Thursday, May 31, 2007
Random Thought
Ripples Through Time - 134
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #211 (April 1955) - The Mystery of the Seven Sea Statues!
After a statue of Aquaman in Ocean Square is left unfinished due to lack of funds, Aquaman goes around planting statues of himself.
Finny Friends Report: On the splash page, Aquaman rides his sea cow and a turtle, octopus, and seal carry his other statues. Later he rides the sea cow. He also rides two whales and has them form a wave to reveal one of the statues. Aquaman rides to the treasure ship by holding ropes carried by two huge sea eagles.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is put on trial for being a public nuisance in this story.
Quotefile: Text box, "Is it possible that Aquaman's disappointment has brought out a secret side of his nature?"
Glove Color: Green. This is the first time Aquaman's gloves are shown as green instead of yellow.
The ultimate explanation of why Aquaman put up the statues isn't very convincing or satisfying. It does show that Aquaman doesn't really care about the public's opinion of him, which is a recurring theme among these older stories. In this story he allows the public to think that he's vain and upset about not being properly honored, all to allow the Navy to conduct some secret tests.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
After a statue of Aquaman in Ocean Square is left unfinished due to lack of funds, Aquaman goes around planting statues of himself.
Finny Friends Report: On the splash page, Aquaman rides his sea cow and a turtle, octopus, and seal carry his other statues. Later he rides the sea cow. He also rides two whales and has them form a wave to reveal one of the statues. Aquaman rides to the treasure ship by holding ropes carried by two huge sea eagles.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is put on trial for being a public nuisance in this story.
Quotefile: Text box, "Is it possible that Aquaman's disappointment has brought out a secret side of his nature?"
Glove Color: Green. This is the first time Aquaman's gloves are shown as green instead of yellow.
The ultimate explanation of why Aquaman put up the statues isn't very convincing or satisfying. It does show that Aquaman doesn't really care about the public's opinion of him, which is a recurring theme among these older stories. In this story he allows the public to think that he's vain and upset about not being properly honored, all to allow the Navy to conduct some secret tests.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Linkadinkadoo
Jeff Parker on canon. We get really worked up about canon in fandom. Ridiculously so. I think Jeff's approach is great.
The Math of Doctor Who companions.
LiveJournal just purged a bunch of journals, many of them wrongly, for keywords. While I don't object to their goal, their methods leave much to be desired. MetaFilter reports that the group responsible for the action is a shady spyware company. Slashdot also weighs in.
Google Maps is Spying on my Cat. What expectation of privacy do we have in regards to Google's new Street View? Scoble contributes his understanding.
LOLGoogleCat. And Wired's street-level images.
When was your house built? MetaFilter tells you where you can see.
Boston and the Fax Scare. *sigh* Bank of America needs to examine the brains of the person who created that flyer.
Making Light nails a plagiarist.
"Remember, children: 1. Email is forever. 2. Anonymity isn't. 3. The Internet never forgets. And the new and improved Golden Rule: "Never write anything on the Internet that you wouldn't want an angry lawyer to read.""
How long before this stupid Doctor Who rumor is exterminated? Oh, it's already been? Good.
Who is selling my e-mail address? I'll tell you that now that I have my own domain, I set up individual e-mail accounts for all my on-line bills and such. I know right away when someone has sold my address.
Just because iTunes dropped DRM, doesn't mean they dropped identification. Every track you download from iTunes has details of who downloaded it. To be completely honest, I have no problem with that. As long as I can move the files to a new computer when I get it, I don't mind. DRM generally blocks the usefulness of files, this doesn't.
Speaking of DRM, next key already released. When will corporations figure out that they have lost this race? "DRM takes years and costs millions to develop. It is generally broken in days, by hobbyists, for free."
The Government scares me. A meat company wants to test all their cows for disease, but the Bush Administration wants to stop them. They want to stop VOLUNTARY TESTING for mad cow disease. Why? The only reason I can think of is to give an unfair advantage to the larger corporations who don't want to compete with fully tested meat.
Another Pug for the in-laws.
And I've started to read The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. I haven't gotten very far into it, but I'm totally agreeing with what I'm reading so far. They aren't arguing for abolishing homework, just reducing it to reasonable levels. And they've got lots of evidence to back up their argument. I'll write more when I finish it.
The Math of Doctor Who companions.
LiveJournal just purged a bunch of journals, many of them wrongly, for keywords. While I don't object to their goal, their methods leave much to be desired. MetaFilter reports that the group responsible for the action is a shady spyware company. Slashdot also weighs in.
Google Maps is Spying on my Cat. What expectation of privacy do we have in regards to Google's new Street View? Scoble contributes his understanding.
LOLGoogleCat. And Wired's street-level images.
When was your house built? MetaFilter tells you where you can see.
Boston and the Fax Scare. *sigh* Bank of America needs to examine the brains of the person who created that flyer.
Making Light nails a plagiarist.
"Remember, children: 1. Email is forever. 2. Anonymity isn't. 3. The Internet never forgets. And the new and improved Golden Rule: "Never write anything on the Internet that you wouldn't want an angry lawyer to read.""
How long before this stupid Doctor Who rumor is exterminated? Oh, it's already been? Good.
Who is selling my e-mail address? I'll tell you that now that I have my own domain, I set up individual e-mail accounts for all my on-line bills and such. I know right away when someone has sold my address.
Just because iTunes dropped DRM, doesn't mean they dropped identification. Every track you download from iTunes has details of who downloaded it. To be completely honest, I have no problem with that. As long as I can move the files to a new computer when I get it, I don't mind. DRM generally blocks the usefulness of files, this doesn't.
Speaking of DRM, next key already released. When will corporations figure out that they have lost this race? "DRM takes years and costs millions to develop. It is generally broken in days, by hobbyists, for free."
The Government scares me. A meat company wants to test all their cows for disease, but the Bush Administration wants to stop them. They want to stop VOLUNTARY TESTING for mad cow disease. Why? The only reason I can think of is to give an unfair advantage to the larger corporations who don't want to compete with fully tested meat.
Another Pug for the in-laws.
And I've started to read The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. I haven't gotten very far into it, but I'm totally agreeing with what I'm reading so far. They aren't arguing for abolishing homework, just reducing it to reasonable levels. And they've got lots of evidence to back up their argument. I'll write more when I finish it.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 133
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #210 (March 1955) - The First Undersea Newspaper
The Log, a newspaper for sea-faring folk, is attacked and Aquaman must get to the bottom of the mystery.
Finny Friends Report: To create his edition of The Log, Aquaman has a giant clam act as the press, while an octopus supplies the ink. Aquaman summons two sea cows to carry the Cooks to the island. A whale helps him into the air to attack the smuggler, while a porpoise takes out the final guy. An octopus holds them, and the porpoise brings up the cargo for the Cooks to rebuild their press with.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is temporarily stopped when approaching Bajorka Island by the threat of the Cooks being shot.
Quotefile: Aquaman, rescuing a couple, "Don't worry -- we'll reach the top safe and sound!" Man being rescued, "I can hardly wait! I want to write a first-hand account of this experience for The Log!"
A fairly basic story, with Aquaman involved in the media. With an obvious advantage, in that his newspaper is waterproof.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
The Log, a newspaper for sea-faring folk, is attacked and Aquaman must get to the bottom of the mystery.
Finny Friends Report: To create his edition of The Log, Aquaman has a giant clam act as the press, while an octopus supplies the ink. Aquaman summons two sea cows to carry the Cooks to the island. A whale helps him into the air to attack the smuggler, while a porpoise takes out the final guy. An octopus holds them, and the porpoise brings up the cargo for the Cooks to rebuild their press with.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is temporarily stopped when approaching Bajorka Island by the threat of the Cooks being shot.
Quotefile: Aquaman, rescuing a couple, "Don't worry -- we'll reach the top safe and sound!" Man being rescued, "I can hardly wait! I want to write a first-hand account of this experience for The Log!"
A fairly basic story, with Aquaman involved in the media. With an obvious advantage, in that his newspaper is waterproof.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Fog Clears
...and I manage to pull together a links post at last. Yay! I hope I didn't make too many typos.
If you plan on going to Comicon International, read this.
Oops. Silver Surfer Quarter illegal.
Len Wein about Jeopardy. I was hoping for an Aquaman clue. *sigh*
Rashy is famous. Again.
Why skinny people can't tell us fat folk to lose weight.
Milk from REAL cows. Do tell, Bully.
What font do you use? I've set up my notepad program, in which I type up all my blogs and other writings, to use Courier New. It's been that way for many years.
I Can Has Cheeseburger. What, are you going to stop him?
More LOL Doctor Who.
Speaking of Macros or LOLs, FilkerTom links to another video of his song about them.
The Case Against Homework. If this book says what I think it does, then I think it ought to be required for teachers. More homework doesn't equal better knowledge. It's the quality, not the quantity, that counts. I'm checking the book out from the library, doing my homework on it, to make sure it's what I think it is.
Speaking of education: Fast Math.
This sounds really gross, and I'm sure I'm going to have to try it sometime.
How the Pentagon got its shape. Not a fairy tale.
Scott Adams on Global Warming, as a man who came to it recently and has had a blog-comment assisted education about it.
The War Prayer by Mark Twain.
Real examples of Feminism.
Hmmm, irony? A man who constantly cleaned his apartment to protect himself from disease was overcome by the fumes of the disinfectant and killed. Too much of ANYTHING is bad.
Homer Simpson Flower.
If you plan on going to Comicon International, read this.
Oops. Silver Surfer Quarter illegal.
Len Wein about Jeopardy. I was hoping for an Aquaman clue. *sigh*
Rashy is famous. Again.
Why skinny people can't tell us fat folk to lose weight.
Milk from REAL cows. Do tell, Bully.
What font do you use? I've set up my notepad program, in which I type up all my blogs and other writings, to use Courier New. It's been that way for many years.
I Can Has Cheeseburger. What, are you going to stop him?
More LOL Doctor Who.
Speaking of Macros or LOLs, FilkerTom links to another video of his song about them.
The Case Against Homework. If this book says what I think it does, then I think it ought to be required for teachers. More homework doesn't equal better knowledge. It's the quality, not the quantity, that counts. I'm checking the book out from the library, doing my homework on it, to make sure it's what I think it is.
Speaking of education: Fast Math.
This sounds really gross, and I'm sure I'm going to have to try it sometime.
How the Pentagon got its shape. Not a fairy tale.
Scott Adams on Global Warming, as a man who came to it recently and has had a blog-comment assisted education about it.
The War Prayer by Mark Twain.
Real examples of Feminism.
Hmmm, irony? A man who constantly cleaned his apartment to protect himself from disease was overcome by the fumes of the disinfectant and killed. Too much of ANYTHING is bad.
Homer Simpson Flower.
Labels: Bully, Comicon, Education, Jeopardy, Links, Politics, Weight Loss
It Feels Like...
...Summer. I've got all the doors and windows open to warm up the house. It's nearly 80F out there, and is supposed to be hotter tomorrow. I generally wear a blanket around the house even in the most extreme of summer, but I've been able to go without most of today. There's a relatively small band of temperature at which I'm comfortable. This house rarely gets up high enough to hit that band.
I've been trying to piece together a linkblog, but having trouble focusing my mind enough to do it. I'm in a fog today, and when I get like this it's rare for me to be able to string together sentences. I won't tell you how long it's taken to write this much. I'm personally appalled.
Awhile back, Larry Young sent me a great book that I mean to do a proper review for someday, but I want to mention it now. It's called The Last Sane Cowboy & Other Stories and it's by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. The problem with it is that it blew my mind. The book connected to me on a fundamental level with the very first story, "I Bleed Scorpions". And while none of the other stories hit me as hard, they all hit me. So if you've got a chance to check it out, please do. Maybe it'll blow your mind too.
I really haven't got anything to say on all the latest comic book news. Whatever I had to say has been said better by someone else. If I ever get that linkblog done, I'll link to some of those better statements.
This Saturday's Doctor Who, "Human Nature", was excellent. I screencapped a page of John Smith's book. I wish we could see the whole book in detail.
There's a good breeze outside. I can see the cottonwood seeds drifting like snow around the neighborhood. There's a distant siren, ambulance or fire, and the rev of someone's car engine down the block. I can hear children playing somewhere nearby. And the birds in our trees are making their usual lovely racket. I wish I could focus. I can't help but feel disabled when I'm like this. How can a person spend two hours writing and still say nothing?
I've been trying to piece together a linkblog, but having trouble focusing my mind enough to do it. I'm in a fog today, and when I get like this it's rare for me to be able to string together sentences. I won't tell you how long it's taken to write this much. I'm personally appalled.
Awhile back, Larry Young sent me a great book that I mean to do a proper review for someday, but I want to mention it now. It's called The Last Sane Cowboy & Other Stories and it's by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. The problem with it is that it blew my mind. The book connected to me on a fundamental level with the very first story, "I Bleed Scorpions". And while none of the other stories hit me as hard, they all hit me. So if you've got a chance to check it out, please do. Maybe it'll blow your mind too.
I really haven't got anything to say on all the latest comic book news. Whatever I had to say has been said better by someone else. If I ever get that linkblog done, I'll link to some of those better statements.
This Saturday's Doctor Who, "Human Nature", was excellent. I screencapped a page of John Smith's book. I wish we could see the whole book in detail.
There's a good breeze outside. I can see the cottonwood seeds drifting like snow around the neighborhood. There's a distant siren, ambulance or fire, and the rev of someone's car engine down the block. I can hear children playing somewhere nearby. And the birds in our trees are making their usual lovely racket. I wish I could focus. I can't help but feel disabled when I'm like this. How can a person spend two hours writing and still say nothing?
Labels: AiT/Planet Lar, Doctor Who, Fibromyalgia, Frankenhaus, Paul Cornell
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
I'm not feeling particularly patriotic today, so I'll just remember the dead and pray that the next president doesn't waste their sacrifices like the current one does.
Labels: Memorial
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tech Question
Hubby-Eric and I are going on a road trip this summer. We're going to basically shoot down I-5 from Seattle to Monterey. We're hoping to gas up the car as cheaply as possible, so we're going to try to hit Costco along the way. Here's the technical part: does anyone know of a map that shows the Costco stores along the I-5 corridor that sell gas, and if not, does anyone know how I can map the stores in, say, Google maps? I have the addresses of every Costco store in all three states, but I don't know which ones are actually near to I-5 just from the addresses.
I wish we had a bio-fuel or hybrid car for this trip. Or just something that would save us some money on it. But even with the rising fuel prices, driving for the two of us is still cheaper than flying, and way less hassle and annoyance. I hated to fly before 2001, I haven't flown since. Not out of fear, but because I hate being crammed into a seat too small for legs, then have the idiot in front of me recline his seat into my face so I have no room (and no, reclining my own seat doesn't help, just makes me more airsick). If the seats in airplanes were made for real people and not some inhuman ideal of what a person ought to be like, I might actually enjoy being on a plane.
But I digress... does anyone know how I could map those Costco stores?
I wish we had a bio-fuel or hybrid car for this trip. Or just something that would save us some money on it. But even with the rising fuel prices, driving for the two of us is still cheaper than flying, and way less hassle and annoyance. I hated to fly before 2001, I haven't flown since. Not out of fear, but because I hate being crammed into a seat too small for legs, then have the idiot in front of me recline his seat into my face so I have no room (and no, reclining my own seat doesn't help, just makes me more airsick). If the seats in airplanes were made for real people and not some inhuman ideal of what a person ought to be like, I might actually enjoy being on a plane.
But I digress... does anyone know how I could map those Costco stores?
Labels: Technology
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 132
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #209 (February 1955) - The Island That Vanished!
The Science Academy accuses George Rogers of stealing valuable scientific equipment which he insists he left on an island, but the island doesn't exist.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman has octopi become propellers when the ship's propellers are sheared off by an ice pack. To get the ship off an ice raft, Aquaman has swordfish cut holes which he threads ropes through, then whales rock the ship off the ice. Whales brought the island back so Rogers would find it.
Quotefile: Aquaman, "Rogers is an intelligent man, captain! I'm sure I can talk him out of going on that wild-goose chase!"
If you are thinking this story sounds slightly familiar, you're right, the premise of a disappearing island also showed up in Adventure #175, only three year ago. The situation is very different, but again legal action is involved in it. Unlike the earlier story, there is no "bad guy" but the elements themselves. And thanks to Aquaman, there is a happy ending.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
The Science Academy accuses George Rogers of stealing valuable scientific equipment which he insists he left on an island, but the island doesn't exist.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman has octopi become propellers when the ship's propellers are sheared off by an ice pack. To get the ship off an ice raft, Aquaman has swordfish cut holes which he threads ropes through, then whales rock the ship off the ice. Whales brought the island back so Rogers would find it.
Quotefile: Aquaman, "Rogers is an intelligent man, captain! I'm sure I can talk him out of going on that wild-goose chase!"
If you are thinking this story sounds slightly familiar, you're right, the premise of a disappearing island also showed up in Adventure #175, only three year ago. The situation is very different, but again legal action is involved in it. Unlike the earlier story, there is no "bad guy" but the elements themselves. And thanks to Aquaman, there is a happy ending.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
May The Force Be With You
This YouTube video really needs no explanation.
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #104
Another view of female superheroes.
Colleen Doran on Web Publishing and why it takes so long for each issue of A Distant Soil to make it to print.
Making Light on fanfic, but also copyright and why it's important.
Sushi Bar Video.
Closing credits for Ernie Kovacs show.
Ad from 1934 about helping women to get fatter. Um. DO NOT WANT!
Once in a blue moon, where the expression really comes from.
Yay for Paul!
Puppy!
Labels: Comic Book Urban Legends, Copyfight, Links, Paul Cornell, Webcomics, YouTube
Friday, May 25, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 131
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
There was no Aquaman story in Adventure #207.
Adventure #208 (January 1955) - The Mystery of the Aqua-Dolls!
After being followed around by a strange photographer, Aquaman learns that an inventor has created an Aqua-doll toy that can duplicate his aqua-feats.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow in one panel, but otherwise gets no help from finny friends.
Quotefile: Coast Guard Captain, "Hi, Aquaman! You've been a-sea so long, I'll bet you don't even know about the new craze that's sweeping the nation!" Aquaman, "Craze? What craze?"
Aquaman learns about the dolls from the Coast Guard Captain who shows him a figure and even finds the inventor's name and address (on the feet of the toy). Aquaman checks in with the inventor, who is donating 50% of the profits to found a home for sailors, so Aquaman is ok with it in the end.
The life-size Aqua-doll that robs ships has a fatal flaw that allows Aquaman to figure out the mystery. Or should we say, it doesn't have a fatal flaw that it should have?
On the splash page, the Aqua-dolls have wind-up keys in their backs, but in the story they are radio controlled.
Aqua-Exclamations: "Well, I'll be a sea cow's uncle!" "Holy catfish!"
I want one. Of the toys, really, not Aquaman. Though I wouldn't say "no" to my own Aquaman.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
There was no Aquaman story in Adventure #207.
After being followed around by a strange photographer, Aquaman learns that an inventor has created an Aqua-doll toy that can duplicate his aqua-feats.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow in one panel, but otherwise gets no help from finny friends.
Quotefile: Coast Guard Captain, "Hi, Aquaman! You've been a-sea so long, I'll bet you don't even know about the new craze that's sweeping the nation!" Aquaman, "Craze? What craze?"
Aquaman learns about the dolls from the Coast Guard Captain who shows him a figure and even finds the inventor's name and address (on the feet of the toy). Aquaman checks in with the inventor, who is donating 50% of the profits to found a home for sailors, so Aquaman is ok with it in the end.
The life-size Aqua-doll that robs ships has a fatal flaw that allows Aquaman to figure out the mystery. Or should we say, it doesn't have a fatal flaw that it should have?
On the splash page, the Aqua-dolls have wind-up keys in their backs, but in the story they are radio controlled.
Aqua-Exclamations: "Well, I'll be a sea cow's uncle!" "Holy catfish!"
I want one. Of the toys, really, not Aquaman. Though I wouldn't say "no" to my own Aquaman.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Bully Has A Posse
Unrelated to Anything Else
Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 80 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th 2006. This is a big deal to me, as I now weigh less than I did when I finished college. I'm still heavier than when I started college, but another 20 pounds will take care of that hurdle, and I'm thinking I'm on track to manage that in a few months. I weigh less than when I married the wonderful hubby-Eric. I think I weigh about as much as I did when I first met him. It's time travel!
Labels: Health, Unrelated to Anything Else, Weight Loss
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 130
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #206 (November 1954) - The Haunted Island!
A group of kids going to Fun Island get stuck on a reef, canceling their excursion, until Aquaman gets involved.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides to the rescue on his sea cow. He gathers turtles to serve as bases on the baseball diamond, and has sea eagles hold up a fishnet as a backstop. The children ride their own sea cows as they play. An octopus serves as the umpire, and whales serve as the walls of the "yard". To play basketball, eels mark the court and seals balance the baskets on their noses. The kids continue to ride sea cows, and an octopus serves as referee.
Quotefile: Aquaman, "Now, now, we all know there's no such thing as a sea monster! It must've been your imagination! Come on back and resume the game!"
This story could have held its own without any bad guys, and just been a tale of Aquaman saving the kids outing with his finny friends. But the sea monster angle is neat, and makes for a fun splash page (that's definitely not in the story). The plot is slight, but it's fun how Aquaman gets the kids involved in capturing the villains. All-in-all, a cute story.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
A group of kids going to Fun Island get stuck on a reef, canceling their excursion, until Aquaman gets involved.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides to the rescue on his sea cow. He gathers turtles to serve as bases on the baseball diamond, and has sea eagles hold up a fishnet as a backstop. The children ride their own sea cows as they play. An octopus serves as the umpire, and whales serve as the walls of the "yard". To play basketball, eels mark the court and seals balance the baskets on their noses. The kids continue to ride sea cows, and an octopus serves as referee.
Quotefile: Aquaman, "Now, now, we all know there's no such thing as a sea monster! It must've been your imagination! Come on back and resume the game!"
This story could have held its own without any bad guys, and just been a tale of Aquaman saving the kids outing with his finny friends. But the sea monster angle is neat, and makes for a fun splash page (that's definitely not in the story). The plot is slight, but it's fun how Aquaman gets the kids involved in capturing the villains. All-in-all, a cute story.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Thursday Already?
The next issue of Cheshire Crossing is available.
Happy Blogiversary, Bully!
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Audio starring the Doctor.
The Truth about Wi-Fi Devices. Hide your babies!
Jazz Spider-Man (YouTube). About three minutes long, very cool.
1930's High School Basketball. Now that's Vintage.
Doctor Who Phone Flashers... I don't need it, and it wouldn't work on my network anyway.
More LOLWho: The last two pictures are fantastic.
Math set to music by nerds. I think hubby-Eric might enjoy this one.
I'm sorry for his loss, but perhaps he should sue himself for not teaching his son not to drink and drive. That makes as much sense as suing the driver of the stalled car.
Happy Blogiversary, Bully!
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Audio starring the Doctor.
The Truth about Wi-Fi Devices. Hide your babies!
Jazz Spider-Man (YouTube). About three minutes long, very cool.
1930's High School Basketball. Now that's Vintage.
Doctor Who Phone Flashers... I don't need it, and it wouldn't work on my network anyway.
More LOLWho: The last two pictures are fantastic.
Math set to music by nerds. I think hubby-Eric might enjoy this one.
I'm sorry for his loss, but perhaps he should sue himself for not teaching his son not to drink and drive. That makes as much sense as suing the driver of the stalled car.
Labels: Bully, Doctor Who, Links, Math
Non Sequitur
I smell like grass and dirt.
Labels: Bothell, Frankenhaus, Yardwork
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 129
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #205 (October 1954) - The Emperor of the Sea!
Aquaman's supremacy of the oceans is challenged by the mysterious Mr. Neptune, who claims to have the powers of the ancient god.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman again rides his sea cow in this story. Aquaman calls in whales to get a ship off a reef, but Mr. Neptune pushes the ship off by himself. Aquaman brings a squad of fish to take out the criminals, but Mr. Neptune jumps into action and takes out the criminals instead. Aquaman's octopi jump in to hand the criminals to the police. A flying fish steals Mr. Neptune's trident, then an octopus manhandles him as Aquaman explains the whole story to the captain of the Marovian ship.
An oddity in the artwork, when Mr. Neptune describes his abilities (turtle shell to protect from bullets, electric eels to shock the criminals) the abilities are drawn on him. By the end of the story we learn that was artistic license, because he didn't actually use magic.
The manic look on Mr. Neptune's face when he finally shows his true colors is a thing of beauty. He really looks like a villain at that point. However, I could do without the scene of Aquaman holding the trident with Mr. Neptune in the background with a "if it weren't for those meddling kids" look on his face.
That trident would come in handy in Aquaman's line of work. If this story had shown up 20 years later, it would have become a major plot point and an ongoing item of power in the Aquaman stories.
Quotefile: Mr. Neptune, while flinging whales around on the splash page, "Begone, deposed monarch of the deep, and your silly subjects of the sea! I'm ruler of the deep now!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Aquaman's supremacy of the oceans is challenged by the mysterious Mr. Neptune, who claims to have the powers of the ancient god.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman again rides his sea cow in this story. Aquaman calls in whales to get a ship off a reef, but Mr. Neptune pushes the ship off by himself. Aquaman brings a squad of fish to take out the criminals, but Mr. Neptune jumps into action and takes out the criminals instead. Aquaman's octopi jump in to hand the criminals to the police. A flying fish steals Mr. Neptune's trident, then an octopus manhandles him as Aquaman explains the whole story to the captain of the Marovian ship.
An oddity in the artwork, when Mr. Neptune describes his abilities (turtle shell to protect from bullets, electric eels to shock the criminals) the abilities are drawn on him. By the end of the story we learn that was artistic license, because he didn't actually use magic.
The manic look on Mr. Neptune's face when he finally shows his true colors is a thing of beauty. He really looks like a villain at that point. However, I could do without the scene of Aquaman holding the trident with Mr. Neptune in the background with a "if it weren't for those meddling kids" look on his face.
That trident would come in handy in Aquaman's line of work. If this story had shown up 20 years later, it would have become a major plot point and an ongoing item of power in the Aquaman stories.
Quotefile: Mr. Neptune, while flinging whales around on the splash page, "Begone, deposed monarch of the deep, and your silly subjects of the sea! I'm ruler of the deep now!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Wednesday Linkages
Tamora Pierce on the Heroes For Hire cover. I talked about it with another woman in comics fandom today who was even more peeved than myself. She's a Marvel fan and actually knows the characters. And Lea has more as well.
I wanna see Persepolis.
The proper way to respond to a comedic insult: New Zealand town renames garbage dump after Cleese.
How To Find Four Leaf Clovers. I am afflicted by a talent at finding the things. The link from Boing Boing has a good overview of how it's done.
Three Concepts Diane Duane Wasn't Expecting To See In The Same Sentence Any Time Soon.
Fine Art as Advertisments. Some are horrid, but there's some really cool stuff in there. I think the Planned Parenthood one is the best.
Pike Place Market Historic Walking Tour. Wish I could do it. Meet at the pig under the clock... cool.
Mmmm, the Dinner Train might change routes and start near Bothell. If it does change routes, I hope hubby-Eric can take me on the train for our birthdays or our anniversary again sometime.
The many uses of Altoid Tins.
USB Mini Fridge is cool, but wouldn't work for me. I don't drink cans of pop anymore.
What's wrong with this story? Let's see, the cafe owner didn't complain, so was the access really unauthorized? Why the horrible punishment?
An Unimpeachable Image.
We Are Poisoned.
Here's The Challenge: Eat for a week on $21. I think I could do it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be good for me at the moment. Maybe when I'm no longer sick.
I wanna see Persepolis.
The proper way to respond to a comedic insult: New Zealand town renames garbage dump after Cleese.
How To Find Four Leaf Clovers. I am afflicted by a talent at finding the things. The link from Boing Boing has a good overview of how it's done.
Three Concepts Diane Duane Wasn't Expecting To See In The Same Sentence Any Time Soon.
Fine Art as Advertisments. Some are horrid, but there's some really cool stuff in there. I think the Planned Parenthood one is the best.
Pike Place Market Historic Walking Tour. Wish I could do it. Meet at the pig under the clock... cool.
Mmmm, the Dinner Train might change routes and start near Bothell. If it does change routes, I hope hubby-Eric can take me on the train for our birthdays or our anniversary again sometime.
The many uses of Altoid Tins.
USB Mini Fridge is cool, but wouldn't work for me. I don't drink cans of pop anymore.
What's wrong with this story? Let's see, the cafe owner didn't complain, so was the access really unauthorized? Why the horrible punishment?
An Unimpeachable Image.
We Are Poisoned.
Here's The Challenge: Eat for a week on $21. I think I could do it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be good for me at the moment. Maybe when I'm no longer sick.
Labels: Diane Duane, Health, Lea Hernandez, Seattle
Reviews
I'm never, ever, going to catch up on my reviews if I continue the way I've been going. So this is a new attempt to bring myself to write about the books I read. I may skip some books, and I may focus in on others. But I hope to eventually get "caught up" enough to alter my reviewing format some more.
52 Week Forty-Five to Fifty-Two: This was a solid book through to the end. It never reached what I'd consider greatness, and had very few "oh wow" moments, but it was solid. Mildly recommended.
World War III mini: Ug. This was a mess from beginning to end. It was like somebody said, "ok, let's pull together all the remaining dangling plot threads and tie 'em up... even if it doesn't make sense or contradicts what came before!" And it did contradict what came before. In short, this one sucked. Not recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #10-12: Natu is the only reason I'm still reading this book. She's the only Green Lantern I'm even remotely interested in. But she's a good one! Very mildly recommended.
Green Lantern #18-19: Why do I read this book? Not recommended.
Birds of Prey #104-105: I miss Black Canary. But the additions of other female heroes in the DCU make this an oddly compelling book. Mildly recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #32-33: This is the best superhero book that DC puts out. Bar none. It's not the best superhero book I read, but it's consistent and wonderful and every issue is done-in-one. Buy this book. Highly recommended.
Iron Man #16-17: Tony Stark as a fascist. And a bad one at that. Yuck. Not recommended.
Wisdom #4-5: I didn't like the first couple of issues of this series, because although the ideas were there, they simply didn't seem to gel into a strong story. But now the story is rocking on, and I'm inclined to even go back and give those first three issues a second chance. Recommended.
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #3: A tad scattered for my tastes. I think each of the minis will read much better together. Still, I'm interested. Mildly recommended.
PS238 #21-22: Still my favorite superhero book, still highly recommended. If you like superheroes and you aren't checking this book out, you're missing out. HIGHLY recommended.
DMZ #17-19: I waver on this book constantly. I love it on one reading, and will be disgusted by it the next. Part of it's appeal is what makes it hard to read. The events, although ludicrous, are terrifyingly believable. Recommended.
52 Week Forty-Five to Fifty-Two: This was a solid book through to the end. It never reached what I'd consider greatness, and had very few "oh wow" moments, but it was solid. Mildly recommended.
World War III mini: Ug. This was a mess from beginning to end. It was like somebody said, "ok, let's pull together all the remaining dangling plot threads and tie 'em up... even if it doesn't make sense or contradicts what came before!" And it did contradict what came before. In short, this one sucked. Not recommended.
Green Lantern Corps #10-12: Natu is the only reason I'm still reading this book. She's the only Green Lantern I'm even remotely interested in. But she's a good one! Very mildly recommended.
Green Lantern #18-19: Why do I read this book? Not recommended.
Birds of Prey #104-105: I miss Black Canary. But the additions of other female heroes in the DCU make this an oddly compelling book. Mildly recommended.
Justice League Unlimited #32-33: This is the best superhero book that DC puts out. Bar none. It's not the best superhero book I read, but it's consistent and wonderful and every issue is done-in-one. Buy this book. Highly recommended.
Iron Man #16-17: Tony Stark as a fascist. And a bad one at that. Yuck. Not recommended.
Wisdom #4-5: I didn't like the first couple of issues of this series, because although the ideas were there, they simply didn't seem to gel into a strong story. But now the story is rocking on, and I'm inclined to even go back and give those first three issues a second chance. Recommended.
Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #3: A tad scattered for my tastes. I think each of the minis will read much better together. Still, I'm interested. Mildly recommended.
PS238 #21-22: Still my favorite superhero book, still highly recommended. If you like superheroes and you aren't checking this book out, you're missing out. HIGHLY recommended.
DMZ #17-19: I waver on this book constantly. I love it on one reading, and will be disgusted by it the next. Part of it's appeal is what makes it hard to read. The events, although ludicrous, are terrifyingly believable. Recommended.
Labels: 52, Astro City, Birds of Prey, DMZ, GLC, Green Lantern, JLU, PS238, Reviews, Wisdom
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 128
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #204 (September 1954) - The Lagoon of Doom!
Aquaman appeals to a group of men emptying a lagoon of water to stop before they kill the fish, but when they don't... he starts to help them.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman originally appears because he's heard that a lagoon was being emptied, endangering the fish living in the lagoon. He gets a number of fish in the lagoon to make a net and drag it along to the bottom to see if he can find what the men are looking for. He rides his sea cow in the lagoon, then gets whales (must be a big lagoon) to spout water out of the lagoon. Octopi holding paddle fish push water out of the lagoon. The whale line up and create a wave getting more water out of the lagoon. Swordfish and sawfish then break the dam when the men who own the lagoon say they need more water in the lagoon. An octopus and the sea cow rescue the men after their barge is swamped.
I'm not sure that Aquaman was entirely in the right in this adventure, as he interferes with the men's business and sinks their barge. True, if they'd simply told him what they were up to and worked with him to help the fish in the lagoon, they wouldn't have had a problem, especially as what they were doing was completely legal. But then there wouldn't have been a story.
Quotefile: Man on ocean liner, "Holy cat, look at that man go! He must be tied to a speedboat or something!" Captain of liner, "No, my friend-- that's Aquaman, the fastest thing on water... and he sure looks in a hurry to get some place!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Aquaman appeals to a group of men emptying a lagoon of water to stop before they kill the fish, but when they don't... he starts to help them.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman originally appears because he's heard that a lagoon was being emptied, endangering the fish living in the lagoon. He gets a number of fish in the lagoon to make a net and drag it along to the bottom to see if he can find what the men are looking for. He rides his sea cow in the lagoon, then gets whales (must be a big lagoon) to spout water out of the lagoon. Octopi holding paddle fish push water out of the lagoon. The whale line up and create a wave getting more water out of the lagoon. Swordfish and sawfish then break the dam when the men who own the lagoon say they need more water in the lagoon. An octopus and the sea cow rescue the men after their barge is swamped.
I'm not sure that Aquaman was entirely in the right in this adventure, as he interferes with the men's business and sinks their barge. True, if they'd simply told him what they were up to and worked with him to help the fish in the lagoon, they wouldn't have had a problem, especially as what they were doing was completely legal. But then there wouldn't have been a story.
Quotefile: Man on ocean liner, "Holy cat, look at that man go! He must be tied to a speedboat or something!" Captain of liner, "No, my friend-- that's Aquaman, the fastest thing on water... and he sure looks in a hurry to get some place!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Distracted Links
Buy Aquaman. It's a fun book. Tad Williams has put the fun into the book in spades. And I want to see how the story ends. So buy Aquaman. This is your ad of the day.
Oh, ick. Lea writes to Marvel about the cover of Heroes for Hire #13. WARNING: the cover is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. And yet it's supposedly a mainstream comic book. Yuck.
Joss Whedon Rants, and rants well.
Stupid scumbags rip off Stan Sakai by getting free sketches, then flipping them onto eBay, often damaging the original artwork in the process. As a sketch collector, I cannot tell you how much these people anger me with their actions. They make it just that much less likely that I'll get a sketch from some future artist who is afraid I'll turn around and sell it (which I would never do).
365 Reasons to Love Comics #142: Bob Haney.
The Gasoline Alley Autumn Walk.
The Millennium Bridge and its problems, with a link to good ol' Galloping Gertie.
A picture of Sea Tac Airport... sort of. One of the terminals with Mt Rainier in the background, back when it was actually possible to park at the airport without taking out a mortgage.
Ghost Hunters Hunting For New Ghost Hunter. I'm looking forward to the new season, but I wish they'd lay off the gimmicks.
Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs. Humor-impaired must not visit this link.
Oh, ick. Lea writes to Marvel about the cover of Heroes for Hire #13. WARNING: the cover is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. And yet it's supposedly a mainstream comic book. Yuck.
Joss Whedon Rants, and rants well.
Stupid scumbags rip off Stan Sakai by getting free sketches, then flipping them onto eBay, often damaging the original artwork in the process. As a sketch collector, I cannot tell you how much these people anger me with their actions. They make it just that much less likely that I'll get a sketch from some future artist who is afraid I'll turn around and sell it (which I would never do).
365 Reasons to Love Comics #142: Bob Haney.
The Gasoline Alley Autumn Walk.
The Millennium Bridge and its problems, with a link to good ol' Galloping Gertie.
A picture of Sea Tac Airport... sort of. One of the terminals with Mt Rainier in the background, back when it was actually possible to park at the airport without taking out a mortgage.
Ghost Hunters Hunting For New Ghost Hunter. I'm looking forward to the new season, but I wish they'd lay off the gimmicks.
Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs. Humor-impaired must not visit this link.
Labels: Aquaman, Pug, Seattle, Women in Comics
Coming Soon (DC Solicits for August)
Solicits for DC Comics due to ship in August 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:
Vulko, the Trident of Atlantis, and more on Dyss... Looking forward to it.
I'm not keen on crossovers, but Arthur needs more attention, so I guess I'll live. Check out Joshua Middleton's Blog Entry about the cover, which includes a short YouTube video on the process of pencils to colors.
We get TWO Aquaman action figures solicited this month. This first one is the Aquaman from Our Worlds At War, as he armors up to face the Imperiex probe that threatens Atlantis:
Moving on, the second figure is the more recent Armored Aquaman from Alex Ross' Justice series.
Anyone spot any other Aquaman-related books or items?
Vulko, the Trident of Atlantis, and more on Dyss... Looking forward to it.
I'm not keen on crossovers, but Arthur needs more attention, so I guess I'll live. Check out Joshua Middleton's Blog Entry about the cover, which includes a short YouTube video on the process of pencils to colors.
We get TWO Aquaman action figures solicited this month. This first one is the Aquaman from Our Worlds At War, as he armors up to face the Imperiex probe that threatens Atlantis:
Moving on, the second figure is the more recent Armored Aquaman from Alex Ross' Justice series.
Anyone spot any other Aquaman-related books or items?
Monday, May 21, 2007
Blarg o' Links
Scipio makes me cry.
365 Reasons to Love Comics #138: Ramona Fradon and 365 Reasons to Love Comics #139: Nick Cardy.
Torvald isn't eligible?
Bully's Ten of a Kind: To Infinity.
*sigh* Iran upset over Persepolis. How dare that woman tell it like it is! At least this one is actually about Iran, unlike 300, which wasn't even about the current Persians' ancestors.
The Top Three Causes of Nosebleeds in comics.
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #103. I wanna see that Wonder Woman/Xena crossover, darn it!
The Amazing Miss Arrowette.
Lest I be accused of techphobia or elitism, I joined twitter to test it out. Um. Ok.
Top Ten 80's Movies.
Doctor Who/Red Dwarf LOL.
Cool 3-D Art from Pulp Covers.
Reusable Designer Grocery Bags. I can't imagine paying $960 for a shopping bag, but some people are odd that way. Hubby-Eric and I use cloth bags for our groceries.
Race for the Cure. My team's page. Unfortunately, we need 10 for a team, so we probably won't be an official team on the day of the walk.
The TSA took his food. Congresscritter surviving on $21 a week (foodstamps amount) gets food taken by airport security. More here.
Need to fly, need ID? Make your own.
Ancient Birth Control. I'd heard of this one before. Another reason to make sure plants don't go extinct.
Jim Henson was more than just Muppets. The Cube and Limbo: The Organized Mind.
Wellington Grey: When I'm King.
A Fair(y) Use Tale (YouTube). It's over ten minutes, but amazingly clever and interesting.
Forever in Print. Infinite Copyright. The digital world is changing rights, I wonder how it will all shake out in the end?
Pyramid Cam. Cool.
This rate increase hit us directly. We can only afford catastrophic coverage, and we can barely afford that.
Radical changes coming to my hometown. I walk past that building every time I visit the library.
Why DRM is useless.
FilkerTom writes a song about LOLCats. It's turned into a YouTube video: Macro Cats. Slate tells us we can't resist them. And Diane Duane posts the best LOLCat ever, and the reason it's the best.
More Pug for the in-laws.
365 Reasons to Love Comics #138: Ramona Fradon and 365 Reasons to Love Comics #139: Nick Cardy.
Torvald isn't eligible?
Bully's Ten of a Kind: To Infinity.
*sigh* Iran upset over Persepolis. How dare that woman tell it like it is! At least this one is actually about Iran, unlike 300, which wasn't even about the current Persians' ancestors.
The Top Three Causes of Nosebleeds in comics.
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #103. I wanna see that Wonder Woman/Xena crossover, darn it!
The Amazing Miss Arrowette.
Lest I be accused of techphobia or elitism, I joined twitter to test it out. Um. Ok.
Top Ten 80's Movies.
Doctor Who/Red Dwarf LOL.
Cool 3-D Art from Pulp Covers.
Reusable Designer Grocery Bags. I can't imagine paying $960 for a shopping bag, but some people are odd that way. Hubby-Eric and I use cloth bags for our groceries.
Race for the Cure. My team's page. Unfortunately, we need 10 for a team, so we probably won't be an official team on the day of the walk.
The TSA took his food. Congresscritter surviving on $21 a week (foodstamps amount) gets food taken by airport security. More here.
Need to fly, need ID? Make your own.
Ancient Birth Control. I'd heard of this one before. Another reason to make sure plants don't go extinct.
Jim Henson was more than just Muppets. The Cube and Limbo: The Organized Mind.
Wellington Grey: When I'm King.
A Fair(y) Use Tale (YouTube). It's over ten minutes, but amazingly clever and interesting.
Forever in Print. Infinite Copyright. The digital world is changing rights, I wonder how it will all shake out in the end?
Pyramid Cam. Cool.
This rate increase hit us directly. We can only afford catastrophic coverage, and we can barely afford that.
Radical changes coming to my hometown. I walk past that building every time I visit the library.
Why DRM is useless.
FilkerTom writes a song about LOLCats. It's turned into a YouTube video: Macro Cats. Slate tells us we can't resist them. And Diane Duane posts the best LOLCat ever, and the reason it's the best.
More Pug for the in-laws.
Labels: Bothell, Bully, Cats, Copyfight, DRM, Health, Links, Pug
Life, The Universe, and FrankenVan
So I haven't put much effort into blogging for the last few days, as some of you have noticed. Part of that was real life, part of that was my main hobby, and part of it was just a desire to stop blogging for a couple of days.
The real life part was that I was sick, my fibromyalgia was flaring up a bit on Friday and Saturday. I keep wishing that the weight loss will kill the fibro, but it doesn't seem to be happening. On Saturday we had an Androgums party, and I discovered that I have a weakness in my dietary counting... namely chocolate glazed donut holes... that caused me to gorge myself to the point of absolute illness. When you add stomach ache to fibro pain, the result is not pretty. I simply did NOT feel like blogging.
The main hobby bit is the news that Aquaman is on the bubble yet again, and unless sales jump immediately the book will likely be canceled with issue #57. I'm not surprised, but I am depressed because a) I was really enjoying the current storyline, b) I was hoping to see the tribute to Leah Adezio show up in the book, and I'm not sure it will make it now, and c) Tad Williams has indicated that if the book is canceled, the return of Orin to the role of Aquaman will not happen. Ack. So add a minor case of depression to fibro pain and stomach ache.
The last part was me wanting to take a short break. With everything else going on, this really seemed like the logical weekend, no?
So I'm preparing a Ripples Through Time for tonight, and a large link post. They will probably be posted very late Pacific Time, but at the moment I plan on posting them.
But don't count on it. And here's why. I usually try to go swimming at the therapy pool on Mondays. I got all ready, jumped in my van, and started out for the pool at about 5pm today. I got four blocks then my van shuddered deeply and made a strange rattling noise. It sounded like my driver's side door wasn't closed all the way. I felt off-balance as I pulled up in line at a red light. When the light changed and I started up again, the noise way much worse. I managed to make the light and turned the corner, then finally figured out what was wrong. Flat tire. Rear driver's side.
Panic did not set in. I actually felt very relaxed. I passed the first driveway, but looking in my rearview mirror could see that the tire was flopping around. Better get off the road, since I was suddenly sure I couldn't make it to any of the car servicing places nearby. So into the parking lot of Seattle Home Appliance I went, and found a good spot to park in, then I jumped out of the car and checked the tire.
I've seen flat tires. But this was a dead tire. Completely dead. There was a HUGE hole in the sidewall. I should have taken a picture with my camera phone, but I was far more concerned with getting the thing fixed as soon as possible. I luckily have AAA in my contacts list on my phone, so I gave them a ring. Twenty minutes later the tow truck arrived, and we made a quick trip to Les Schwab about four miles away. A note: When hubby-Eric and I dealt with bills last night, we paid for our AAA renewal. I just want to say that knowing for sure that somebody would help me get my van where it needed to go is worth every cent we paid.
The wait at Schwab was unfortunately much longer. I arrived only about ten minutes before they closed, but they took my FrankenVan in anyway. Good thing, as I would've been stuck at that point. But I did have to wait while they finished all the rest of the jobs they had queued up. The result was that I didn't get to go to the swim tonight. Instead I sat in a cold waiting room for an hour and spent entirely too much money on new tires.
Now I'm home and extremely annoyed at the lack of therapy pool. And my fibro is flaring up again, which is probably due to the stress.
The real life part was that I was sick, my fibromyalgia was flaring up a bit on Friday and Saturday. I keep wishing that the weight loss will kill the fibro, but it doesn't seem to be happening. On Saturday we had an Androgums party, and I discovered that I have a weakness in my dietary counting... namely chocolate glazed donut holes... that caused me to gorge myself to the point of absolute illness. When you add stomach ache to fibro pain, the result is not pretty. I simply did NOT feel like blogging.
The main hobby bit is the news that Aquaman is on the bubble yet again, and unless sales jump immediately the book will likely be canceled with issue #57. I'm not surprised, but I am depressed because a) I was really enjoying the current storyline, b) I was hoping to see the tribute to Leah Adezio show up in the book, and I'm not sure it will make it now, and c) Tad Williams has indicated that if the book is canceled, the return of Orin to the role of Aquaman will not happen. Ack. So add a minor case of depression to fibro pain and stomach ache.
The last part was me wanting to take a short break. With everything else going on, this really seemed like the logical weekend, no?
So I'm preparing a Ripples Through Time for tonight, and a large link post. They will probably be posted very late Pacific Time, but at the moment I plan on posting them.
But don't count on it. And here's why. I usually try to go swimming at the therapy pool on Mondays. I got all ready, jumped in my van, and started out for the pool at about 5pm today. I got four blocks then my van shuddered deeply and made a strange rattling noise. It sounded like my driver's side door wasn't closed all the way. I felt off-balance as I pulled up in line at a red light. When the light changed and I started up again, the noise way much worse. I managed to make the light and turned the corner, then finally figured out what was wrong. Flat tire. Rear driver's side.
Panic did not set in. I actually felt very relaxed. I passed the first driveway, but looking in my rearview mirror could see that the tire was flopping around. Better get off the road, since I was suddenly sure I couldn't make it to any of the car servicing places nearby. So into the parking lot of Seattle Home Appliance I went, and found a good spot to park in, then I jumped out of the car and checked the tire.
I've seen flat tires. But this was a dead tire. Completely dead. There was a HUGE hole in the sidewall. I should have taken a picture with my camera phone, but I was far more concerned with getting the thing fixed as soon as possible. I luckily have AAA in my contacts list on my phone, so I gave them a ring. Twenty minutes later the tow truck arrived, and we made a quick trip to Les Schwab about four miles away. A note: When hubby-Eric and I dealt with bills last night, we paid for our AAA renewal. I just want to say that knowing for sure that somebody would help me get my van where it needed to go is worth every cent we paid.
The wait at Schwab was unfortunately much longer. I arrived only about ten minutes before they closed, but they took my FrankenVan in anyway. Good thing, as I would've been stuck at that point. But I did have to wait while they finished all the rest of the jobs they had queued up. The result was that I didn't get to go to the swim tonight. Instead I sat in a cold waiting room for an hour and spent entirely too much money on new tires.
Now I'm home and extremely annoyed at the lack of therapy pool. And my fibro is flaring up again, which is probably due to the stress.
Labels: Blogging, Frankenhaus
Sunday, May 20, 2007
No Blog Today
See up there? That's what no blog looks like. What? What do you mean, this is a blog? Oh frakin' Rassilon...
Labels: No Blog Kinda Day
Saturday, May 19, 2007
No Blog Today
Seriously. There will be no blog today.
ARGH! I did it again, didn't I?
ARGH! I did it again, didn't I?
Labels: No Blog Kinda Day
Friday, May 18, 2007
No Blog Today
It's a blog-free Friday!
Oh, crap, this is a blog entry. Curses.
Oh, crap, this is a blog entry. Curses.
Labels: No Blog Kinda Day
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 127
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #203 (August 1954) - The Shark With The Human Brain!
When Shark Wilson escapes from prison, Aquaman is called in to help find him, but instead spends his time fighting a shark that looks a lot like Wilson.
Finny Friends Report: As usual, Aquaman rides his sea cow to the location. He has two octopi try to stop the shark, but it slips away. A swordfish fares no better. The shark calls in more sharks, which attack Aquaman. Aquaman escapes by riding a school of flying fish. He then dives deep and brings up giant boxing shrimp that battle the sharks. A giant blowfish then attacks the original shark, poisoning it.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is surrounded by sharks, but just escapes.
Quotefile: Guard, "Don't jump, shark! Remember, the sand on the beach is believed to have magic powers that'll turn you into a fish!" Shark, "Ha, ha -- don't make me laugh! That's just a superstitious story to prevent convicts from breaking out!"
This is another story that leaves the reader wondering if Aquaman experienced magic. It doesn't say outright that the shark was Shark Wilson, but it certainly leaves it as a possibility. I like the end, when Aquaman talks to the readers and asks what they think happened.
For a long time, this was the earliest Aquaman story I had read, because it was one of the rare Aquaman stories that had been reprinted. Of course, in the reprint the colors were incorrect, as Aquaman's gloves appeared as green instead of yellow.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
When Shark Wilson escapes from prison, Aquaman is called in to help find him, but instead spends his time fighting a shark that looks a lot like Wilson.
Finny Friends Report: As usual, Aquaman rides his sea cow to the location. He has two octopi try to stop the shark, but it slips away. A swordfish fares no better. The shark calls in more sharks, which attack Aquaman. Aquaman escapes by riding a school of flying fish. He then dives deep and brings up giant boxing shrimp that battle the sharks. A giant blowfish then attacks the original shark, poisoning it.
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is surrounded by sharks, but just escapes.
Quotefile: Guard, "Don't jump, shark! Remember, the sand on the beach is believed to have magic powers that'll turn you into a fish!" Shark, "Ha, ha -- don't make me laugh! That's just a superstitious story to prevent convicts from breaking out!"
This is another story that leaves the reader wondering if Aquaman experienced magic. It doesn't say outright that the shark was Shark Wilson, but it certainly leaves it as a possibility. I like the end, when Aquaman talks to the readers and asks what they think happened.
For a long time, this was the earliest Aquaman story I had read, because it was one of the rare Aquaman stories that had been reprinted. Of course, in the reprint the colors were incorrect, as Aquaman's gloves appeared as green instead of yellow.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Digital Cable
Comcast is trying to update all its subscribers to digital one way or another. For us, they offered a "free for one year" deal that upgrades us to digital for a year, with digital music channels and on demand, but none of the other channels. I bit. I mean, it's a decent enough deal, and the small print said that the cost after one year would be $1 more than we are currently paying. I'm willing to accept the risk, especially as I'm keeping all the paperwork.
The digital cable boxes arrived today. The extra TV was easy to hook up. No bizarre extras, nothing special. But the main TV has a TiVo hooked to it, and it was a bit of nightmare to hook it up originally. I had to pull out the TiVo hook-up directions and mess with them for a LONG time to figure out what needed to be done to add a digital box to the set-up. Of particular interest was the need to add IR emitters from the TiVo to the digital box, so the TiVo can control the digital box. I hope. I'm still waiting for the cable to become active so I can test the whole system.
And that's not the only tech fun I'm having today. I also learned how to do the GIMP scripting that I've been whining about. A long post on that subject is coming soon, so I can remember what I did next time I need to try it.
The digital cable boxes arrived today. The extra TV was easy to hook up. No bizarre extras, nothing special. But the main TV has a TiVo hooked to it, and it was a bit of nightmare to hook it up originally. I had to pull out the TiVo hook-up directions and mess with them for a LONG time to figure out what needed to be done to add a digital box to the set-up. Of particular interest was the need to add IR emitters from the TiVo to the digital box, so the TiVo can control the digital box. I hope. I'm still waiting for the cable to become active so I can test the whole system.
And that's not the only tech fun I'm having today. I also learned how to do the GIMP scripting that I've been whining about. A long post on that subject is coming soon, so I can remember what I did next time I need to try it.
Labels: Comcast, Technology, TiVo
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 126
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #202 (July 1954) - Menace of the Freak Fish!
After the US Navy tests a bomb, sea creatures entering the area of the test mutate into hybrid monsters that ignore Aquaman's commands.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow through the story. He warns fish out of the area when the bomb is tested, but allows them back in after the explosion. An octopus with electric tentacles attacks, but Aquaman can't command it and has horseshoe crabs subdue it. A whale that squirts ink link a squid attacks a ship. Aquaman battles a shark with a sawfish's beak. Three other mutant fish attack: An 8-foot sailfish with the daggers of the scallop, a 20-foot manta with the teeth of a sea urchin, and a pipefish with the pincers of a giant crab. When Aquaman gets the word, all the hybrid break apart. The whole thing was a ruse to keep ships out of the area of the test bomb until the contents of the bomb had dispersed enough in the water to prevent any foreign enemy from discovering the bomb's secret.
Aquaman has no problem whatsoever in tricking people, and many of his adventures involve him pulling fast ones on large audiences of the general public. Aquaman is constantly manipulating the media and fooling reporters.
I enjoyed seeing the various hybrid monsters. It had to have been fun to come up with some of those combinations, many of which aren't obvious. The octopus with electric tentacles is just great. I want a pet one.
Quotefile: Navy scientist to Aquaman, in front of reporters, "I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Aquaman! That bomb affected the water in such a way as to give certain fish the properties of other fish!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
After the US Navy tests a bomb, sea creatures entering the area of the test mutate into hybrid monsters that ignore Aquaman's commands.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow through the story. He warns fish out of the area when the bomb is tested, but allows them back in after the explosion. An octopus with electric tentacles attacks, but Aquaman can't command it and has horseshoe crabs subdue it. A whale that squirts ink link a squid attacks a ship. Aquaman battles a shark with a sawfish's beak. Three other mutant fish attack: An 8-foot sailfish with the daggers of the scallop, a 20-foot manta with the teeth of a sea urchin, and a pipefish with the pincers of a giant crab. When Aquaman gets the word, all the hybrid break apart. The whole thing was a ruse to keep ships out of the area of the test bomb until the contents of the bomb had dispersed enough in the water to prevent any foreign enemy from discovering the bomb's secret.
Aquaman has no problem whatsoever in tricking people, and many of his adventures involve him pulling fast ones on large audiences of the general public. Aquaman is constantly manipulating the media and fooling reporters.
I enjoyed seeing the various hybrid monsters. It had to have been fun to come up with some of those combinations, many of which aren't obvious. The octopus with electric tentacles is just great. I want a pet one.
Quotefile: Navy scientist to Aquaman, in front of reporters, "I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Aquaman! That bomb affected the water in such a way as to give certain fish the properties of other fish!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Wednesday Linkages
Bully visits The Museum of Flight, Country Village, and The Gjovaag's House.
Send get-well cards to Kaja Foglio: Studio Foglio, LLC, 2400 NW 80th St. #129, Seattle, WA, 98117-4449 USA. She's home from the hospital, but not yet well.
The fan behind Spider-Man's black costume comes forward.
Scipio declares War.
Lots of kerfluffle over a stupid statue. My own reaction to it was to roll my eyes and move on.
LOLCats in reality.
How to fight Trolls.
Wood, Bronze, Iron, Fire, Water, Stone.
No Comment (except to say that I have seen the Star Trek one, and it was very odd).
Top Ten 80's Shows.
Congressional Food Stamp Challenge. Can you live on $21 a week? Via Boing Boing.
Send get-well cards to Kaja Foglio: Studio Foglio, LLC, 2400 NW 80th St. #129, Seattle, WA, 98117-4449 USA. She's home from the hospital, but not yet well.
The fan behind Spider-Man's black costume comes forward.
Scipio declares War.
Lots of kerfluffle over a stupid statue. My own reaction to it was to roll my eyes and move on.
LOLCats in reality.
How to fight Trolls.
Wood, Bronze, Iron, Fire, Water, Stone.
No Comment (except to say that I have seen the Star Trek one, and it was very odd).
Top Ten 80's Shows.
Congressional Food Stamp Challenge. Can you live on $21 a week? Via Boing Boing.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 125
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #201 (June 1954) - The Stars Who Couldn't Swim!
When Aquaman recommends a down-on-his-luck swimmer to help out a movie producer, he doesn't quite get what he expects.
Plot-holes you could steer a freighter through on this one. Aquaman recommends "Channel Charlie" to the movie director to teach the stars how to swim, but a fake Charlie shows up instead. Fake Charlie's make-up is based on an old photo, but they kidnapped the real Charlie to make the switch, so why not just use the real thing instead? And Aquaman doesn't realize that Charlie is fake, which has to mean he never met the guy during his original English Channel swim. But he later figures out that Charlie should be 60 years old, and thus look completely different. Why did it take him so long? And the make-up on fake Charlie... how did it stay on when he was doing so much swimming?
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman has whales hold up the non-swimmers, while whales help propel them along.
Quotefile: Joe, "You doublecrosser! You actually taught them to swim!" Fake Charlie, "Take it easy, Joe! They think they can swim, but take my word for it, they can't! You'll see!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
When Aquaman recommends a down-on-his-luck swimmer to help out a movie producer, he doesn't quite get what he expects.
Plot-holes you could steer a freighter through on this one. Aquaman recommends "Channel Charlie" to the movie director to teach the stars how to swim, but a fake Charlie shows up instead. Fake Charlie's make-up is based on an old photo, but they kidnapped the real Charlie to make the switch, so why not just use the real thing instead? And Aquaman doesn't realize that Charlie is fake, which has to mean he never met the guy during his original English Channel swim. But he later figures out that Charlie should be 60 years old, and thus look completely different. Why did it take him so long? And the make-up on fake Charlie... how did it stay on when he was doing so much swimming?
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman has whales hold up the non-swimmers, while whales help propel them along.
Quotefile: Joe, "You doublecrosser! You actually taught them to swim!" Fake Charlie, "Take it easy, Joe! They think they can swim, but take my word for it, they can't! You'll see!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Tuesday Linkdump
Yay, Polite Scott is home!
Send a get well card to Kaja Foglio.
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #102.
Bully's Ten of a Kind: Architecture Attack.
Death Note Banned in Beijing. Not a surprise.
Put Down The Duckie! With lots of guest appearances.
I tried to fix formatting problems on Marv's site, but failed miserably when most references said the solution was to stop using Internet Explorer on the Mac. I never did figure out why it displays incorrectly.
Who is in the Picture of Everything? Yes, I found Waldo (and Aquaman).
Doctor Who: Too ridiculous to not link to.
This is just too cool for words.
Top Ten 80's Music Videos.
Space Junk, not a meteorite. That's a bummer.
Wow, I'm glad the zoo isn't still like this. Wow.
Don't always trust the computer. Ouch.
How to NOT teach math to girls.
The Secret Death of Bees.
Terror On Wall Street: 16 September 1920.
New bio-fuel plant? Maybe.
Riverbend on leaving Iraq.
Goldy is banned in China, apparently for exposing just how much poison China puts into food exports that we end up eating.
Julie Amero, taking the fall for bad security on a school computer, is about to be sentenced.
Seattle Weather: Record-breaking. I sat on the porch with my computer for awhile until the bugs got to me. For the first time in weeks I was completely warm. I opened doors and windows, and the house warmed up considerably.
Send a get well card to Kaja Foglio.
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #102.
Bully's Ten of a Kind: Architecture Attack.
Death Note Banned in Beijing. Not a surprise.
Put Down The Duckie! With lots of guest appearances.
I tried to fix formatting problems on Marv's site, but failed miserably when most references said the solution was to stop using Internet Explorer on the Mac. I never did figure out why it displays incorrectly.
Who is in the Picture of Everything? Yes, I found Waldo (and Aquaman).
Doctor Who: Too ridiculous to not link to.
This is just too cool for words.
Top Ten 80's Music Videos.
Space Junk, not a meteorite. That's a bummer.
Wow, I'm glad the zoo isn't still like this. Wow.
Don't always trust the computer. Ouch.
How to NOT teach math to girls.
The Secret Death of Bees.
Terror On Wall Street: 16 September 1920.
New bio-fuel plant? Maybe.
Riverbend on leaving Iraq.
Goldy is banned in China, apparently for exposing just how much poison China puts into food exports that we end up eating.
Julie Amero, taking the fall for bad security on a school computer, is about to be sentenced.
Seattle Weather: Record-breaking. I sat on the porch with my computer for awhile until the bugs got to me. For the first time in weeks I was completely warm. I opened doors and windows, and the house warmed up considerably.
Labels: Bully, Comic Book Urban Legends, Health, Links
Monday, May 14, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 124
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
This review is dedicated to Polite Scott, who is a medical blogger as well as a comic book blogger. I kept thinking of him while reading this story with all its ridiculous medicine. Get well soon, Scott!
Adventure #200 (May 1954) - Aquaman, Microbe Hunter!
Aquaman is called on a mysterious mission inland: to rid a famous scientist of a dangerous virus by being shrunk and injected into the victim's blood.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow in this one, but otherwise his finny friends don't help him. He does manage to communicate with Welky's white blood cells, though, and gets their help.
Quotefile: Aquaman, as he's shrinking, "T-this reminds me of Alice in Wonderland! I--I hope my story ends happily, too!"
Man, how many problems are there with this story? Aquaman is summoned because he can breathe liquid, but he's being shrunk to the size of cells. Um. When he gets into the body, he see (and describes for the curious young readers) "red corpuscles" and "white-celled phagocytes", but there's only one virus cell. A single virus cell caused sleeping sickness? To trap the virus cell, he closes a valve in the heart then sneaks up from behind by going through the entire circulatory system. Wouldn't that kill Welky? I mean, closing the heart valve can't be good for his health. How exactly does Aquaman communicate with the white blood cells? And seriously, what happened to the poor rabbit?!?
There's a strange sequence at the beginning in which Aquaman is setting up a "shell-speaker" that will allow him to listen for danger signals on the surface. No sooner does he have it set up than he hears cannon fire and learns that he's being summoned by the Navy for a secret mission.
I thought the plotline might be based on Fantastic Voyage, but this story came out over a decade earlier than the film.
Aqua-Exclamations: "Holy Herring", "Holy Catfish"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
This review is dedicated to Polite Scott, who is a medical blogger as well as a comic book blogger. I kept thinking of him while reading this story with all its ridiculous medicine. Get well soon, Scott!
Aquaman is called on a mysterious mission inland: to rid a famous scientist of a dangerous virus by being shrunk and injected into the victim's blood.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow in this one, but otherwise his finny friends don't help him. He does manage to communicate with Welky's white blood cells, though, and gets their help.
Quotefile: Aquaman, as he's shrinking, "T-this reminds me of Alice in Wonderland! I--I hope my story ends happily, too!"
Man, how many problems are there with this story? Aquaman is summoned because he can breathe liquid, but he's being shrunk to the size of cells. Um. When he gets into the body, he see (and describes for the curious young readers) "red corpuscles" and "white-celled phagocytes", but there's only one virus cell. A single virus cell caused sleeping sickness? To trap the virus cell, he closes a valve in the heart then sneaks up from behind by going through the entire circulatory system. Wouldn't that kill Welky? I mean, closing the heart valve can't be good for his health. How exactly does Aquaman communicate with the white blood cells? And seriously, what happened to the poor rabbit?!?
There's a strange sequence at the beginning in which Aquaman is setting up a "shell-speaker" that will allow him to listen for danger signals on the surface. No sooner does he have it set up than he hears cannon fire and learns that he's being summoned by the Navy for a secret mission.
I thought the plotline might be based on Fantastic Voyage, but this story came out over a decade earlier than the film.
Aqua-Exclamations: "Holy Herring", "Holy Catfish"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Sunny Monday Links
Best wishes go out to Polite Scott who is in hospital after a heart attack. Get well soon, Scott!
Oh, I'm SO glad I didn't go downtown Friday afternoon. I'd rather meet Bully than Blake any day (sorry Blake, Bully is cuter).
Linda Medley asks us to Help Greensburg Kansas by remembering it as it was before the tornado.
There has been a reaction to Doctor Who being pre-empted by a stupid song contest.
Speaking of, Doctor Who has a Prologue.
Interview with Hiro. Ah, a fellow nerd.
E-mail scammers getting desperate?
Candle update: I did indeed take a nice hot bath, and burned a "Green Apple" candle. I burned the tealight for a little over an hour, and after I blew it out and let it cool, it looked like I'd burned it for only a couple of minutes. On the negative side, the room only smelled faintly of apples, but then I had the fan going, which no doubt dispersed some of it. On an unrelated note, I found another activity that is much improved by having lost so much weight. On Sunday I burned the other tealight in the small bathroom until it burnt out... five hours later! The room smelled of citrus the rest of the evening.
Oh, I'm SO glad I didn't go downtown Friday afternoon. I'd rather meet Bully than Blake any day (sorry Blake, Bully is cuter).
Linda Medley asks us to Help Greensburg Kansas by remembering it as it was before the tornado.
There has been a reaction to Doctor Who being pre-empted by a stupid song contest.
Speaking of, Doctor Who has a Prologue.
Interview with Hiro. Ah, a fellow nerd.
E-mail scammers getting desperate?
Candle update: I did indeed take a nice hot bath, and burned a "Green Apple" candle. I burned the tealight for a little over an hour, and after I blew it out and let it cool, it looked like I'd burned it for only a couple of minutes. On the negative side, the room only smelled faintly of apples, but then I had the fan going, which no doubt dispersed some of it. On an unrelated note, I found another activity that is much improved by having lost so much weight. On Sunday I burned the other tealight in the small bathroom until it burnt out... five hours later! The room smelled of citrus the rest of the evening.
Labels: Bully, Candles, Doctor Who, Links, Polite Scott
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 123
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will 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 #199 (April 1954) - The Fire-Fighter of the Seven Seas!
When Jim the fireman loses his nerve and runs off to sea to forget, it takes Aquaman's fire crew to snap him out of it.
Aquaman has his own nifty fireman's hat AND a fireman coat that he wears while performing his duties as firefighter of the sea. Aquaman has tons of roles in the DCU's oceans... so many that there's no way he could possibly fulfill them all. He's a banker, a cop, and now a firefighter. Each role has it's own bases (Aquaman tells Jim that he has firehouses strategically placed so that ship fires can be answered at once). Aquaman is either superfast or he's got a whole lot of clones. Or the DC oceans are really really small.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman firetruck is a whale carrying a platform, with a seal ringing the bell. He has swordfish cut into the hold to get at the fire in the ship, then whales spout water into it. Tortoises enter the hold and pass the burning bales to an octopus, who flings them into the water to put them out. Later, a group of seals catch the lighthouse keeper in a net to re-create Jim's failed rescue and make him remember that the man didn't die.
Quotefile: Jim, to Aquaman after the fire on the ship is out, "Yes, it was the most amazing exhibition I've ever seen-- and I ought to know-- I-- I used to be a fireman myself!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
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.
When Jim the fireman loses his nerve and runs off to sea to forget, it takes Aquaman's fire crew to snap him out of it.
Aquaman has his own nifty fireman's hat AND a fireman coat that he wears while performing his duties as firefighter of the sea. Aquaman has tons of roles in the DCU's oceans... so many that there's no way he could possibly fulfill them all. He's a banker, a cop, and now a firefighter. Each role has it's own bases (Aquaman tells Jim that he has firehouses strategically placed so that ship fires can be answered at once). Aquaman is either superfast or he's got a whole lot of clones. Or the DC oceans are really really small.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman firetruck is a whale carrying a platform, with a seal ringing the bell. He has swordfish cut into the hold to get at the fire in the ship, then whales spout water into it. Tortoises enter the hold and pass the burning bales to an octopus, who flings them into the water to put them out. Later, a group of seals catch the lighthouse keeper in a net to re-create Jim's failed rescue and make him remember that the man didn't die.
Quotefile: Jim, to Aquaman after the fire on the ship is out, "Yes, it was the most amazing exhibition I've ever seen-- and I ought to know-- I-- I used to be a fireman myself!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Happy and Peaceful Mother's Day to You!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Sketchbook - Alex Maleev
I first met Aquaman cover artist Alex Maleev at Emerald City Comicon 2006 and got a sketch from him. He wasn't properly trolled until this year's convention.
As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.
To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. Click for a random Aquaman sketch. Also check for a history of Saturday Sketches.
The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "A", "M" and the number "54", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.
As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.
To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. Click for a random Aquaman sketch. Also check for a history of Saturday Sketches.
The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "A", "M" and the number "54", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.
Labels: Aquaman, Saturday Sketch
Er, PartyLite?
My sister invited me down to a party at my parents' house... a "PartyLite" party. She mentioned candles, but I really wasn't sure what I was getting into. I figured on some multi-level marketing scheme, which happens a lot around me for some reason, and figured I would buy a candle and be done with it. I love candles, but I'm incredibly disappointed by most of them. They never burn cleanly, and I always end up with smoke in my eyes. So I wasn't expecting much from this, but a single candle can't cost too much...
When I got to my parents' house and walked in, the first thing I noticed was THE SMELL. Oh good grief there was a wonderful smell in the house. There were at least 20 candles burning in the living room alone, and each bathroom had candles in it as well. I didn't notice any smoky smell, either, which was refreshing. And most of the candles were burning so evenly it was hard to tell they were burning. VERY nice.
Lisa's friend (M) is the consultant, and I quickly enough identified it as a multi-level marketing scheme. So, yes, despite the wonder of non-smoky candles I think I was, on the balance, feeling a bit negative about the whole thing at this point. I would certainly buy one, because I generally do buy candles when I can, but I wasn't feeling great about it.
I waited for M to launch into her spiel, but she and Lisa just chatted with me about other things while my mom talked about a book club to another friend who had shown up. Eventually I had to ask them about the candles. M gave me a catalog and pulled out a sampler case. She didn't have any patter down, which was amusing, she was winging it and simply enjoying herself. I coaxed information out of Lisa and M, figuring out what kind of things I would like. They plied me with samplers to smell, many of which were simply wonderful, some not so much.
My mom, finishing up her book club talk, told about how one of the PartyLite candles came in really handy during the long December power outage after the windstorm. They were without power for over 4 days. They put one of the PartyLite candles in the main bathroom, and because it was safely enclosed in a deep glass vase, they simply let it burn the entire time. It lasted the length of the outage, and still had some left. But it gave them a bathroom light in a time of need.
Ok, color me impressed. The candle in question cost $22 plus shipping and tax, so I decided against it. However, one thing I noticed about the candle was that the level of wax in the glass vase was at the same level as the wick... there was no hollow like in all the candles I have. The glass above that level was clear... and yet the candle was clearly burned nearly to the bottom! I've apparently never experienced good candles before.
While I would've loved to get a pile of candles to try out, the prices were a bit high for me to swallow. I settled on some tealights (cute little candles which I adore!) that are supposed to last four hours minimum. The last tealight I had burned out after 2 hours, so if these last that much longer I'll be very impressed. I plan on a hot bath with candles very soon. Lisa helped me pick out ones that have strong scents, and I paid up for my order. Then M gave me and hubby-Eric (who was dragged along) each a free sample tealight... hmmm, maybe I'll do a bath tonight.
After I ordered, Lisa showed off a wall sconce she'd gotten that holds tealights or votives. I fell in love with it. I did a theatrical little begging of hubby-Eric for it, but he wisely said no, at least not yet. We really can't afford it. So I dropped the subject and started plotting out how I'm going to get my hands on one eventually. Er, maybe I should erase that bit, since I know Eric reads this blog. Hmmm.
After a few other people arrived, we left and went home. Once home, I gave the catalogs a much more careful going-over, and found a few things I'd missed (like a pumpkin-scented candle, argh! I wanted to smell that one!). I also did a Google search on Partylite to see what the 'net has to say about them. While there was some negative, most of it was down to incompetent consultants, and M is competent. I actually came out of my 'net research feeling more inclined to host my own party (if I could find enough people to invite) than when I left my parents' house. Heck, at the very least I'd have a really wonderful smelling house after it was over.
For a person who hates multi-level marketing, I keep ending up getting stuff from them. With candles involved in this one... I just hope I don't get burned.
When I got to my parents' house and walked in, the first thing I noticed was THE SMELL. Oh good grief there was a wonderful smell in the house. There were at least 20 candles burning in the living room alone, and each bathroom had candles in it as well. I didn't notice any smoky smell, either, which was refreshing. And most of the candles were burning so evenly it was hard to tell they were burning. VERY nice.
Lisa's friend (M) is the consultant, and I quickly enough identified it as a multi-level marketing scheme. So, yes, despite the wonder of non-smoky candles I think I was, on the balance, feeling a bit negative about the whole thing at this point. I would certainly buy one, because I generally do buy candles when I can, but I wasn't feeling great about it.
I waited for M to launch into her spiel, but she and Lisa just chatted with me about other things while my mom talked about a book club to another friend who had shown up. Eventually I had to ask them about the candles. M gave me a catalog and pulled out a sampler case. She didn't have any patter down, which was amusing, she was winging it and simply enjoying herself. I coaxed information out of Lisa and M, figuring out what kind of things I would like. They plied me with samplers to smell, many of which were simply wonderful, some not so much.
My mom, finishing up her book club talk, told about how one of the PartyLite candles came in really handy during the long December power outage after the windstorm. They were without power for over 4 days. They put one of the PartyLite candles in the main bathroom, and because it was safely enclosed in a deep glass vase, they simply let it burn the entire time. It lasted the length of the outage, and still had some left. But it gave them a bathroom light in a time of need.
Ok, color me impressed. The candle in question cost $22 plus shipping and tax, so I decided against it. However, one thing I noticed about the candle was that the level of wax in the glass vase was at the same level as the wick... there was no hollow like in all the candles I have. The glass above that level was clear... and yet the candle was clearly burned nearly to the bottom! I've apparently never experienced good candles before.
While I would've loved to get a pile of candles to try out, the prices were a bit high for me to swallow. I settled on some tealights (cute little candles which I adore!) that are supposed to last four hours minimum. The last tealight I had burned out after 2 hours, so if these last that much longer I'll be very impressed. I plan on a hot bath with candles very soon. Lisa helped me pick out ones that have strong scents, and I paid up for my order. Then M gave me and hubby-Eric (who was dragged along) each a free sample tealight... hmmm, maybe I'll do a bath tonight.
After I ordered, Lisa showed off a wall sconce she'd gotten that holds tealights or votives. I fell in love with it. I did a theatrical little begging of hubby-Eric for it, but he wisely said no, at least not yet. We really can't afford it. So I dropped the subject and started plotting out how I'm going to get my hands on one eventually. Er, maybe I should erase that bit, since I know Eric reads this blog. Hmmm.
After a few other people arrived, we left and went home. Once home, I gave the catalogs a much more careful going-over, and found a few things I'd missed (like a pumpkin-scented candle, argh! I wanted to smell that one!). I also did a Google search on Partylite to see what the 'net has to say about them. While there was some negative, most of it was down to incompetent consultants, and M is competent. I actually came out of my 'net research feeling more inclined to host my own party (if I could find enough people to invite) than when I left my parents' house. Heck, at the very least I'd have a really wonderful smelling house after it was over.
For a person who hates multi-level marketing, I keep ending up getting stuff from them. With candles involved in this one... I just hope I don't get burned.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 122
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #198 (March 1954) - The Daredevil of the Seven Seas!
Aquaman vouches for an ex-PT Boat captain who gets a job as master of a cargo boat, but then becomes dangerously reckless and requires Aquaman to rescue him.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow again in this story! Yay! Aquaman has octopi replace the broken propellers on Alan's ship after he breaks them by racing into an ice field. When a waterspout threatens the ship, Aquaman has jellyfish seal the boat and whales drag it underwater to protect it from the storm.
Quotefile: Opening text box, "Alan Doktor had been the bravest and boldest PT Boat pilot in the service! That's why Aquaman King of the Seven Seas, personally recommended Alan to become the skipper of a cargo ship! But the sovereign of the deep was soon to regret his kindness, when the ex-hero became... "The Daredevil of the Seven Seas!""
As is often the case in these old tales, things are not what they seem. And when down-on-his-luck Alan mopes around the docks after being fired for recklessness... well, that's when the real story starts. Aquaman never worried about maintaining his reputation in the pursuit of justice, and it seems that Alan is cut from the same cloth.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Aquaman vouches for an ex-PT Boat captain who gets a job as master of a cargo boat, but then becomes dangerously reckless and requires Aquaman to rescue him.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides his sea cow again in this story! Yay! Aquaman has octopi replace the broken propellers on Alan's ship after he breaks them by racing into an ice field. When a waterspout threatens the ship, Aquaman has jellyfish seal the boat and whales drag it underwater to protect it from the storm.
Quotefile: Opening text box, "Alan Doktor had been the bravest and boldest PT Boat pilot in the service! That's why Aquaman King of the Seven Seas, personally recommended Alan to become the skipper of a cargo ship! But the sovereign of the deep was soon to regret his kindness, when the ex-hero became... "The Daredevil of the Seven Seas!""
As is often the case in these old tales, things are not what they seem. And when down-on-his-luck Alan mopes around the docks after being fired for recklessness... well, that's when the real story starts. Aquaman never worried about maintaining his reputation in the pursuit of justice, and it seems that Alan is cut from the same cloth.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Bully Has Been Trolled!
Bully came to visit with his friend John, and they took us out to dinner. Bully did NOT run into the parade for Blake Lewis, though we saw a lot of Blake Lewis fans. We went to a nice Italian place down the street, though Torvald chose to stay home. I'm sure that Bully will have his own report of the meal, but I just want to say that Bully sometimes chews with his mouth open and talks with his mouth full... but he's still fun to hang around with, so don't let that put you off. Personally, I had a "disaster" day for my food recording, but it was worth it for good food and company. In a few short hours, Bully will be on a plane back to New York... but it was fun to meet him.
Update: It only seems fair to share the rest of the pictures I got with Bully. Bully also met famous TV personality Monty the Penguin, who insisted on a group shot with Torvald.
Monty then asked Bully to pose with his scarf, and we got a great image of Bully in a Doctor Who scarf.
After a long discussion about Oz during dinner, Bully asked to be introduced to Scraps, the one Oz doll that I own (as opposed to hubby-Eric, who owns many others). As you can see from the picture, Bully is quite taken with her.
And that's it. Really. Bully may have a few more pictures, but I didn't take any more than these.
Labels: Bully
Morning Links
I must avoid downtown Bothell today. Not a problem... but BULLY is coming to visit today, so I hope he and John don't get caught in traffic from the parade.
Not a crop circle... a desert circle? Who made this, and why?
Ooooh, instructions on installing Ubuntu to dual-boot with Windows. I'm almost to the point where I've got my system properly backed-up for the install. Soon I will be running Ubuntu at least part of the time.
Vintage Seattle on Denny Hill, thanks to a question I asked. Cool!
The origins of the word "picnic".
Being thin doesn't mean you are healthy. Another argument in favor of exercise and not just diet to lost weight.
If you didn't see it, it's worth checking out. First watch Cooking With Feminists and see Stephen Colbert's first kiss with Jane Fonda. Then check out Colbert's Wednesday night interview with Jane Fonda, in which she stuns Colbert and almost manages to render him speechless, though he bravely forges on. I had to watch it twice I was laughing so hard.
Huh. Nobody helped me with my GIMP scripting problem I mentioned. That's really unusual. I've found that with blogs, I usually get an answer within a day. Oh well.
And for the in-laws: Darth Pug.
Not a crop circle... a desert circle? Who made this, and why?
Ooooh, instructions on installing Ubuntu to dual-boot with Windows. I'm almost to the point where I've got my system properly backed-up for the install. Soon I will be running Ubuntu at least part of the time.
Vintage Seattle on Denny Hill, thanks to a question I asked. Cool!
The origins of the word "picnic".
Being thin doesn't mean you are healthy. Another argument in favor of exercise and not just diet to lost weight.
If you didn't see it, it's worth checking out. First watch Cooking With Feminists and see Stephen Colbert's first kiss with Jane Fonda. Then check out Colbert's Wednesday night interview with Jane Fonda, in which she stuns Colbert and almost manages to render him speechless, though he bravely forges on. I had to watch it twice I was laughing so hard.
Huh. Nobody helped me with my GIMP scripting problem I mentioned. That's really unusual. I've found that with blogs, I usually get an answer within a day. Oh well.
And for the in-laws: Darth Pug.
Labels: Bothell, Bully, Health, Pug, Seattle, Ubuntu, Weight Loss
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Ripples Through Time - 121
Sorry about the delay. I burned out a bit on the stories, and decided to take a break after the first "Aquaman on another planet" tale. I really hate the alien planet stories with Aquaman... anyway. As you recall, Aquaman visited a planet where the seas were like land, and the earth was ocean. He received a "compressed air" gun from the aliens, which he still possessed at the end of the story, despite being uncertain if the trip was real or just a dream. In this tale, we get back to more normal adventures... whalers and Aquaman in disguise.
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #197 (February 1954) - Aquaman Walks The Plank!
Aquaman goes undercover to stop whalers from hunting endangered whales... but his identity is soon discovered.
Another story in which Aquaman goes undercover. He infiltrates the crew of Captain Samson to try to come up with a way to stop Samson from killing the camel-back whales. All of Aquaman's action scenes are in normal clothing, blue pants and a white shirt.
Captain Samson styles himself as a pirate captain, which his crew apparently puts up with. He has a magnificent moustache and wears an eyepatch on his right eye... which he apparently doesn't need because he has it raised in the final panel and his eyes are perfectly normal.
Finny Friends Report: A tortoise bumps a whaling boat to throw off the aim of the harpoon. A sea eagle snatches another harpoon from the sky. Giant clams snip off the ropes that tie Aquaman. Electric eels trap Captain Samson.
Captured/Knocked Out report: When Aquaman comes back on board after saving the whales, he's forced to walk the plank for deserting the vessel. When he jumps back aboard after being freed, he's chained up and forced to walk the plank again.
Quotefile: Captain Samson, "Did you say "Aquaman?" Listen to me, you lubber, I never saw that fish-man, and if he knows what's good for him, he'd better stay off my course!" Amusingly, he's making this comment to Aquaman, who is undercover.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Aquaman goes undercover to stop whalers from hunting endangered whales... but his identity is soon discovered.
Another story in which Aquaman goes undercover. He infiltrates the crew of Captain Samson to try to come up with a way to stop Samson from killing the camel-back whales. All of Aquaman's action scenes are in normal clothing, blue pants and a white shirt.
Captain Samson styles himself as a pirate captain, which his crew apparently puts up with. He has a magnificent moustache and wears an eyepatch on his right eye... which he apparently doesn't need because he has it raised in the final panel and his eyes are perfectly normal.
Finny Friends Report: A tortoise bumps a whaling boat to throw off the aim of the harpoon. A sea eagle snatches another harpoon from the sky. Giant clams snip off the ropes that tie Aquaman. Electric eels trap Captain Samson.
Captured/Knocked Out report: When Aquaman comes back on board after saving the whales, he's forced to walk the plank for deserting the vessel. When he jumps back aboard after being freed, he's chained up and forced to walk the plank again.
Quotefile: Captain Samson, "Did you say "Aquaman?" Listen to me, you lubber, I never saw that fish-man, and if he knows what's good for him, he'd better stay off my course!" Amusingly, he's making this comment to Aquaman, who is undercover.
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Aquaman, Ripples Through Time
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Wednesday Links
TwoMorrows announces Digital versions of their magazines. As I'm trying to reduce the amount of magazines I buy, having a digital copy may actually work better for me for some of their stuff. And the price isn't too bad, although it's still a tiny bit high for me.
Emerald City Comicon has announced three guests for next year's event.
The Doctor Who Website has a countdown to the next episode, delayed by the #!^%@$! Eurovision Song Contest. Oddly enough, such a countdown is apparently very appropriate for the next episode.
Wow. If this story aobut Quiznos is true, I don't think I ever want to eat there again.
Attack of the Killer Turtle!
Scott Adams admires the government of Taiwan. Because they fight. Like, real fistfights, during sessions. I think he has a point.
California is testing its voting machines, and vendors better hope they pass. Let's hope this is a serious test, and that they catch the crappy machines designed to steal elections.
The CBC reports that Nutrition Labels aren't accurate. I could've told you that. At least in my case, they've been accurate enough to keep me losing weight instead of gaining. It's a shame that some products are so far off, though, and it's a surprise to learn that Canada allows 20% variability. I wonder how much variability the US allows?
You can get wake up files read by Stephen Fry for free. Now I just need a good alarm clock program to put in my computer so I can use them as my wake up call.
I've been trying to use the GIMP for batch processing images, but it really sucks for any non-programmer types to try to figure out. I took a stab at the scripting, but failed completely. Doing more than the basic stuff with the GIMP can be a nightmare for someone who doesn't know scripting... but it's a fantastic program otherwise. If anyone wants to help with the script, I basically want to take every image in a directory and apply the levels tool to it, using preset input levels (of 25 and 225 respectively) then resave the images into the same directory with a prefix (so I have both versions of the image to use). The so-called tutorial really doesn't help much. If I was still using Paint Shop Pro, it would have taken me two minutes to whip up a macro, and 30 more seconds to run it. I wish the GIMP had the same macro recording and batch tools as PSP. And no, I'm not interested in running Photoshop. I can't afford it and I wouldn't use it enough to justify it.
Emerald City Comicon has announced three guests for next year's event.
The Doctor Who Website has a countdown to the next episode, delayed by the #!^%@$! Eurovision Song Contest. Oddly enough, such a countdown is apparently very appropriate for the next episode.
Wow. If this story aobut Quiznos is true, I don't think I ever want to eat there again.
Attack of the Killer Turtle!
Scott Adams admires the government of Taiwan. Because they fight. Like, real fistfights, during sessions. I think he has a point.
California is testing its voting machines, and vendors better hope they pass. Let's hope this is a serious test, and that they catch the crappy machines designed to steal elections.
The CBC reports that Nutrition Labels aren't accurate. I could've told you that. At least in my case, they've been accurate enough to keep me losing weight instead of gaining. It's a shame that some products are so far off, though, and it's a surprise to learn that Canada allows 20% variability. I wonder how much variability the US allows?
You can get wake up files read by Stephen Fry for free. Now I just need a good alarm clock program to put in my computer so I can use them as my wake up call.
I've been trying to use the GIMP for batch processing images, but it really sucks for any non-programmer types to try to figure out. I took a stab at the scripting, but failed completely. Doing more than the basic stuff with the GIMP can be a nightmare for someone who doesn't know scripting... but it's a fantastic program otherwise. If anyone wants to help with the script, I basically want to take every image in a directory and apply the levels tool to it, using preset input levels (of 25 and 225 respectively) then resave the images into the same directory with a prefix (so I have both versions of the image to use). The so-called tutorial really doesn't help much. If I was still using Paint Shop Pro, it would have taken me two minutes to whip up a macro, and 30 more seconds to run it. I wish the GIMP had the same macro recording and batch tools as PSP. And no, I'm not interested in running Photoshop. I can't afford it and I wouldn't use it enough to justify it.
Labels: Doctor Who, Downloading Comics, Emerald City Comicon, Links, Voting Machines, Weight Loss, YouTube
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tuesday Links
Tide Power... I've always wondered why it wasn't common, and while this article doesn't actually answer that question, it gives me some hints.
We continue to be Poisoned. And it's getting worse.
Old Pictures.
Astronomer blames women for bad TV.
Mahna Mahna.
Breakfast of the Gods, Book Two.
We continue to be Poisoned. And it's getting worse.
Old Pictures.
Astronomer blames women for bad TV.
Mahna Mahna.
Breakfast of the Gods, Book Two.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Monday Afternoon Links
Hmmm... Olympia isn't that far away... I wonder if I should plan on going to this one?
Mathematics in Movies.
Stolen Wallet found 56 Years later, to the day.
Are American contractors just stupid? I mean, heck, I'm a casual coin collector and I'd heard of that coin!!! Heck, I think Carolyn even sent me one. Hey, Carolyn, are you spying on me with your magic Canadian Poppy Coin?
Check out J.L.Bell's entry on a new way to read The Wizard of Oz and Nursery Rhymes.
A Massive Supernova that breaks the rules for supernovas makes scientists wonder about one of our own starry neighbors.
How do you carry your mobile phone?
Mathematics in Movies.
Stolen Wallet found 56 Years later, to the day.
On April 11, 1951, sailor Val Gregoire, 18, was hit over the head while on shore leave in Boston. When he came to, his wallet - and his pants - were gone.Via Carolyn Ibis.
Gregoire's widow and five children were familiar with the story, which became part of family legend. But now they have proof. The wallet was discovered by a demolition worker at Boston's Paramount Theatre - 56 years to the day Gregoire lost it.
Are American contractors just stupid? I mean, heck, I'm a casual coin collector and I'd heard of that coin!!! Heck, I think Carolyn even sent me one. Hey, Carolyn, are you spying on me with your magic Canadian Poppy Coin?
Check out J.L.Bell's entry on a new way to read The Wizard of Oz and Nursery Rhymes.
A Massive Supernova that breaks the rules for supernovas makes scientists wonder about one of our own starry neighbors.
How do you carry your mobile phone?
Labels: Astronomy, Links, Math, Wizard of Oz
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Links
You got AiT/Planet Lar's FCBD offerings, right?
Take a look at this new blog that shows us Seattle, Vintage-style.
Best Headline Ever.
Insane Cat Terrorizes Mail Carriers. I wonder if this is a case of mistaken identity? Maybe Shadow has an evil twin?
World Fatness.
Take a look at this new blog that shows us Seattle, Vintage-style.
Best Headline Ever.
Insane Cat Terrorizes Mail Carriers. I wonder if this is a case of mistaken identity? Maybe Shadow has an evil twin?
World Fatness.
Labels: Cats, Free Comic Book Day, Weight Loss
Unrelated to Anything Else
Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 75 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th 2006.
If you'll all excuse me for a second. ***WAAHHHHOOOOOO!!!!!!*** ahem Ok, I'm back now.
Lately I've found that I get sick if I eat what used to be a normal-sized meal for me. I tend to still try to eat it, old habits die really hard, but I get ill and stuffed and feel awful. While hubby-Eric and I have adjusted most of our meals down to my new normal, every once in awhile we run across a meal that we haven't and I get ill because I have the "clean your plate" habit.
I also have to pay a lot of attention to serving sizes and watch closely how much I'm actually eating so I don't eat too much too fast. I still tend to shovel food into myself before I have a chance to start digesting, and that's not good for the health. After a meal or a snack, I have to force myself to wait until it's digesting before I ask if I'm still hungry. The answer is usually, "No, I'm not still hungry." If I could only learn to eat slower, I wouldn't need to wait to know for sure. Even when I try to eat slow, I'm usually done with my food twice as fast as hubby-Eric.
The various 100 Calorie Packs have come in extremely handy in monitoring my caloric intake. Two new ones I've just discovered are the Keebler Grasshopper and Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes. Both of them yummy, and both fill places in the taste spectrum that other types of packs hadn't quite reached. The Hostess cupcake 100 Calorie Packs are ok, but nothing to write home about. I still haven't actually found the Breyer's Ice Cream ones, but they tempt me. They'd tempt me more if there was an all-chocolate one. I'm addicted to the Lorna Doone 100 Calorie packs at the moment. Of course, when you consider that I usually only have 1 or 2 of the packs each day, and that new brands come out practically every week, you see that I have plenty of time for experimentation.
In any case, I try to make sure no snack goes over 150 calories, and no meal goes over 600. It's a balancing act, and it takes a lot of nerding out and reading food labels even when it annoys people you are eating with. But it's working. It's 75 Pounds worth of working. I cannot argue with results. This change in lifestyles to counting calories and exercise won't work for everyone, but I sometimes feel so great about it I want to tell everyone I know so they will give it a try.
One last thought... I've got to once again thank Mark Evanier, whose story helped kick me into action and make this weight loss really happen. I do not think I could have done this without him. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your story. You've helped at least one person with it.
If you'll all excuse me for a second. ***WAAHHHHOOOOOO!!!!!!*** ahem Ok, I'm back now.
Lately I've found that I get sick if I eat what used to be a normal-sized meal for me. I tend to still try to eat it, old habits die really hard, but I get ill and stuffed and feel awful. While hubby-Eric and I have adjusted most of our meals down to my new normal, every once in awhile we run across a meal that we haven't and I get ill because I have the "clean your plate" habit.
I also have to pay a lot of attention to serving sizes and watch closely how much I'm actually eating so I don't eat too much too fast. I still tend to shovel food into myself before I have a chance to start digesting, and that's not good for the health. After a meal or a snack, I have to force myself to wait until it's digesting before I ask if I'm still hungry. The answer is usually, "No, I'm not still hungry." If I could only learn to eat slower, I wouldn't need to wait to know for sure. Even when I try to eat slow, I'm usually done with my food twice as fast as hubby-Eric.
The various 100 Calorie Packs have come in extremely handy in monitoring my caloric intake. Two new ones I've just discovered are the Keebler Grasshopper and Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes. Both of them yummy, and both fill places in the taste spectrum that other types of packs hadn't quite reached. The Hostess cupcake 100 Calorie Packs are ok, but nothing to write home about. I still haven't actually found the Breyer's Ice Cream ones, but they tempt me. They'd tempt me more if there was an all-chocolate one. I'm addicted to the Lorna Doone 100 Calorie packs at the moment. Of course, when you consider that I usually only have 1 or 2 of the packs each day, and that new brands come out practically every week, you see that I have plenty of time for experimentation.
In any case, I try to make sure no snack goes over 150 calories, and no meal goes over 600. It's a balancing act, and it takes a lot of nerding out and reading food labels even when it annoys people you are eating with. But it's working. It's 75 Pounds worth of working. I cannot argue with results. This change in lifestyles to counting calories and exercise won't work for everyone, but I sometimes feel so great about it I want to tell everyone I know so they will give it a try.
One last thought... I've got to once again thank Mark Evanier, whose story helped kick me into action and make this weight loss really happen. I do not think I could have done this without him. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your story. You've helped at least one person with it.
Labels: Health, Unrelated to Anything Else, Weight Loss
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Free Comic Book Day
I went to the shop, picked up some comics. Then came home and downloaded some magazines. It's been a good day.
Labels: Free Comic Book Day
Friday, May 04, 2007
Friday Night Links
Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #101. Yikes.
Demo is a book for the Teen Age.
Why bother reading something when you can simply jump to conclusions.
Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh (YouTube, 1 minute, worth it).
Uh-oh. I'm in trouble for posting that number. At least, the guys behind the foolish DRM system think I'm in trouble. The thing is, I don't know how to use it and I wouldn't if I did. To me it's a random string of numbers. But to them it's so valuable they will sue people over it... and any other secret numbers I accidently post. Because, see, it's a catch-22. If I know the number, they are angry. If I don't know the number, then how do I know if I am making them angry? For instance: 72 G5 33 75 8U 94 H6 4V M7 78 34 S8 99 10 34 P5 could be one of their secret numbers... but how would I know? What about 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C7? How do we know for sure? And yet we aren't supposed to talk about it. DRM is stupid. People who seriously believe they can lock down knowledge using DRM are stupider.
Searching Loch Ness. Fifteen tiny submersibles are going to scour the bottom of Loch Ness, looking for the known and the unknown. I doubt they will find any monsters, but maybe they'll find some other cool things, like the rest of the bomber, or even other missing planes or boats.
Oooh, I want.
The story of Seattle Slew.
I do like the photo. Heh.
America's Favorite Architecture.
Cue the choir: Heavenly Solar Power Plant.
LA Immigration Reform Rally, images and videos of the police going well over the line for no apparent reason.
Demo is a book for the Teen Age.
Why bother reading something when you can simply jump to conclusions.
Heh Heh Heh Heh Heh (YouTube, 1 minute, worth it).
Uh-oh. I'm in trouble for posting that number. At least, the guys behind the foolish DRM system think I'm in trouble. The thing is, I don't know how to use it and I wouldn't if I did. To me it's a random string of numbers. But to them it's so valuable they will sue people over it... and any other secret numbers I accidently post. Because, see, it's a catch-22. If I know the number, they are angry. If I don't know the number, then how do I know if I am making them angry? For instance: 72 G5 33 75 8U 94 H6 4V M7 78 34 S8 99 10 34 P5 could be one of their secret numbers... but how would I know? What about 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C7? How do we know for sure? And yet we aren't supposed to talk about it. DRM is stupid. People who seriously believe they can lock down knowledge using DRM are stupider.
Searching Loch Ness. Fifteen tiny submersibles are going to scour the bottom of Loch Ness, looking for the known and the unknown. I doubt they will find any monsters, but maybe they'll find some other cool things, like the rest of the bomber, or even other missing planes or boats.
Oooh, I want.
The story of Seattle Slew.
I do like the photo. Heh.
America's Favorite Architecture.
Cue the choir: Heavenly Solar Power Plant.
LA Immigration Reform Rally, images and videos of the police going well over the line for no apparent reason.
Labels: Comic Book Urban Legends, Cryptozoology, DRM, Links, YouTube
Oh Rats! part three
The guy from Cascade Pest Control returned this morning to check the traps. I had everything ready for him, crawl space closet entrance cleaned out, and the route to the attic clear. I was having VERY mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, I'm a wimp when it comes to furry animals, so a small portion of me was hoping the traps hadn't caught anything. But a bigger portion remembered the rat poop in the garage (which hubby-Eric, the most wonderful guy in the world, cleaned up for me (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU)). I also remembered spotting the rat climbing the curtain and moving like lightning. I wanted it GONE.
Pest Control Guy (PCG?) went into the attic first, wearing a gas mask, I noticed. I heard him exclaim while up there, but I don't know what he said. He came back down with a large plastic bag containing something that I didn't look too closely at. Then he went into the crawl space. Another exclamation. This one sounded a bit different. When he came out, he told me that he'd caught two rats in the attic, and one in the crawl space. I felt my stomach turn in horror. He continued, telling me that he'd found a nest of moisture ants in the crawl space. My heart sank, remembering the moisture ant nest in the wall. He continued, explaining that as part of the service, he would spray them. Whew. He went back down in his Darth Vader-sounding gas mask and a scary-looking spray can and dealt with that. He also said he reset all the traps.
He then checked the traps in the garage, which were empty (I've been checking them every other day or so, so I knew they hadn't caught anything). Then he went out to patch the hole he noticed on his last visit, and to spray for spiders. YAY! Spider reduction is happening! He told me that spiders are impossible to get rid of, and I told him that I understood, and that we're realistic people who would be happy for a slight reduction in spider population. He said the spray will get rid of up to 50% of them. That's more than enough for me. I don't mind a few spiders, anymore, but I can't handle a lot of spiders. This house has, at times, had a lot of spiders.
As a last note, he told me that we might hear movement in the attic/garage/crawl space over the next couple of days. Until they find the traps. If we continue to hear movement, or worse, see the critters, we should call back. Otherwise, we're good until the first of our bi-monthly visits, sometime in June.
So, now he's left. My stomach keeps turning over and over. I did manage to get an unfortunately good look at his plastic bag of dead rats, and the image is seared into my eyes. I keep imagining sounds in the attic. I keep thinking about how lucky we are that he found the new moisture ant nest, and how much I hope the spray takes care of it. I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm really glad. I may have to wait awhile.
Pest Control Guy (PCG?) went into the attic first, wearing a gas mask, I noticed. I heard him exclaim while up there, but I don't know what he said. He came back down with a large plastic bag containing something that I didn't look too closely at. Then he went into the crawl space. Another exclamation. This one sounded a bit different. When he came out, he told me that he'd caught two rats in the attic, and one in the crawl space. I felt my stomach turn in horror. He continued, telling me that he'd found a nest of moisture ants in the crawl space. My heart sank, remembering the moisture ant nest in the wall. He continued, explaining that as part of the service, he would spray them. Whew. He went back down in his Darth Vader-sounding gas mask and a scary-looking spray can and dealt with that. He also said he reset all the traps.
He then checked the traps in the garage, which were empty (I've been checking them every other day or so, so I knew they hadn't caught anything). Then he went out to patch the hole he noticed on his last visit, and to spray for spiders. YAY! Spider reduction is happening! He told me that spiders are impossible to get rid of, and I told him that I understood, and that we're realistic people who would be happy for a slight reduction in spider population. He said the spray will get rid of up to 50% of them. That's more than enough for me. I don't mind a few spiders, anymore, but I can't handle a lot of spiders. This house has, at times, had a lot of spiders.
As a last note, he told me that we might hear movement in the attic/garage/crawl space over the next couple of days. Until they find the traps. If we continue to hear movement, or worse, see the critters, we should call back. Otherwise, we're good until the first of our bi-monthly visits, sometime in June.
So, now he's left. My stomach keeps turning over and over. I did manage to get an unfortunately good look at his plastic bag of dead rats, and the image is seared into my eyes. I keep imagining sounds in the attic. I keep thinking about how lucky we are that he found the new moisture ant nest, and how much I hope the spray takes care of it. I haven't had breakfast yet, and I'm really glad. I may have to wait awhile.
Labels: Frankenhaus
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Thursday Night Links
A Comic Book Story.
The Bad Astronomer is happy to be quoted in a comic book.
Leonard Kirk's Birthday Balls.
"Hi, I'm Marvel!" "And I'm DC!"
Tiki Must Be Stopped.
Art gallery removes Todd "Thief" Goldman's work.
The 20 Most Amazing Coincidences.
Once again, Brown = Terrorist. Paranoia does us no good.
What did they see? Two airplane pilots report a UFO, from two different flights.
Doctor Who: AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!
Quake raises sunken PT boat from WWII.
Bull attacks car in garage. Hey Bully, you wouldn't do that, would you?
Every Generation... how do the events we experience in our youth affect our outlook on life?
How Jack Kirby and Roger Zelazny helped Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis. The hostage crisis is one of my earliest clear memories of world events.
The Douglas Adams Interview. Unpublished since 1979. Includes Doctor Who information. Be sure to read all three parts.
Freeze-framed letter from Leave it to Beaver, back when they probably couldn't imagine freeze-frame technology being available to regular viewers.
FilkerTom directs us to Fundies Say The Darndest Things!
LEGO bricks are good math.
More Secret Numbers.
Dell to pre-install Ubuntu Linux. I've got most of my drive backed up now, and plan on setting up dual boot when I finish. I'm not in a huge rush, but the more I hear about how well Ubuntu works, the more comfortable I feel getting ready to move to it.
Go visit hubby-Eric's blog to learn about the Elements.
Put Yourself on a Cereal Box.
We are Poisoned.
The Bad Astronomer is happy to be quoted in a comic book.
Leonard Kirk's Birthday Balls.
"Hi, I'm Marvel!" "And I'm DC!"
Tiki Must Be Stopped.
Art gallery removes Todd "Thief" Goldman's work.
The 20 Most Amazing Coincidences.
Once again, Brown = Terrorist. Paranoia does us no good.
What did they see? Two airplane pilots report a UFO, from two different flights.
Doctor Who: AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!
Quake raises sunken PT boat from WWII.
Bull attacks car in garage. Hey Bully, you wouldn't do that, would you?
Every Generation... how do the events we experience in our youth affect our outlook on life?
How Jack Kirby and Roger Zelazny helped Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis. The hostage crisis is one of my earliest clear memories of world events.
The Douglas Adams Interview. Unpublished since 1979. Includes Doctor Who information. Be sure to read all three parts.
Freeze-framed letter from Leave it to Beaver, back when they probably couldn't imagine freeze-frame technology being available to regular viewers.
FilkerTom directs us to Fundies Say The Darndest Things!
LEGO bricks are good math.
More Secret Numbers.
Dell to pre-install Ubuntu Linux. I've got most of my drive backed up now, and plan on setting up dual boot when I finish. I'm not in a huge rush, but the more I hear about how well Ubuntu works, the more comfortable I feel getting ready to move to it.
Go visit hubby-Eric's blog to learn about the Elements.
Put Yourself on a Cereal Box.
We are Poisoned.
Labels: Doctor Who, Leonard Kirk, Math, Ubuntu, UFO, YouTube
Kiva.org
My first Kiva loan has been paid back. I lent to a shop in Honduras, and she's paid the full amount back in exactly one year. I was able to take the money I invested in her last year and re-invest it. I put part of it into a sewing business in Samoa, and I plan on putting my other bit in another business somewhere else in the world. I thought I'd ask my hubby-Eric for his input on the rest of the money.
If you want to follow my admittedly minor loaning, check out my user page. Yes, that is a picture of me at the top. Yes, it's an old picture, but I like it.
I had hoped to contribute a little to Kiva every Christmas, but last Christmas was tight enough that I didn't put anything in. But I'll tell you, if you are a relative or friend and want to give me a gift, Kiva is the PERFECT way to do it. Forget LEGO, Aquaman toys, or a book you aren't sure I'll enjoy. Chuck in some money to Kiva and I'll be very happy. There are e-gift cards, and not only will I appreciate it, somewhere else in the world someone else will too. Slate rated them the best microlender in a recent article.
If you want to follow my admittedly minor loaning, check out my user page. Yes, that is a picture of me at the top. Yes, it's an old picture, but I like it.
I had hoped to contribute a little to Kiva every Christmas, but last Christmas was tight enough that I didn't put anything in. But I'll tell you, if you are a relative or friend and want to give me a gift, Kiva is the PERFECT way to do it. Forget LEGO, Aquaman toys, or a book you aren't sure I'll enjoy. Chuck in some money to Kiva and I'll be very happy. There are e-gift cards, and not only will I appreciate it, somewhere else in the world someone else will too. Slate rated them the best microlender in a recent article.
Labels: Kiva
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Wednesday Night Links
Still trying to catch up...
Cornish fishermen haul in a big catch.
The Right Number by Scott McCloud mentioned on Boing Boing.
Todd "ripoff" Goldman on MetaFilter
The Webby Awards have been announced. I didn't win again. No surprise there. Check out the winners and nominees. Some good links there.
Doctor Who LOLCats. Gee, thanks Garrett. And yes, you should check out Garrett's original entry, too, if you are a fan of the original Star Trek.
International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day Directory. In case you missed it.
Wow. The first piece of SPAM. And, like all spammers, the writer was an idiot.
DVD Cat says "can't stop the signal". And proves, once again, that DRM is stupid. As for the Digg angle, The Register tells that story pretty well. Here's the string again: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0, but I couldn't tell you how to use it since I haven't got a clue how to crack a DVD, nor would I want to.
Mediaeval Music Decoded. It would have been easier if someone had released the decryption key on the internet.
Huh, maybe I should start taking Vitamin D.
I was born republican, but grew up to be democratic. The words "easily victimized, easily offended, indecisive, fearful, rigid, inhibited, and vulnerable" describes my childhood perfectly.
Seattle on the Edge.
We are poisoned.
Ken Jennings talks about Mormons. As I was also raised Mormon, I have to pretty much agree with his points.
Online Communities Map.
Soldiers can no longer blog without permission.
Via Mark Evanier, Mission Accomplished by the Numbers.
Gasoline prices: The local stations range from $3.30 to $3.40 per gallon. In theory, I don't mind (higher prices convince people to drive less, invest in better technology, and work toward a cleaner future). In reality, it really bites. Hubby-Eric and I plan on driving down to Monterey this summer, and fuel prices on the West Coast are pretty much out of control. I wish we could afford a hybrid or other car with better gas mileage.
Cornish fishermen haul in a big catch.
The Right Number by Scott McCloud mentioned on Boing Boing.
Todd "ripoff" Goldman on MetaFilter
The Webby Awards have been announced. I didn't win again. No surprise there. Check out the winners and nominees. Some good links there.
Doctor Who LOLCats. Gee, thanks Garrett. And yes, you should check out Garrett's original entry, too, if you are a fan of the original Star Trek.
International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day Directory. In case you missed it.
Wow. The first piece of SPAM. And, like all spammers, the writer was an idiot.
DVD Cat says "can't stop the signal". And proves, once again, that DRM is stupid. As for the Digg angle, The Register tells that story pretty well. Here's the string again: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0, but I couldn't tell you how to use it since I haven't got a clue how to crack a DVD, nor would I want to.
Mediaeval Music Decoded. It would have been easier if someone had released the decryption key on the internet.
Huh, maybe I should start taking Vitamin D.
I was born republican, but grew up to be democratic. The words "easily victimized, easily offended, indecisive, fearful, rigid, inhibited, and vulnerable" describes my childhood perfectly.
Seattle on the Edge.
We are poisoned.
Ken Jennings talks about Mormons. As I was also raised Mormon, I have to pretty much agree with his points.
Online Communities Map.
Soldiers can no longer blog without permission.
Via Mark Evanier, Mission Accomplished by the Numbers.
Gasoline prices: The local stations range from $3.30 to $3.40 per gallon. In theory, I don't mind (higher prices convince people to drive less, invest in better technology, and work toward a cleaner future). In reality, it really bites. Hubby-Eric and I plan on driving down to Monterey this summer, and fuel prices on the West Coast are pretty much out of control. I wish we could afford a hybrid or other car with better gas mileage.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Tuesday Night Links
Still trying to catch up on my blog reading/linking...
For hubby-Eric, although I know he won't have time to really explore it: The FuMP (The Funny Music Project).
Pal Dorian on Crotch-Gate '07. Christopher has more.
Patterns in Math.
Fuel.
Magic 8-Ball Vivisection.
Letter Columns Bring Continuity.
This news can't please Stephen Colbert.
For hubby-Eric, although I know he won't have time to really explore it: The FuMP (The Funny Music Project).
Pal Dorian on Crotch-Gate '07. Christopher has more.
Patterns in Math.
Fuel.
Magic 8-Ball Vivisection.
Letter Columns Bring Continuity.
This news can't please Stephen Colbert.
