Well, I certainly enjoyed that! How about you?
Some may've thought I forgot to do my "Exciting Comics Coming Out Tomorrow" post on Tuesday of this week, but the sad reality is that there were only six comics in total for me on Wednesday, none of them particularly exciting. It happens! I guess the highlight was the latest issue of 52, which has come out on time 37 weeks in a row now. This issue revealed the identity of mystery hero Supernova, and I think it was Booster Gold but I tried not to peek before actually reading it.
In the meantime I've been continuing to roll through my Preachers, with great relish (but no mustard or ketchup). I still intend to post a series overview but think I'll wait until I've finished the run before doing so. I just read the Preacher Special: Blood & Wine last night, which is a hilarious send-up of the Interview with a Vampire type of bloodsucker that totally took the piss out of Lestat and his goth-immersed ilk.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Post # 500
Matt is running out of steam and asked me (Vicki) to guest blog for his 500th post. So here are some of my pet peeves:
1. Drivers who know the right lane is going to end (as it is only there to accomodate right turns) but somehow feel entitled to drive fast past many cars and cut into the front of the left lane causing that lane to brake and slow. OK, so I might never have noticed this on my own (Matt's influence) or perhaps I might have since there are several opportunities to experience this living in the burbs and working downtown. Are these drivers the same people that are raised by wolves and jump in front of those already queued when a new cashier opens at a store?
2. And speaking of being influenced, funnily enough, I love waiting for trains and don't think we need to build more overpasses. I count the cars, think about my day and perhaps chat with my passenger. If I'm late it is the train's fault! All good.
3. Women who complain about their husbands and don't do anything about it (for heaven's sake - just leave!). Get yourself a copy of "Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay"
4. Men who don't respect their wives / girlfriends and do put downs or little zingers about them in front of others. Everybody laughs politely but it is just fingernails on a chalkboard to me. And I do know how lucky I am that Matt doesn't do this, has never done this and I can't imagine him ever doing this.
5. SARA...no wait! I'm sorry, please don't kick me back out....let me just reboot you...there, there...it's OK now. Have to be careful, I don't really want to go back to the TV guide listing and a VCR!
6. Political correctness - 'nuff said before I get in trouble
7. Invisible walls - can we all say QA?
8. Jumping - can the game not just keep track and after 10 tries just give it to me? Do I really need to give the "by now quite stupid" controller over to Matt to make the jump? Where is the fun in that?
9. Guys who don't hold doors, let women exit first (like from an elevator) or give up their seats on buses, etc.....another group raised by wolves.
10. Quarterbacks who can't pass. Hello! How deadly boring is the running game!
And of course, anyone who really thinks Matt is running out of steam has not been reading his blog for the last 499 posts! Time to start making bets on when he hits 1,000. I'm guessing Friday before the May long weekend. Thanks Matt!
1. Drivers who know the right lane is going to end (as it is only there to accomodate right turns) but somehow feel entitled to drive fast past many cars and cut into the front of the left lane causing that lane to brake and slow. OK, so I might never have noticed this on my own (Matt's influence) or perhaps I might have since there are several opportunities to experience this living in the burbs and working downtown. Are these drivers the same people that are raised by wolves and jump in front of those already queued when a new cashier opens at a store?
2. And speaking of being influenced, funnily enough, I love waiting for trains and don't think we need to build more overpasses. I count the cars, think about my day and perhaps chat with my passenger. If I'm late it is the train's fault! All good.
3. Women who complain about their husbands and don't do anything about it (for heaven's sake - just leave!). Get yourself a copy of "Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay"
4. Men who don't respect their wives / girlfriends and do put downs or little zingers about them in front of others. Everybody laughs politely but it is just fingernails on a chalkboard to me. And I do know how lucky I am that Matt doesn't do this, has never done this and I can't imagine him ever doing this.
5. SARA...no wait! I'm sorry, please don't kick me back out....let me just reboot you...there, there...it's OK now. Have to be careful, I don't really want to go back to the TV guide listing and a VCR!
6. Political correctness - 'nuff said before I get in trouble
7. Invisible walls - can we all say QA?
8. Jumping - can the game not just keep track and after 10 tries just give it to me? Do I really need to give the "by now quite stupid" controller over to Matt to make the jump? Where is the fun in that?
9. Guys who don't hold doors, let women exit first (like from an elevator) or give up their seats on buses, etc.....another group raised by wolves.
10. Quarterbacks who can't pass. Hello! How deadly boring is the running game!
And of course, anyone who really thinks Matt is running out of steam has not been reading his blog for the last 499 posts! Time to start making bets on when he hits 1,000. I'm guessing Friday before the May long weekend. Thanks Matt!
The Next Blog Entry You Read Here
will be written by the little woman herself: Vicki (assuming you read this blog entry and then immediately read the one that follows it!)
What will it be about? Will it be long or short? When will it show up? I have no idea, as I doubt she's even thought about it yet, despite my repeated reminders of its impending arrival. We'll see how she does flying by the seat of her pants, I suspect. It'll almost certainly be different in many ways from any of the 499 posts that preceded it, though.
And for the record: that's 499 blog entries - none of them simply links or quotes, as far as I can recall - in my first 111 days of blogging. That puts me right around 4.5 posts/day over nearly four months. If I can keep that pace up, I should hit the first really huge milestone sometime in the late Spring. Or maybe I'll grow tired of it and stop long before that. Who can ever predict the future, anyway?
What will it be about? Will it be long or short? When will it show up? I have no idea, as I doubt she's even thought about it yet, despite my repeated reminders of its impending arrival. We'll see how she does flying by the seat of her pants, I suspect. It'll almost certainly be different in many ways from any of the 499 posts that preceded it, though.
And for the record: that's 499 blog entries - none of them simply links or quotes, as far as I can recall - in my first 111 days of blogging. That puts me right around 4.5 posts/day over nearly four months. If I can keep that pace up, I should hit the first really huge milestone sometime in the late Spring. Or maybe I'll grow tired of it and stop long before that. Who can ever predict the future, anyway?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Is Mary Jane Soon To Be Extinct?
Some fans are speculating that Marvel is planning to kill of MJ in the comics, since Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada really hates the fact that Spider-Man is married. He claims it limits the things they can do with the character too severely, and he wishes he could "put that genie back in the bottle." And now there's a storyline spinning out of Civil War that appears to be headed toward someone using Spidey's public identity to hurt him through someone close to him.. like Aunt May or MJ!
But it may not just be Mrs Parker the younger who's going the way of the dodo bird.. via a link posted on Warren Ellis' blog, there's this claim that redheads will soon be more (if "soon" can be used to describe a time by which virtually everyone alive today will already be dead, that is).
But it may not just be Mrs Parker the younger who's going the way of the dodo bird.. via a link posted on Warren Ellis' blog, there's this claim that redheads will soon be more (if "soon" can be used to describe a time by which virtually everyone alive today will already be dead, that is).
I'm Man Enough To Admit: I Miss Hinckley!
Oh, don't worry: he didn't die! (Although, if he keeps kicking my ass with his NFL playoff picks...)
No, it's simply that I've moved floors at work and left him behind. When I think back over the 8 years or so that we've worked together, over two completely different jobs, I'd have to go back to his first month or so at the bank to find the last time we were co-workers and yet not on the same floor! You wouldn't think being a floor apart would make so much of a difference - what is it? 22 steps and a few dozen feet apart? - and yet it does. When we were co-located, he'd stop by each morning on his way to his cube, and I'd wander the two cubes over his way once in awhile, too, ensuring that we'd always spend a little quality time together at some point in the day. In the week since I moved, I think I've only seen him once! Now, he's been travelling for some of that time, but I doubt I'd have seen much more of him even if he hadn't!
No, this situation just doesn't sit well with me. I shall have to ponder the possibility of either getting him up a floor, or finding some excuse to move back downstairs when my current Feature Lead stint is up. Even though he's not much to look at, and hardly a good conversationalist, and then there's his questionable personal hygiene....... actually, now that I think about it, maybe it's all for the best...
I miss ya, Jimmy!
No, it's simply that I've moved floors at work and left him behind. When I think back over the 8 years or so that we've worked together, over two completely different jobs, I'd have to go back to his first month or so at the bank to find the last time we were co-workers and yet not on the same floor! You wouldn't think being a floor apart would make so much of a difference - what is it? 22 steps and a few dozen feet apart? - and yet it does. When we were co-located, he'd stop by each morning on his way to his cube, and I'd wander the two cubes over his way once in awhile, too, ensuring that we'd always spend a little quality time together at some point in the day. In the week since I moved, I think I've only seen him once! Now, he's been travelling for some of that time, but I doubt I'd have seen much more of him even if he hadn't!
No, this situation just doesn't sit well with me. I shall have to ponder the possibility of either getting him up a floor, or finding some excuse to move back downstairs when my current Feature Lead stint is up. Even though he's not much to look at, and hardly a good conversationalist, and then there's his questionable personal hygiene....... actually, now that I think about it, maybe it's all for the best...
I miss ya, Jimmy!
Another Promotion, Well-Deserved
The Powers That Be took time out of their busy schedule last night to inform me that I'm now a Gunnery Sergeant within the online realm of Resistance: Fall of Man. I accepted their accolades humbly, as is my wont these days.
I then went on to discover, during that same brief online appearance last night, that I'd been doing something very stupid in my gameplay up to that point that had been contributing to my relative lack of success. Once I realized my mistake, and adjusted my technique, I started noticing I was getting more kills than deaths! Now, it's still possible that I was simply playing a bunch of even-bigger-losers at the time, since I only played for less than an hour in total, and that's hardly conclusive. But I'll see how it goes tonight, as I'm cautiously optimistic that this one small correction may take me from still-kinda-pathetic to consistently-middle-of-the-pack, which would be enough for me.
And you'll notice I haven't said what I changed, as it's not beyond the pale that I might meet one of you on the battlefield someday, and then I'd certainly regret my loose lipped words, now wouldn't I!
I then went on to discover, during that same brief online appearance last night, that I'd been doing something very stupid in my gameplay up to that point that had been contributing to my relative lack of success. Once I realized my mistake, and adjusted my technique, I started noticing I was getting more kills than deaths! Now, it's still possible that I was simply playing a bunch of even-bigger-losers at the time, since I only played for less than an hour in total, and that's hardly conclusive. But I'll see how it goes tonight, as I'm cautiously optimistic that this one small correction may take me from still-kinda-pathetic to consistently-middle-of-the-pack, which would be enough for me.
And you'll notice I haven't said what I changed, as it's not beyond the pale that I might meet one of you on the battlefield someday, and then I'd certainly regret my loose lipped words, now wouldn't I!
Budgetary Constraints
I had an interesting conversation with someone at work today, on the topic of living within a budget. That discussion got me thinking about how tumultuous the matter of finances has sometimes been between Vicki and I, and the fact that money and kids - and spending money on kids! - are among the top things that couples typically argue about.
When I was still on my own, I don't think I really had a budget, I just lived like I did! What I mean is, I paid my bills and put a little money into savings, and then whatever was left over was available for me to spend on whatever I wanted. Since I didn't want a lot, that simple plan worked pretty well.
But when Vicki and I got together in late 1989, it quickly became clear that we had different approaches to money. She'd had to endure two marriages already in which the other half either didn't make much - or any! - money, or made it in fits and starts. So saving wasn't something she'd had much experience at, but stretching out a dollar had been done to death, as far as she was concerned! With both of us making reasonable money in those days, her natural reaction was to want to be able to stop counting pennies and just live, whereas I was very debt-averse and wanted to make sure we were going to be debt-free as soon as possible. Forces moving in opposite directions, headed for a collision.
What eventually seemed to work for us, though, was the budget approach. Seeing where every dollar we made was going made it easier to have discussions on the topic without them becoming ugly. I think some couples, facing this challenge, fall into the "you're spending too much!" "no, I'm not! *sob*" trap that makes the whole subject uncomfortable for both and therefore little progress can ever be made. In our case, it was simply a matter of first sitting down and looking at where the money was going. Nothing subjective required; just figure out where it goes right now.
Once we had that pie chart drawn out in front of us, it was an ongoing debate but over a much smaller bucket of money. For example, the money for the mortgage, and our utility bills, and the car loan, and groceries, and child care for Tammy, well those were non-negotiable so there went over half the take-home money, right off the bat! Then we started looking at the more discretionary spending outlets, like stuff for the house, and new clothes and old comics, and even savings. Since we only had $xxx coming in every pay for all of those things, how did we both want to split the money up? One of the decisions we made early on, that I believe was crucial - and we still live by it today - was that any splurge money we might each get had to be equal, regardless of who was bringing home more bacon every pay. After all, if we're really a couple then it's our money, not hers and mine. I personally despair for couples who weight that sort of thing based on whose income is higher, but different strokes, I guess.
And after we'd negotiated our proportionate slicing of the pie - which was always entertaining but in reality there was a lot of it that I didn't care that much about, as long as we stuck to what we said - then we'd live it for several months or a year, before looking at it again and seeing what we wanted to change. The rigidity between adjustments drove Vicki crazy at first, I could tell. She as much as said, "We're both making a good living and yet I still can't just buy whatever I think we need!" Which was usually the cue for us to re-open the budget, and move those self-same dollars around once again. And that was always my stance: "Here's what we have to play with. We can slice it any way we want, but we can't pretend it's bigger than it is." (Maybe in her Guest Blog appearance shortly, Vicki'll give her side of this tale, since I'm sure I'm slanting it too favourably in my own direction.)
The crowning moment for me, after years of us arguing over the budget, and then adjusting it, and then arguing more, and then adjusting it some more, was when Vicki made some comment to a friend of ours about how great we were doing financially, thanks to living by a budget! I almost laughed out loud when she said it, but then I realized she should be bragging about it, because she'd been as responsible for it working as I was, despite her repeated bangings up against it over the years. Never once, for example, did she ever just go ahead and spend money that wasn't there, no matter how much she'd have liked to. And she put a lot of thought into the budget adjustments we'd do, rather than just throwing up her hands and saying, "Fine! Whatever! I give up!" like she must've felt like sometimes. In fact, an archaeologist could probably recreate our relative priorities over the nearly two decades we've been together by exhuming our various bank passbooks and Excel spreadsheets! Maybe vacations were big in 1990, for example, while paying the mortgage down even more aggressively won the day in 1998 and 1999!
Bottom line: I think having a budget - and sticking to it - is one of the most important steps you can take on the road toward financial stability - and even freedom! I'm pleased and proud beyond words when Tammy talks of her commitment to a budget, and hope that she'll really live that dream when she graduates this year and starts making the big bucks. It's a tough habit to get into but the benefits just seem overwhelming to me.
Or, you could just count on winning the lottery, I suppose...
When I was still on my own, I don't think I really had a budget, I just lived like I did! What I mean is, I paid my bills and put a little money into savings, and then whatever was left over was available for me to spend on whatever I wanted. Since I didn't want a lot, that simple plan worked pretty well.
But when Vicki and I got together in late 1989, it quickly became clear that we had different approaches to money. She'd had to endure two marriages already in which the other half either didn't make much - or any! - money, or made it in fits and starts. So saving wasn't something she'd had much experience at, but stretching out a dollar had been done to death, as far as she was concerned! With both of us making reasonable money in those days, her natural reaction was to want to be able to stop counting pennies and just live, whereas I was very debt-averse and wanted to make sure we were going to be debt-free as soon as possible. Forces moving in opposite directions, headed for a collision.
What eventually seemed to work for us, though, was the budget approach. Seeing where every dollar we made was going made it easier to have discussions on the topic without them becoming ugly. I think some couples, facing this challenge, fall into the "you're spending too much!" "no, I'm not! *sob*" trap that makes the whole subject uncomfortable for both and therefore little progress can ever be made. In our case, it was simply a matter of first sitting down and looking at where the money was going. Nothing subjective required; just figure out where it goes right now.
Once we had that pie chart drawn out in front of us, it was an ongoing debate but over a much smaller bucket of money. For example, the money for the mortgage, and our utility bills, and the car loan, and groceries, and child care for Tammy, well those were non-negotiable so there went over half the take-home money, right off the bat! Then we started looking at the more discretionary spending outlets, like stuff for the house, and new clothes and old comics, and even savings. Since we only had $xxx coming in every pay for all of those things, how did we both want to split the money up? One of the decisions we made early on, that I believe was crucial - and we still live by it today - was that any splurge money we might each get had to be equal, regardless of who was bringing home more bacon every pay. After all, if we're really a couple then it's our money, not hers and mine. I personally despair for couples who weight that sort of thing based on whose income is higher, but different strokes, I guess.
And after we'd negotiated our proportionate slicing of the pie - which was always entertaining but in reality there was a lot of it that I didn't care that much about, as long as we stuck to what we said - then we'd live it for several months or a year, before looking at it again and seeing what we wanted to change. The rigidity between adjustments drove Vicki crazy at first, I could tell. She as much as said, "We're both making a good living and yet I still can't just buy whatever I think we need!" Which was usually the cue for us to re-open the budget, and move those self-same dollars around once again. And that was always my stance: "Here's what we have to play with. We can slice it any way we want, but we can't pretend it's bigger than it is." (Maybe in her Guest Blog appearance shortly, Vicki'll give her side of this tale, since I'm sure I'm slanting it too favourably in my own direction.)
The crowning moment for me, after years of us arguing over the budget, and then adjusting it, and then arguing more, and then adjusting it some more, was when Vicki made some comment to a friend of ours about how great we were doing financially, thanks to living by a budget! I almost laughed out loud when she said it, but then I realized she should be bragging about it, because she'd been as responsible for it working as I was, despite her repeated bangings up against it over the years. Never once, for example, did she ever just go ahead and spend money that wasn't there, no matter how much she'd have liked to. And she put a lot of thought into the budget adjustments we'd do, rather than just throwing up her hands and saying, "Fine! Whatever! I give up!" like she must've felt like sometimes. In fact, an archaeologist could probably recreate our relative priorities over the nearly two decades we've been together by exhuming our various bank passbooks and Excel spreadsheets! Maybe vacations were big in 1990, for example, while paying the mortgage down even more aggressively won the day in 1998 and 1999!
Bottom line: I think having a budget - and sticking to it - is one of the most important steps you can take on the road toward financial stability - and even freedom! I'm pleased and proud beyond words when Tammy talks of her commitment to a budget, and hope that she'll really live that dream when she graduates this year and starts making the big bucks. It's a tough habit to get into but the benefits just seem overwhelming to me.
Or, you could just count on winning the lottery, I suppose...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Surprising To Few, But Welcome To Most
was the news today that Heroes has been picked up for a second season by NBC. This should encourage the writers to think 'longer term' for the rest of season one, if they aren't been already.
I have to think that it won't be long before the inevitable recoil happens in the relationship of this show to the general public. It's been a darling so far, but being popular always brings with it greater scrutiny and deeper scorn. We certainly saw that with Lost, and I expect the same thing to start soon with Heroes. Not that it means anything, but it's interesting to watch when it happens.
I have to think that it won't be long before the inevitable recoil happens in the relationship of this show to the general public. It's been a darling so far, but being popular always brings with it greater scrutiny and deeper scorn. We certainly saw that with Lost, and I expect the same thing to start soon with Heroes. Not that it means anything, but it's interesting to watch when it happens.
A Little Star Power Might Not Hurt
It was announced today that Gwyneth Paltrow has signed to play "Pepper" Potts on the upcoming Iron Man feature film. Getting Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark was, I thought, a major coup, as I have a fair bit of respect for his acting abilities (though relatively little for his worth as a human being). I tend to think of Paltrow as being a bit more lightweight, but I definitely have enjoyed her performances in a few films, and following her Oscar in Shakespeare in Love several years back, she's got some name cache. So I suspect this signing will only elevate the profile of the film.
Sometimes I think the measure of a comic character's potential for great movie stardom is directly proportional to the amount of classic comic stories to draw from. Batman, for example, has a ridiculous backlog of incredible tales that could be adapted into film, and recently we've seen this happen with Batman Begins. Similarly, the best part of an otherwise-blah Daredevil movie was the Elektra storyline that was lifted from Frank Miller's comic run. And of course Sin City was a direct adaptation of several stories. The second Fantastic Four feature is rumoured to have some connection to one of the greatest FF tales ever, which is the arrival of Galactus on Earth as preceded by his herald, the Silver Surfer (FF #s 48 - 50). When I consider Iron Man in this light, he certainly has a handful of pretty interesting tales, along with a whole lot of crap. I'll be watching with interest as little bits of plot leak out, to see if I can figure out what the screenplay is drawing from.
By the way, it's too bad that the article reveals "Pepper's" real name (Virginia) as that's always been a neat little bit of comic trivia that I happen to know and most fans didn't. Now it'll become comic knowledge, I suppose. And I'll feel ever so slightly less special. :-(
Sometimes I think the measure of a comic character's potential for great movie stardom is directly proportional to the amount of classic comic stories to draw from. Batman, for example, has a ridiculous backlog of incredible tales that could be adapted into film, and recently we've seen this happen with Batman Begins. Similarly, the best part of an otherwise-blah Daredevil movie was the Elektra storyline that was lifted from Frank Miller's comic run. And of course Sin City was a direct adaptation of several stories. The second Fantastic Four feature is rumoured to have some connection to one of the greatest FF tales ever, which is the arrival of Galactus on Earth as preceded by his herald, the Silver Surfer (FF #s 48 - 50). When I consider Iron Man in this light, he certainly has a handful of pretty interesting tales, along with a whole lot of crap. I'll be watching with interest as little bits of plot leak out, to see if I can figure out what the screenplay is drawing from.
By the way, it's too bad that the article reveals "Pepper's" real name (Virginia) as that's always been a neat little bit of comic trivia that I happen to know and most fans didn't. Now it'll become comic knowledge, I suppose. And I'll feel ever so slightly less special. :-(
Running To Stand Still
Back-to-back 10 hour work days, most of which was spent on my feet, on the heels of back-to-back nights of 2 - 3 hours of sleep, have pretty much wiped me out right now. I am the proverbial empty husk, presented here for your viewing pleasure.
This week has so far featured my back going out, Tammy losing her purse (fortunately she got it back today, with contents intact), marathon off-site sessions with my new Feature Team, and generally way more data arriving than I can possibly process in the few hours between getting home from work - my first chance to sit down and not lead some discussion - and hitting the hay. Which means I fall asleep fairly quickly - yay! - but then wake up 2 - 3 hours later with my mind absolutely racing! I found out this morning that one of my peers at work, who I'm working closely with right now because of the new work assignment, is experiencing the exact same thing. We joked that we should've called each other in the middle of the night, as we were both awake from around 3:00 until sometime close to whenever the respective alarms went off. I'm really hoping tonight's not a repeat performance, because I'm definitely dragging my ass right now.
Not so much a call for a Pity Party on my behalf as an attempt to explain why my production is down right now. So stifle yourself, Dingbat!
This week has so far featured my back going out, Tammy losing her purse (fortunately she got it back today, with contents intact), marathon off-site sessions with my new Feature Team, and generally way more data arriving than I can possibly process in the few hours between getting home from work - my first chance to sit down and not lead some discussion - and hitting the hay. Which means I fall asleep fairly quickly - yay! - but then wake up 2 - 3 hours later with my mind absolutely racing! I found out this morning that one of my peers at work, who I'm working closely with right now because of the new work assignment, is experiencing the exact same thing. We joked that we should've called each other in the middle of the night, as we were both awake from around 3:00 until sometime close to whenever the respective alarms went off. I'm really hoping tonight's not a repeat performance, because I'm definitely dragging my ass right now.
Not so much a call for a Pity Party on my behalf as an attempt to explain why my production is down right now. So stifle yourself, Dingbat!
Least Favourite Comic Covers Part 7
Here's a go-go checkered Detective Comics cover from a period I don't particularly care for. It's possible this issue may actually pre-date the TV show - I'm too busy right now to look up and compare the two dates - but they're similar enough in style that it doesn't really matter which came first. This is the kind of crap that inspired, and then was in turn inspired by, that 'camp classic television program' that so many people - present company excluded - are still fond of. Can't you almost hear that annoying voice-over actor from the 1960s Batman show saying, "Watch out, Batman! This villain is tricky!" when you look at this?
Batman never worked for me as a silly, comedic character. Fortunately, he was being treated more seriously by the time I reached the age where I outgrew the Bam! Pow! Whap! antics of that period, and he's been pretty cool ever since. This type of cover just reminds me that, sadly, 'twasn't always thus!
As an aside, that whole Sound Effects treatment of the material in the TV show continues to haunt comic fans 40 years later. One of the ways you can tell a decent newspaper or magazine article about comics, for example, is by the omission of some campy title like "Pow! Zap! Comics Make A Difference!" It's still the case that most puff pieces about the genre still employ that approach to the material, meaning that often the title alone can tell you whether it's worth reading or not. Funny, eh?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Once Again, No Least Favourite Comic Cover
I'm starting to get a little frustrated with Blogger's frequent inability to upload images. I had a rather unpleasant Detective Comics cover to share with you all, but apparently it's just not to be this evening. For now, all I'll say is that I really don't have much love left in me for the old Adam West TV show, despite liking it alright when I was young. The rest will have to wait until I can include the cover image and my patented commentary.
Volume Has Its Rewards
Could be a coincidence, but my blogging has tailed off a little over the last two or three days - mostly just been busy playing R:FoM online, rather than running out of stuff to blog about, oh no indeed! - and then I look at the Google Analytics report for my site and there's a huge drop-off of visits over that same period! So one could conclude, were one so inclined, that the more I blog, the more you visit. (Another, more humbling, possibility is that it's my own visits, to write the blogs, that normally inflate the #s so, but that's too depressing to even consider...)
Blog it and they will come? Kinda makes sense, and yet doesn't, all at the same time. Have to think about this some more when I've had more than 2.5 hours of sleep (stupid back pain!) and aren't about to play an hour of that self-same online time-killer before heading to bed!
Blog it and they will come? Kinda makes sense, and yet doesn't, all at the same time. Have to think about this some more when I've had more than 2.5 hours of sleep (stupid back pain!) and aren't about to play an hour of that self-same online time-killer before heading to bed!
Don't Try This At Home!
No matter how badly you want the Wii that you were supposed to get for Christmas but still haven't been able to get your hands on through January, don't do this! It's not worth it, dude!
And my PS/3 is just wonderful, thank you for asking! Since I started playing Resistance: Fall of Man online, I've re-discovered my obsess-- I mean, my addicti--- um, my... love?... of video gaming. I haven't been this into it in a couple of years, since the hayday of the Battlefield 1942 glory days on the PC.
And my PS/3 is just wonderful, thank you for asking! Since I started playing Resistance: Fall of Man online, I've re-discovered my obsess-- I mean, my addicti--- um, my... love?... of video gaming. I haven't been this into it in a couple of years, since the hayday of the Battlefield 1942 glory days on the PC.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Kevin Smith Directing A Preacher Episode? Too Funny!
He doesn't exactly commit to it, despite being asked, but you can tell he's thinking about it!
I'm back reading more Preachers, by the way. I'm closing in on issue # 40 now, meaning I'm almost 2/3 of the way through the series. One of these days I'll post a high level synopsis/review of the comic series, with no spoilers in case the TV show ends up being good and we get to see it here in these parts.
I'm back reading more Preachers, by the way. I'm closing in on issue # 40 now, meaning I'm almost 2/3 of the way through the series. One of these days I'll post a high level synopsis/review of the comic series, with no spoilers in case the TV show ends up being good and we get to see it here in these parts.
"Chloe, I Don't Have A Lot Of Time!"
"Chloe, this is Jack! I know you thought I was dead, or maybe you believed I was still trapped in a Chinese prison, or, I guess it's possible you may've thought I was working with the terrorists! But none of that matters right now.. it's vitally important that you hack into the Pentagon mainframe and get me everything you can on a man named Ahmed al-Abdu -- No, listen, Chloe, I don't have time to explain why I need this information! Yes, I know you'll have to bypass the firewalls at the Pentagon, but if anyone can do it, you can, Chloe! Just remember to bounce your signal off a few routers, and use an encoded semaphore, so no one can trace this back to you. Yes, I know this could cost you your job! Please, Chloe! I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't important! And Chloe, you need to know: people have a nasty habit of dying around me, so it's probably best if you just keep your distance from now on. Get me that Pentagon data and then you'll never hear from me again. Probably. It's for your own safety, Chloe! Trust me on this! I'll call you back in a few minutes."
Keeping All You Civilians In The Loop
Following my marathon online Resistance: Fall of Man playing over the weekend, I've risen through the ranks from Private, to Private First Class, to Sergeant, and now to Staff Sergeant. As far as I can tell, this rapid-fire career advancement is mostly related to persistence - I must've logged close to a dozen hours over Friday night, Saturday and Sunday - and a willingness to provide excellent canon fodder for others - I've amassed a nice even total of 500 online deaths, compared to a less-impressive 295 kills. But considering that I was at or below a 2:1 ratio in that regard for quite awhile, getting to nearly 5:3 shows some progress. And I actually had a few matches late Saturday night where I had more kills than deaths!
On the other hand, I'm apparently on a 12 game losing streak (whatever that means), according to my stats. This would suggest that promotions, in this man's army, perhaps aren't all that hard to come by...
On the other hand, I'm apparently on a 12 game losing streak (whatever that means), according to my stats. This would suggest that promotions, in this man's army, perhaps aren't all that hard to come by...
It Hurts Just Thinking About It
Picture this: There I was, leaving for work this morning during the freezing rain, with Rascal in my arms in a 'cat carrying case', as I step onto the driveway and feel my feet sliding out from under me on the ice! All I could think at that instant was that we'd never get that cat back into this container if I drop him in it from a height of three or four feet onto a hard, asphalt surface, just as I forcibly regained my balance by contorting wildly.. and felt my back go out!
Fortunately Tammy's cat wasn't traumatized by his journey home, but I'm saddled with back pain just a few short days after last visiting my chiropractor. I took some back-and-muscle pills at work, and have been icing it since I've been home. Only time will tell if it'll realign on its own, or I'll have to go in for an unplanned adjustment. Just to complicate things, my chiro is either already gone or leaving any day now for a business conference in Hawaii.
Fortunately Tammy's cat wasn't traumatized by his journey home, but I'm saddled with back pain just a few short days after last visiting my chiropractor. I took some back-and-muscle pills at work, and have been icing it since I've been home. Only time will tell if it'll realign on its own, or I'll have to go in for an unplanned adjustment. Just to complicate things, my chiro is either already gone or leaving any day now for a business conference in Hawaii.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Oh Yeah... Jack Is Back!
We just finished watching hours 1 and 2 of Season 6 of 24, and oh baby...
I think the writers have stopped even trying to make some of the plot developments plausible, but to enjoy the show you really can't worry about things like how improbable it is that Jack could escape capture, hide out for awhile to evade his captors, have a cellphone conversation, steal a car, and get to a target site in less time than a pair of Cobra helicopters on high alert could, or that the same personnel would be working at the CTU after all the lapses of security and poor decisions we've seen over the past five seasons. No, just go with it and enjoy the thrill ride that is Jack Bauer, who I noticed also did all of the following in those first two hours:
- got his first gun off a bad guy he'd killed or incapacitated;
- caused the death of at least two bad guys, while saving dozens of innocent ones;
- faked his own death;
- was disbelieved before being vindicated, by the same people who always make that mistake;
- offered his own life to save his country;
- figured out who to trust, despite all kinds of reasons now to; and, finally
- gave himself a very professional shave a haircut!
Every season this show posits some threat that seems just a little too realistic for comfort, and that's part of its appeal, I guess.
Two more hours tomorrow night, before we settle in to an hour-a-week routine!
I think the writers have stopped even trying to make some of the plot developments plausible, but to enjoy the show you really can't worry about things like how improbable it is that Jack could escape capture, hide out for awhile to evade his captors, have a cellphone conversation, steal a car, and get to a target site in less time than a pair of Cobra helicopters on high alert could, or that the same personnel would be working at the CTU after all the lapses of security and poor decisions we've seen over the past five seasons. No, just go with it and enjoy the thrill ride that is Jack Bauer, who I noticed also did all of the following in those first two hours:
- got his first gun off a bad guy he'd killed or incapacitated;
- caused the death of at least two bad guys, while saving dozens of innocent ones;
- faked his own death;
- was disbelieved before being vindicated, by the same people who always make that mistake;
- offered his own life to save his country;
- figured out who to trust, despite all kinds of reasons now to; and, finally
- gave himself a very professional shave a haircut!
Every season this show posits some threat that seems just a little too realistic for comfort, and that's part of its appeal, I guess.
Two more hours tomorrow night, before we settle in to an hour-a-week routine!
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