until I know everything we might need.

Found the bit on the TiVo website about needing a landline: "You can run Guided Setup using your network connection if your DVR has software version 7.2 or later pre-installed." then a little later: "Many new single tuner TiVo DVRs are pre-installed with software version 7.2 or later. The following is a way to determine if your new DVR has software version 7.2 or later already installed before you begin Guided Setup. Look at the orange box your TiVo DVR came in. On the side of the orange box, look for your 12-digit UPC code. If the UPC code has the letters "SS" next to it, your TiVo has been sent to you with the 7.2 software version or later, already installed. You may connect your DVR to your network during Guided Setup." So, when it arrives, look for the double-S.

If it doesn't have a double-S, it's going to be a serious pain to set up. Apparently, the Guided Setup takes awhile to finish, and you can't upgrade the version until the Guided Setup is actually done. Luckily, it doesn't need to be on the phone the entire time, but it may require multiple phone calls, spaced hours apart. Which would be a real pain. So I've got my fingers crossed for the double-S.

It's arrived! It has a double-S! I'm saved! Now I've got to get it set up before Jeopardy comes on, so hubby-Eric doesn't miss it!

Labels: TiVo

Bully is home, and has learned to appreciate the little things more.

Just for the heck of it: how to disable the Caps Lock key. I've never regretted doing this, and I want to be able to find it if I get a new computer and want to do it again.

The Vondish Ambassador is still being posted. Go, read, buy.

Been reading lots of dead blogs lately, so this cartoon was very amusing to me.

Labels: Bully, Caps Lock Key, Links, Watt-Evans

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #111 (December 1946) - The Man Who Robbed Davy Jones' Locker!

Aquaman and Ark visit Manila, and learn about a salvage operation that's being poached by unknown thieves.

Oooh, this is another one that doesn't date well. The Secret Seven Gang are a bunch of Japanese, complete with all the stereotypes and insults typical of the era. There are also at least eight of them, although Aquaman seems to think there are only seven. He takes out one outside their bunker, then sees seven more inside. This story also uses the vulgar English term "hara-kiri" for Seppuku, and the circumstances for it are... very odd. Again, it's the stereotypes as understood by Americans of the time. The story is notable for the return of Ark, but otherwise is worth a miss.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman is hanging out with Ark again! After visiting a U.S.O. show and learning that the performing seal is sick, Ark takes his place in the show... learning some new tricks in the process. To figure out who is stealing the money being salvaged, Aquaman asks the local fish where the divers who come at night go. He has an electric eel sting one of the gang so he can enter their base. When Aquaman is attacked by the gang leader, Swordfish Sam rams the bad guy and saves Aquaman. And lastly, when the sole survivor faces off with Aquaman, Ark uses the tricks he's learned to take out the last of the bad guys (and gets a medal for it).

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is held at bay twice by enemies with weapons, but never actually captured or knocked out.

Quotefile: Intro text box - "Aquaman, ruler of the seas, is weary... he's fought gangsters of the sea-ways who were harpooning all the whales in the sea... he's won a battle of brawn with the ocean's most fearsome scourge - the giant octopus... and he's done many other feats of derring-do! Yes, Aquaman needs a vacation!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

Labels: Aquaman, Ark, Ripples Through Time