It is cold

It is cold in Austin. We were something like the 2nd to last place in the contiguous 48 to get the cold front, but there you are. I headed to the Target today to buy a hat, gloves and a scarf. In Phoenix you don't need those items (or an umbrella) so much, so I'm having to purchase cold weather gear all over again.

The dogs are nuts. They don't want to go out in the cold (although they were happy to go for a brisk afternoon walk), but they also don't want to remain inside and calmly behave. So there's been a lot of following us around the house and attacking one another. I had to hide Lucy's ball so she would quit dropping it on me. It's kind of sad.

We hung out and talked to the neighbors last night for a while. It's sort of nice knowing our neighbors, versus our recent experience in Phoenix where we sort of guessed at who everyone was. We had "The Kansas People" who moved away and were replaced by "Successful Single Mom" and her BMW. Flag Guy. Arizona-Reed. Weekend Dad. The Crazy Nemesis Nurse, and "The House with an Indeterminate Number of Residents".

Here, we actually know some people's names, and even talked to Steve (with the stroller) for a while, finding out he's a bit of a recovering comic-geek, and he wants to set up a community rental system for DVD's on our block. Neighbor-Jason feels we've one-upped his Christmas deer as our deer lights up and is quite large. And then Chris apparently bought me a deeply discounted Superman Halloween Candy pail and gave it to me last night. I was shocked.

Grand Oaks isn't as weird a place to live as you'd believe when initially driving through.

Last night I just didn't have much to mention, and I was neck deep in new and old comics, so forgive me for taking a night off to catch up on my titles a little. (I need to start pushing comic reviews again. Go read Ex Machina.)

The weather yesterday was a mild high-70's with winds from the south. When the artic air hit, we got a heck of a storm. Jamie was already in bed when we lost power for a few seconds. The short popped the GFCI outlets where we have the Christmas lights plugged in. I, of course, had just entered our tiny hall bathroom when the lights went out, and was fairly certain there was no way this was going to end well vis-a-vis me exiting the restroom succesfully, when the lights came back on. I emerged into the living room, and proceeded to scream like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween upon seeing Jamie standing on the stairs. Usually I hear her moving around, but this time, no such luck, what with the buckets of rain and howling wind rattling the windows.

Yesterday evening we went to see "For Your Consideration", the latest from Christopher Guest and his troupe of improvisors. It's okay. It's NOT in the faux-documentary format which is the basis of most of Guest's movies, but it sticks with the same sort of bitter-sweet narrative arc that you've seen in the past two or three movies. Make no mistake, Catherine O'Hara is at her best in this movie, but the movie seems too full of unnecessary elements, and the actors don't share enough screen time to decide whether they're making a wacky movie or a movie on a bit more pensive note.

My personal feelings aside, every person considering acting for a living should be given a copy of this DVD and be forced to watch it once a year for the duration of their career.

I finally saw "Rocky" on Spike TV. It was pretty good, and I can see it winning awards in the 70's. As I suspected, the movie has been copied so many times (including the five sequels) that, like many films that launch a stylistic genre, the movie no longer is appealing simply for its too-often repeated story. It's the performances and details which remind you why this movie was thought of so highly that why it's been infinitely imitated, but rarely matched.

Oh, and I watched JimD's film "Pleadings". JimD wrote and produced the film (with his friend Alistair directing). You know, it's not easy telling your friends they've made a colossal mistake. Luckily, in this case, I don't have to do that. Jim's film is a tight, taught drama with well developed characters. Ah, hell, you need to just see it. I could talk it up, but it's going to be silly as I don't want to give much away and I don't want to sit here blowing sunchine up Jim's skirt. Well, I will say the space battles were impressive and the 23-minute homage to "Willow" was totally sweet, but I still don't understand the bit with Jim dressed as a penguin walking through the desert "pleading" for a sno-cone. Anyway, well done. Professionally executed. Worth seeing at your local multi-plex.

Short bits:

4 year old Power Ranger foils crime

Someone else YouTube's their Jones Soda Holiday Soda experience

Some awesome animation

Bad Superhero Names (yes, they are all actual characters)

More on Dave Cockrum

I hope I have some Superman jammies when it's my turn to merge with the infinite...

heck, I think I'd like some now...

here

2006 LEAGUE OF MELBOTIS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR
second announcement

Hey, Leaguers!

This here is your second announcement regarding the 2006 Holiday Spectacular.

The tree is up. The lights are bright. We're filled with Christmas Fever. It's time for me to re-announce the 2006 Holiday Spectacular. We're begging for RSVP's, so please send one by clicking on the Justice League image at the top-left of this website or posting to the comments section. (definite "no's" are also welcome)



Where: League HQ (if you need directions, send me an e-mail and RSVP by clicking on the picture of the Justice League at the top, left-hand corner of the website)

When: December 9th. We open the doors at 7:00.

What: A festive holiday gathering.

What to bring: It's not a requirement, but we're suggesting that you BYOB. Sorry. I think we have a healthy number of people coming, and I can't afford to fill all of you with the Holiday Spirit. We will have some stuff on hand, but we appreciate a little extra help.

If you want to bring a snacky thing (as some have mentioned), go nuts. It's a party. Nobody is turning down any food.

What to wear: The temptation for Holiday parties is to get a little dolled up. I am not going to stop you, but if I have to guess, I think I'll be wearing jeans, a novelty t-shirt under a button down cotton shirt, and some sneakers. If you want to look fabulous, that's your call.

What not to do: Burn my house down, do anything to draw the attention of the authorities (such as burning my house down), declare S. Austin an independent state, pick a fight, let Mel drive. We will also be happy to call cabs for anyone who needs one.

Who should come: You. You're reading this, so I'd like for you to come. Maybe. And we're kinda-sorta cool with a friend in tow, but inviting the whole accounting team from your office is generally discouraged. The whole accounting team tends to draw the cops.




Some extra incentives for showing up:

-Jamie has been practicing some carols, so we hope folks will join her in singing some Christmas ditties. If you have requests, send them in now. Keep it clean.

-Door prizes! We will hit the "Dollar General" and have a drawing at some point in the evening

-Firelogs on DVD

-my iPod will have a rockin' Holiday-themed playlist

-It will be Cousin Susan's 29th Birthday

-If we're lucky, it may be Ellie Gamble's Birthday

-There is the possibility of a pair of extra special guests from out of town

-See Mel and Lucy in their Holiday Finery

-Steven Harms performs 1-Man, 8-Act version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

-We can even conference call in RHPT

-After too many eggnogs, Jason will make an awkward pass at a yet-to-be-selected girl, but give up half-way through



So RSVP!!! Let us know if we can expect to see you joining in the merriment and festivities. It's the @#$%ing Holidays! Let's get together and have some fun.

Super Lit Up

The house is about 65-70% done for Christmas. However, we are experiencing a Christmas Light gap. It seems our house, though well covered in lights, may be a bit dull by Grand Oaks standards. In my walk this evening, I noted that the traditionally "classy" plain white lights (with which we have wrapped the mighty columns of League HQ) have been supplanted in our neighborhood with color, strobing, chaser lights, changing colors, shapes, and all manner of lit nonsense. Sure, I still have to add the "snow globe" and our newly obtained animated deer to the yard, and perhaps that will give us a bit more character. But we have a Christmas Light gap.

As I understand it, we can expect the slow-driving light-peepers in our neighborhood. I suspect the war of the Christmas lights is just beginning. I am choosing to lose the battle this year.

Well, I am betting nobody else has as many Superman decorations on THEIR tree...


Normally The League is a big supporter of giving the gift of Superman, as well as decorating your home with the bold visage of The Man of Steel. However, Nathan sends this along.

From the article: Incredibly, families are further instructed to "[un]plug the product when leaving the house, when retiring for the night, or if left unattended."

I don't like to speak for The Last Son of Krypton, but I assume he'd be upset if he knew there was a product on the shelf sporting his face which not only MIGHT burn your house down, but pretty much promises it's going to leave your home a smoking cinder.


Hey, here's a Superman fan in the news that we can all feel proud of.


A ton of Superman stuff will be released on DVD on Tuesday. This will include the Donner Cut of Superman II and Superman Returns. Be a Loyal Leaguer. Pick up a copy. Or pick up the 14-disc uber-collection. I have been given instructions NOT to pick up any Reeves or Routh Superman stuff, and, thusly, shall wait until Christmas.

I, personally, am awaiting the arrival of the Kirk Alyn Superman serials (with a young Noel Neill) and the final seasons of The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves in glorious color (and a slightly more seasoned, if no less fabulous Noel Neill). I had forgotten that a very tired League had purchased these items on Amazon long ago, and was reminded with a "your package has shipped" e-mail.


Oh, and Action Comics #845 was really good. Actually, it was very, very good. Hope you're picking up this run.

You Leaguers know I don't normally post cat pictures, but this is so cute, I may need some insulin...




The cat looks remarkably like Jeff the Cat, except Jeff knows nothing of shame or remorse. And, in fact, would bite you just to spite you after eating your cookie.

Hey, fellow, KO Panthers!

Apparently the Klein Oak Panthers are making a go of it with the football team this semester. It seems that the football team is no longer a source of shame!

The KO Panthers have entered into the state play-offs. If you went to KO in the 90's, then you know that just batting a .500 for the season is a victory in and of itself.

Read some here.

more here

Dave Cockrum Passes

Dave Cockrum, former X-Men and Legion of Superheroes artist, has passed away after a lengthy illness.

RIP, Dave.

more here

for a gallery of Dave's outstanding work, go here

Christmas time is here...

Thanksgiving fell early, and traditionally, in the days after Thanksgiving, one must start thinking about Christmas (well, if you are of the Christian or secular-present swapping Christmas variety). So, I guess we're sort of stretching the Holidays a bit this year, but that's okay, provided I am not totally sick of Christmas by the 24th.

WE ARE STILL HAVING THE 2006 HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR. So come by. BYOB.

So today I made some Kirby Lane gingerbread pancakes for breakfast, then we inventoried a bit as to our Christmas Decoration stash. I tell you, Leaguers, it is hard to maintain my war on Christmas, what with my love of the season.

Anyhoo, we were just supposed to head to Lowe's and pick up some lights, but after living in Austin for close to decades, I decided to finally head to The Famous Christmas Store. The FCS was pretty neat, but I was surprised how limited the merchandise was at a store which had dedicated itself to Christmas decorating. There was just a lot of repetition of themes and a lot of stuff that was surprisingly expensive. We did, however, find several bulb ornaments which will live on our tree.

We then went to Hoover's Cooking for our big meal of the day. Some people love snails or fish eggs. Some people love a fine cheese or an elaborately prepared sushi dinner. Not The League. Give me Hoover's Cooking any day. Half of a perfectly smoked chicken, green beans, okra and delicious sweet potato pie... Sure, I didn't need all that coming off Thanksgiving, but it was my first trip back to Hoover's since getting back to Austin.

Unfit to do much more, I headed to Lowe's, picked up several strings of lights, a garland/light combination, a red bow and headed home.

We've got the tree up, undecorated. The garland is hung on the stair-rail. We've got stockings over the fireplace (including Jason's stocking), but we still have quite a bit to do, especially outside.

Seem early? A lot of houses in the neighborhood already have lights on (including three on my street) and several had lights partially or fully up, but not on. I am hoping we are NOT a neighborhood that people will drive through to see all of the lights, but I am not planning to be a house-light slacker. At the same time, despite the weak effort put in during Halloween, these folks are stepping up to the plate in a way I am not sure I am ready to go bankrupt outdoing.

Jamie's been practicing some carols, so hopefully all who attend the Holiday Spectacular will be able to gather round the 'ol piano and sing along (JAL will be solo'ing with "Christmas in Holis").

Lt. Larry Lee (atty. at law) Reports Out From the American Music Awards


Hey, Leaguers. Larry Lee is an old friend of Jason's and Steans' in general. He's a former Marine, a lawyer, a father of three, a husband and a coach of some sort. In short, he's already done more with himself than The League shall probably ever accomplish.

LL loves him some music, and somehow scored seats at the American Music Awards (an achievement as I don't think he's been involved with music since quitting the trombone in 9th grade). When word of this opportunity came to light, Lt. LL suggested he take the opportunity to share. An opportunity I jumped on.

Reposted from the comments section (Lee, I have e-mail, man...)

Still waiting for Reed Shaw's report on the final Phish tour from three years ago.

Here is my report from the American Music Awards:

1) The seats: I was fourth row, center stage. They were phenomenal. Face value of $750 each, though nobody pays for them, so who knows how much they really cost. Most of the show I sat two rows directly behind the dudes from Nickelback, who seemed genuinely happy to be there and to win an award for best something or other. To my left, only a couple seats away, was William Shatner and his wife. In front of him was Mario Lopez (Saved By The Bell/Dancing with the Stars) and in front of him, Snoop Dogg. That's right...the D.O. double G himself. Odd to me that Mario Lopez had better seats than William Shatner, but good to see things were corrected with Snoop Dogg's seating. I sat in front of Tori Spelling (she's five months pregnant) and a few seats to the left of Paris Hilton, who was text messaging furiously for most of the time that I saw her. At one point, Nelly Furtado sat immediately in front of me. The stars rotate seats depending on their performances and if they win, etc. The coolest celebrity sighting was Beyonce (she sat front row), who I saw walk in on the red carpet and then later, when she and her entourage nearly ran me over backstage on her way to the stage for the opening act. She was amazingly beautiful to see in person. She seemed to be a star in every sense of the word. Only her and Jamie Foxx were like that out of every celeb I saw. They just had something about them that nobody else had in terms of sizzle.

2) The live performances: Mary J. Blige was the best, hands down. She was amazing. I've never heard a better voice live. Next, Jamie Foxx. He's got the chops, man. Honoring the history of the AMA's was Lionel Richie, who sang All Night Long and the crowd went absolutely nuts for him, including yours truly (I was on t.v. briefly shaking my booty during Lionel's performance). He's still got it and looks great, too. Another throwback artist was Barry Manilow. His voice was still good, but he's had waaaaaaay too much plastic surgery. Jay Z was good. I got a big kick out of watching Beyonce dance to her man's music while he was onstage and she was in the audience. Also very good and extremely pretty was American Idol Carrie Underwood. Dixie Chicks couldn't have looked less interested to be there, but the biggest letdown was probably Tenacious D, though Dave Grohl gave them a sweet introduction. They just didn't rock like I thought they would. They did have lots of fireball effects in their show and said their song was about their battle with Satan, so they were kinda funny.

3) The venue. Held at the nearly falling down Shriner Auditorium in Los Angeles, near the campus of USC (which is basically in the middle of Compton). A total dump. It was filthy and disgusting inside. Probably sat 5,000 or so, with a balcony. I understand that next year they are holding the AMA's in a new theater being constructed across the street from

Man, I guess I wrote too much. The only other cool story is that I met Weird Al Yankovic at the after party. He was walking by with a plate of food, stuffing his face, when I saw him and said, "Loved what you did with 'Eat It'". He stopped, paused for a moment, got the joke, and then laughed genuinely, saying, "That's pretty funny, man". Somebody with us asked for his picture and he happily agreed, but our camera battery died an extremely untimely death, so Al scooted off to finish his food and alas, no photo was had. Such a bummer. It would have made for a great Christmas card.

All in all, good times. If you ever get a chance to go to a music award show, don't miss it. And wear a jacket. With the exception of the musicians, all the men wear jackets to award shows, even in Los Angeles. But don't wear a tie. Only the body guards wear ties.

Where we're at

I'd post on the Thanksgiving weekend a little more, but Steanso is doing a terrific job over at his site.

Here.

I'm still reeling from the UT game. They just looked awful, like the whole team came down with the flu but felt like they had to go out there and put on a game, what with all the people who showed up. As unhappy as I was with the offense, the defense just couldn't wrap it's head around A&M's admittedly spirited offense.

The late hit on McCoy at the end of the game, and the helmet-to-helmet hit he took before being carried off did quite a bit to sow some ill-will in what has become a lackluster rivalry.

A&M fans may be sad to hear this, but one of the revelations I had coming to UT from A&M-centric North Houston is that UT doesn't consider A&M to be it's primary rivalry. Sure, they want to win, but the OU game is the big kahuna of football rivalries. When I both went to and worked at UT, the A&M thing was great if we could win it, but mostly the lead up to the weekend involved being a bit mortified at A&M's pathological behavior as the game approached.

This year, of course, was a HUGE exception with bowl games still in UT's grasp. That said, a loss was unexpected, and hardly desirable. In a way, though, I think a lot of UT fans were just waiting for the other post-Vince Young foot to drop.

It's my impression from the post-game coverage that the consensus after the game was that the real concern wasn't over the score, but over McCoy's health (he's apparently okay and expected to recover). When your QB leaves the game on a stretcher, it takes whatever fun was left in the game and makes it all seem sort of dumb.

McCoy wasn't supposed to be this year's hero... he was our red-shirt promise for two years from now... Plus, you know, people seem to genuinely like the little guy.

Congrats, A&M. It's too bad your two cheap shots stained an otherwise impressive win. And it's too bad UT's entire team was apparently suffering from a massive turkey overdose.


I have to start decorating for Christmas.

I know this, because we have a Holiday party coming soon. Even JAL is coming. And he might even bring his long-suffering wife.

I also know this because (a) one house in our neighborhood already has up lights, (b) when I bought a pair of jeans today the store was blasting Holiday tunes, (c) News 8 has launched a new feature called "Sounds of the Season" where they show local bands playing Christmas songs, (d) the grocery has made the full conversion to festive Christmas mode, and (e) I've begun to crave nog. Nog is not something I seek out in July.

I suppose by next weekend, the house may be fully decorated. And that will be weird.


I took The Admiral to the comic shop today. There's nothing like bringing your old man to the comic shop to remind you how completely off-their-nut most comic shop patrons really are (grammar). Sure, I occasionally get irritated with the "it's our clubhouse, not a store" mentality some patrons seem to have, and the inevitable crude and crass conversations some folks seem willing to have without actually knowing the other patrons... But there's a whole subsection of the comic-shop audience that is a few more degrees skewed from the center than the average bear... the good folks who get involved in Cosplay, the sweet natured geeks who go to the parks and dress up as wizards and throws tennis balls/ "spells" at one another on the weekend, ...and the staple of the comic shop: the guy who believes he's a bad-ass because he reads titles like "Wolverine" and "Ghost Rider".

This guy ALWAYS knows more about EVERYTHING than ANYONE around him. Usually harmless, he physically cannot turn his voice down below 80 db's, and usually will ignore anything said by store managers, other patrons, or police officers who bring up any point which might contradict the reality he has carved out for himself. This might include topics as far reaching as the origin of an obscure comic character or the inner-workings of the NSA.

You never know what you're going to get in a comic-shop, and today we had The Expert, and "the Role-Player" (a lady wizard, I believe). Luckily, The Admiral is a pretty open minded guy, plus he was mostly interested in finding out why they don't publish Sergeant Rock anymore... so I don't know how much he actually had to listen to the two conversations going on in the shop, but it was all I could do to get the heck out of there my comics safely in tow.

I am fascinated with folks who voluntarily separate themselves from reality by creating elaborate scenarios that do not just exist within their heads. The folks who dress up as elves and wizards and run around in the woods are doing something that I have about fifteen mental signal lights warning me not to get involved with, and I think I've fallen pretty far down the rabbit-hole when it comes to aberrant social/fantasy behavior. I literally CANNOT imagine making the leap from bags and boards to "This weekend, I am going to buy this red material, make a cape, and go fling tennis balls at my friend at Pease Park". Yet I could watch these folks for hours if Jamie would let me.

I don't honestly see a lot of difference between the geeks in the home-made wizard capes and the folks who dress up as a soldier on the weekend to "re-enact" Civil War battles, people who build elaborate dioramas of long-ago fought battles, the guys who know waaaayyy to much about Japanese feudal society, folks who become "serious" Beatles collectors, the ladies who collect thousands of porcelain cats, guys who spend weeks of their lives managing their "fantasy" sports teams, and the millions of people who spend energy keeping up with the lives of celebrities as a hobby through magazines and by keeping Mary Hart of the air. It's all about cutting up reality and pasting it back in a way that works for you.

Heck, in a lot of ways, I sort of think that at least those folks are doing something that they probably know doesn't really jive with "reality" rather that being a stick in the mud who assumes their way is THE way.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the inhabitants of my LCS, I constantly waver between trying to be a "live and let live" sort of guy , and wanting to shake them and say "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE NSA OPERATES! YOU ARE A BUS BOY AT EL POLLO LOCO!!!".

And that, Leaguers, is why I will never own or manage a comic shop.

Turkey Day Re-Cap

Last night I went to bed with what I would describe as stomach cramps. There has been some speculation that I was tense and nervous regarding hosting Thanksgiving. I, personally, attribute it to my exhaustion from the previous night's journey to the Doggy ER, mixed with possibly a case of indigestion and/ or food poisoning from Short Stop (which I had for lunch).

So, anyway, Wednesday night my folks came into town, followed closely by Heather "Daredevil" Wagner. Wagner is staying at my house as part of her Turkey Day Holiday, back from Lubbock where she is attending grad school.

We had dinner last night with the parents, Wagner, Jason and Mandy, chatted for a while, and then played a game called "Balderdash" (FYI: The League totally dominated).

This morning I woke up not feeling right. I had some coffee, some coffee cake, etc... but mostly I just wanted to lay there and watch the parade. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I felt pretty bad, but as I didn't think I had the flu or anything, I wasn't too concerned. People kept trying to get me to help, but when I'd stand up, I just wanted to sit back down and maybe go to sleep. Jason arrived fairly early with Cassidy in tow.

Eventually, around 11:30, I gave up on the lame/rain-drenched Macy's Parade and crawled back into bed with Jeff the Cat.

I was up and showering by 12:30. About 1:30 our other guests arrived. Tom and Marlene Leih, Cousin Sue, then Juan and Matt, followed closely by DK and Liz (Jason's friends have become Steans Family friends, and Liz and DK are now a Steans-Family Thanksgiving staple. Like yams. If they ever skip out on us for Thanksgiving, it just won't be Turkey Day.).

I felt sort of out of sorts, and had felt queasy in the morning, but I love deviled eggs, and DK had brought some as an appetizer. I figured they were a great way to see if my stomach would hold for dinner. After I ate two, I decided I was in the clear, and began to attribute my fainting feeling to a lack of food since the Short Stop meal.

We had a CRAZY amount of food. Including the stuffing Jamie had made, whichw as enough to feed a battalion. She had doubled her family recipe, and somehow this equated a metric ton of stuffing. At least it was good. We're just going to be eating stuffing for the next four weeks.

Turkey turned out well. Nice company. No real awkward pauses. Nobody went off the rails into discussion of sex/religion/ politics, and by the end of dinner I was right as rain.

So, anyhow, after that was lots of chatting, playing with dogs, and eating of pie. All very Norman Rockwellesque.

Eventually our guests departed, only to resume the festivities tomorrow for the UT/A&M game.

We're going to be serving stuffing. Come on by.

Casino Royale and The Prestige Review

Normally I think Owen Gleiberman, movie critic for Entertainment Weekly, is a colossal dork. He will give a movie a phenomenal review, but knock off a full letter grade to a letter grade and a half simply because the movie is a genre flick (ie: sci-fi or fantasy film). Conversely, he falls into the movie reviewer trap of giving extra points to a lot of movies merely for being foreign language or indie films. And I have never forgiven him the "F" he gave a prescient "Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy".

However, I thought his review of Casino Royale said pretty much what I wanted to say, so why should I write up my thoughts when he has done it for me?

Here



Last Friday night Jamie and I went and caught The Prestige. Directed by "Batman Begins" director Chrisptopher Nolan and featuring an all-star cast, including Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, David Bowie (as Nikola Tesla, no less), Andy Serkis, and, human special effect, Scarlett Johansson.

The movie is beautifully produced, wonderfully acted, well shot... and I guessed the ending at least half an hour before the end of the movie. Which, in a suspense story like this that fancies itself to be a magic trick, in and of itself, is sort of like seeing the wires making the magician float during their big show-stopper.

I noticed the book from which the story was taken was written by a Christopher Priest, and knowing a Christopher Priest writes occasionally for comics, and then noting several comic-like plot elements, I did some quick checking. Same guy.

Hmmm...

Anyway, it has Scarlett Johansson, and I might pay to see her sit in a chair and chew gum for 90 minutes. So, there you go.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, LEAGUERS



I hope your Turkey Day is full of thanks, giving and giving of thanks.

I am sort of out of commission while the family is here. In the meantime, you can read an interview Jason did with me last week.

Here.

Exciting Evening

Well, tonight we went to dinner with Stuart and Hilary down at Threadgill's on Barton Springs. We had a nice chat and caught up a little. Hope to see them at the Holiday Spectacular.

We were departing town via S. Lamar, in the lane to turn west on 6th (and then out to MoPac). We'd pulled up to the light, and I was having a thought I was about o express when I heard two loud bangs. It took me a split second, but I realized the car next to me in the right lane had been hit by the car behind them. Hard. However, the second car was not at fault as the second car had originally been struck with tremendous force by a third car. The third car must not have even slowed down as they approached the intersection.

As Jamie rolled down her window to ask if the woman in the car next to us was okay, for some reason, that lady rolled up her window. Her car was bad damaged, but I honestly didn't get a good look.

The damage to the second and third car was enormous. The second car was, of course, crushed in at both the front and rear. The front of the third car was flattened, the car had bounced back a few feet with the impact, and had some sort of steam seemed to be shooting out of the side of the third car.

It's amazing what you see in a few seconds when the adrenaline kicks in.

You may not know the Lamar/ 6th Street intersection (just South of Waterloo), but it's largely penned in. There is no shoulder to pull off on. There is no way to do anything but remain in your car. I couldn't get out and safely check on the other drivers without blocking traffic and thusly blocking routes for first responders. I was fairly certain the person in the second car MUST have sustained at least minor injuries.

So, feeling more than a little guilty, but grateful we'd been turning left, we drove off. We were glad to see EMS already en route when we reached the turn off from 6th to MoPac, but it definitely left a question mark over our heads as to the condition of the drivers.


We were home for a brief while, and I was talking to Jason on the phone regarding the Holiday when Jamie came bolting down the stairs shouting that Lucy had eaten one of her pills. Normally, I wouldn't care a whole lot, and my first inclination was to suggest we let Lucy ride it out, but this was one of Jamie's big, blood-pressure horse-pills. Jamie has very high blood pressure (no kidneys will do that), so the pill is a fairly serious dose.

We called the 24-Hour vet clinic, who, in turn, had us call Animal Poison Control (who knew there was such a thing?). I then drove to Walgreens and bought a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, which we mixed with peanut butter in order to induce vomiting.

Lucy, unfortunately, has a stomach of cast-iron, and was having none of our induced vomiting. But she was getting very droopy. We called Poison Control back, and they had us repeat the procedure. Meanwhile, we knew the pill was dissolving in Lucy's stomach, so every time she didn't puke between 10-minute puke cycles, things were just getting worse. Unfortunately, not only did Lucy NOT puke on the second attempt, she wouldn't go anywhere near the Hydrogen Peroxide/ Peanut Butter shooter we'd prepared for her. I tried shoving it under her nose, hoping the smell alone would do the trick, but was getting no luck.

You cannot force feed a dog a liquid without a turkey baster.

Note to self, we're about to have Thanksgiving: go buy a baster.

So, anyway, we called back, and, of course, we then zoomed to the 24 Hour Clinic on Frontier and 71 to get Lucy taken care of.

Unfortunately, en route, I remembered we'd left the last peanut butter/ hydrogen peroxide mix on the floor where Mel could get it (and thusly induce vomiting). So I had to drop off Jamie and Lucy and return immediately home, pick up the bowl (which Mel had missed while he snoozed happily on the sofa), and returned to the Pet Clinic.

They gavce Lucy some injection to induce vomiting. I guess she barfed up part of the pill, and the outlook is good. She's there now being closely monitored.

BUT... for some bizarro reason this clinic does not hold a pet until the pet is better. They hold the pet until 6:30 AM when the pet can go home or go to their usual vet. So, yeah, now I have to be back at the clinic with the sunrise to pick up my dog.

Why did Lucy suddenly eat a pill, which she's never done before?

My guess is this: About two weeks ago Lucy was put on a pill to help with her allergies. She loves this pill. She thinks it's delicious for some odd reason, and likes it so much, she sits for the generic Benadryl I give her in eager anticipation of the other pill.

So, my dog now thinks pills are candy.

Jamie is on, like a hundred and eighty medications. We have pill bottles all over the house. We look like a pharmacy/ pushers'-haven. Now we have to worry about Little Miss getting into all kinds of dangerous stuff. Hurray!

This is, I think, the third time Lucy has been to the vet for eating something she isn't supposed to eat. At least this time it's not a rock.

So, I hope you will forgive the brief list for Interactivity Day 4. It's all I can muster.

I'm going to bed so I can get up and reclaim my ridiculous dog.

Things can come at you fast. Even right before Thanksgiving.


UPDATE:

I went to pick up Lucy this morning at 6:30. She is doing very well. They tell me her blood pressure stayed very constant all night, so she got to come home immediately this morning. Mostly she's just very happy to be home and being a bit of a baby. She's usually a bit of a baby, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

Right now she is outside in very cold weather with Mel. I am hoping they will both go whizzle and go to sleep so I can get a little more shut-eye in this morning before people start to show up.

Interactivity Day 4: Good Movies that Never Really Did Anything for me

The League is not too hard to impress. We're easily distracted by balloons, shiny objects, and once got a "C" in Intro to Italian because there were squirrels in the tree outside the classroom window.

So we're always a little befuddled when a movie comes out that we're supposed to like, but which does absolutely nothing for us. This doesn't mean it was a bad movie, or that I think OTHER people are dumb for liking the movie. Nor does it mean I think I must be dumb for not getting the genius of the movie. Just movies I saw, shrugged, and sort of dismssed.

Gosford Park (I know. Awful timing.)
The Rules of the Game (often said to be the greatest movie ever)
Shrek 1
An American Werewolf in London
The Toxic Avenger
Finding Nemo
Shakespeare in Love
The English Patient
Jumanji
Tootsie
Top Gun
There's Something About Mary
Kingpin
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Clueless
A Beautiful Mind
Dial M for Murder
The Wild Bunch
Sleepless in Seattle
When Harry Met Sally
Apollo 13
Cape Fear (remake)
Jerry Maguire
Scarface
Dazed and Confused
The Truman Show
Chicago
Syriana
Metropolitan
Barcelona
Amateur
Suburbia


What movies did you see which you just didn't think quite lived up to the hype?

Interactivity Day 3: Movies I am only now fessing up to watching and enjoying


Some of these may ruin whatever preconceived notions you have of me, others may confirm sneaking suspicions you've had all along. This list is: A partial list of movies I knew were bad when I was watching them, but which I secretly enjoyed.

This does not include movies that were "so bad, they're fascinating" (ie: ROTOR).

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
Little Shop of Horrors
Superman IV
The Shadow
The Hulk
Josie and the Pussycats
Smokey and the Bandit
Cannonball Run 1 & 2
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
Pootie Tang
Robocop 2
Darkstar
A Life Less Ordinary
Godzilla 2000
Six Pack
UHF
Gremlins 2
Red Sonja
Not Another Teenage Movie
The Last Dragon


Movies I've seen that I'm simply embarassed to tell people I've seen:

American Cyborg: Steel Warrior
Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter (no, not that one. The one based on the videogame. So bad, it killed star Raul Julia)
Man's Best Friend
Jingle All the Way
The Sixth Day
End of Days
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Beethoven's 2nd (but, curiously, not the original)
Hardware
Johnny Mnemonic
Robot Jox (twice)
Freejack
Space Truckers
Barb Wire
Casper
The Flintstones
From Justin to Kelly
No Holds Barred
The Phantom
Dungeons & Dragons
Dude, Where's My Car
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Eurotrip
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3

These lists are just a jumping off point to get you to think (believe me, if I really put my mind to it, there are probably scores more for both lists).

What movie are you embarassed to admit you like? Or what movie are you just ashamed to tell other people that you displayed the poor judgement to actually sit all the way through although you knew it was bad?

Marvel Comics teams up with The Guiding Light

I keep forgetting to talk about this, let alone watch it...

Apparently Marvel Comics entered into some deal with the soap opera "Guiding Light". Now there's a superhero on Guiding Light, which seems weird, but "Days of Our Lives" has had supernatural storylines, "Passions" is full of this kind of stuff, and that's just the stuff I know about...

Anyway, in a post down below, Peabo was pointing out how his mother and I both like to follow serialized stories in which characters don't ever seem to change much (his mother with soaps, me with the comics), and it reminded me of this debacle.

go here, if you dare...

Interactivity Day 2: Movies I have never seen, but probably should
AKA: Stump The League

A very partial list of movies I should probably see at some point. Assembled with some help from the AFI 100 Years of Film lists. I'll revist the lists in a different Interactivity post.

Ben-Hur
The Ten Commandments
The Greatest Story Ever Told
In the Heat of the Night
Gandhi
Alphaville
Sullivan's Travels
The China Syndrome
Silkwood
A Hard Day's Night
Rodan
On the Waterfront
The Hustler
El Cid
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Third Man
Rocky
Roman Holiday
The Conversation
Giant
The Pride of the Yankees
A Raisin in the Sun
Blow Up
True Grit
Cleopatra
The Grapes of Wrath
Double Indemnity
East of Eden
Animal Crackers
How the West was Won
Tora, Tora, Tora
Midway
Badlands
Tommy
Nashville
Sabrina
The Thin Man
The Thing (original. I totally saw the Kurt Russel version)
The Last Picture Show
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Fail Safe
To Sir, With Love
Solaris (original version)
The Sting
Manhattan
Gigli

and pretty much anything made in Europe. Sorry. I've seen like one Bergman movie and one Fellini movie. I have nothing against either filmmaker, I just haven't quite made it through their repertoire as of yet.

What other movies can you suggest? I will let you know if I have seen the movie. Now, let's use some hard-hitting criteria. I'm trying to make these the sort of movies that are award winners (no, "Kid's Choice Awards" do not count), have either stood the test of time, or are such a familiar touchstone to our movie-watching zeitgeist, that it's probably a good idea to see them.

So, you know, it's great that you loved "Legally Blonde", but let's wait a few years before we list that one.

Interactivity: A List of Movies

I am feeling lazy, and rather than going on hiatus as planned, I am looking through my DVD's for inspiration.

Here is a partial list of movies I own that I can always kick back and enjoy, presented in as random an order as I can muster. How many have you seen?

The Right Stuff
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lawrence of Arabia
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman and the Mole Men
Glengarry Glen Ross
The Haunting
The Killing
The Killers
War of the Worlds
The Asphalt Jungle
West Side Story
This Gun for Hire
Vertigo
Singin' In the Rain
Shane
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Mars Attacks
Phantom of the Opera
Cool Hand Luke
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Miller's Crossing
Ed Wood
Batman
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West (God bless you, Claudia Cardinale)
Once Upon a Time in America
Godfather 1 & 2
Batman Returns
For a Fist Full of Dollars
Batman Begins
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Unforgiven
Spider-Man 1 & 2
Fight Club
Kiss of Death (original)
The Iron Giant
Iron Monkey
Airplane
White Heat
Lord of the Rings
The Last of the Mohicans (Michael Mann version)
Jaws
Casablanca
Fist of Legend
The Dark Crystal
Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
True Stories
The Big Sleep
It's a Wonderful Life
The Maltese Falcon
Terminator 1 & 2
Fantasia
Young Frankenstein
The Sound of Music
The Day the Earth Stood Still
King Kong (original version)
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Singin' In the Rain
Aliens
Predator
The Quiet Man
Raising Arizona
Akira
Fritz Lang's Metropolis
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera
Fargo


That's probably plenty.

Next time: Movies I have never seen, but probably should

Sorry about the lack of post from last night

I got to answering e-mails I had been negligent in responding to, got sleepy and went to bed.

I have nothing to really post about. Life is good. Weather is great. No job.

Here's some small items:

-Jason recommended a mechanic to me: Lopez Automotive, just off Manchaca and 71. They were shockingly honest and inexpensive. I now hold a grudge against my garage in Phoenix, whom I never really trusted and who never let me walk out the door for less than three bills. But they were also the only garage in spitting distance.

-I hi-jacked Cassidy this afternoon and took her to my house. Her mission: wear out Lucy so she won't spend another night dropping her ball on my foot. Mission was a failure. Lucy has been typically relentless.

-Re: Manchaca pronunciation. I give up. You win. It's Man-tsalk-ah, not Man-shack. Sure, it's been pronounced Man-Shack my whole life, and from what I understand, it's of Czech origin and even "Man-shack" is a butchering of the real pronunciation. But who am I to question the curious pronunciations of Austin streets? Koenig is not supposed to be pronounced "Kay-nig" (it's German and is supposed to be Coh-nig. Sort of), Guadalupe is NOT supposed to be pronounced "Gwahd-uh-loop", and Burnet is not supposed to be pronounced "Burn it". And I-35 is not supposed to be called "The @#$%ing freeway". But there it is. I shall begin calling Congress "Kone-Grease" and see how long it is until that's what they're calling it on News 8.

-Can we get double-jeopardy? Just this once? OJ's new book: If I Did It.

No, @#$%ing seriously.

-Thanksgiving is almost here (gobble gobble). I am excited, but a little weirded out that it's almost here. We're staying here and cooking at home. In addition to the usual suspects, I think Mangum and Juan are coming for dinner. It's gonna be nice. I need to assign Jason to a task. Perhaps wine duty? Usually that's The Admiral's thing. What to assign...?

-I bought my first Christmas present today. That's one person off the list. I do not know what to get Jamie. She was supposed to get a camera, but then her dad gave her his old one, which is better than anything I could currently afford, so I'm sort of out of luck.

Jamie is notoriously difficult to shop for, and unlike when I give other people things and they toss them in the closet and I forget what I got them a week later, I KNOW when Jamie isn't using something or isn't enjoying something. She's polite as all heck about it, but it's probably more disappointing for me when I get her something that never sees the light of day again.

-The new Crest Pro-Health cinammon flavor is awesome. It's like brushing your teeth with Trident gum.

-Also, there's a new Cinammon/Salty Chex Mix. The League says: Delicious.

-PS3 is coming out Friday morning. I saw people camped out at three different stores today. If those people don't know they're advertising the PS3 on Sony's behalf, they should all be told and sent home in shame. The League owned a PS2 for about nine months, then resold it. No gamer are we. I sincerely wish the gamers out there (who wrongfully stole the name "gamers" from the Dungeons & Dragons players) good luck in your purchase. We'll see you next August when you resurface.

-I am once again hooked on Ghost Hunters after the results show from the Stanley Hotel and the Irish Attack Ghost. Now, I'm much more interested in trying to figure out a rational explanation for "evidence" which isn't simply a trick of the eye, but voices, etc...

-For some reason this week there's been a flurry of communication with folks in AZ. Okie, Juli, Maria, Eric P. and even Al have been e-mailing and calling. It is nice to be missed, I think.

-"My Name is Earl" isn't very good this season. Apparently I went to high school with the guy who plays "Crab Man", but I don't recall him. The latest episode was clunky and teh animation wasn't funny enough to warrant its existence. The funniest thing in the episode was a throw-away joke involving umbrellas, a pool and the opening credits of "Friends".

-Tomorrow I venture to Austin Books for a back-issue sale. God help me.

-After the comic shop I have to start organizing all the post-move garbage in my garage and getting it ready for pick-up on Monday. Wheeeeee...

-I'm finally caught up on the Batman titles which I'd fallen behind on. I'm loving Dini's run on "Detective Comics". In "Legends of the Dark Knight", Bruce Jones managed to stretch out a two issue story into a six-issue waste of Ariel Olivetti's considerable talents on art. I hear Legends is not long for the world. That's okay if this is what they're doing with it. But they're just replacing it with "Batman: Confidential", another ongoing series looking at "untold tales from the Dark Knight Detective's formidable career". I tell you, what other medium but comics would you find people reading stories with an absolute certainty that nothing of consequence would happen to the lead character?

-I think I'm finally digging the new "Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis" series. It's just like RHPT underwater. Only different.

-Can anyone recommend any new music? I haven't picked up any CD's in a while. I've given up buying music through iTunes until I get a new computer and I'm going back to disks.

-Erica is getting married. Get your suit pressed and buy some new panty hose. Let's hope there's an open bar.

-That's it. Hope all is well.

Something other than public health

Okay, I feel a little bad that all I posted about tonight was a brief rant on the importance of getting a flu shot.

Today was mostly uneventful. We wound up the day by going to The Shady Grove to have dinner with Pat, Jeff and Keora. I still like Shady Grove. It wasn't even completely over-packed. We're making a bit of an effort to keep up with folks and not just let it go at a single dinner to welcome ourselves back.

I've been trying to make it through a stack of comics which somehow accumulated both before and after we left Phoenix. Somehow I'm two issues behind on things like "Uncle Scrooge" (which I enjoy, so blow it out your ear) and four issues behind on "Outsiders".

All of this is reminding me that maybe I should cut back on single issues and move over to collected editions on books like Outsiders and Aquaman.

I also finally got my office in a semi-working condition and have had a little bit of time to draw. I'm no great artist, but it's something I like to do. I am terribly embarassed of the quality of my work, which shows no signs of maturity and has the rendering quality of a drunk elephant with a paintbrush.

The comic artists I admire number in the dozens, and I feel my work is nowhere near the quality of what they are putting out. So, I just do it to relax and enjoy myself.

I don't know if most folks assume you're fishing for compliments if they catch so much as a glimpse of your work, but I get more than a little uncomfortable when they insist you throw away your salaried job and insurance coverage to, I guess, sell your work at local art fairs or something. It's nice to think people like my stuff, but, c'mon... My rendering of anatomy, if accurate, would represent a land of grotesque monstrosities.

The other night Jason, Mandy and I were at Jason's (where he has hung a photocopy or two of some stuff I did a few years ago) and Jason walked out of the room. Mandy said something nice about a picture I had done, and I said thanks and braced myself for the usual hyperbolic compliments. Instead, she said, "So it's something you can do just for yourself but you can share."

I was completely unprepared for someone to actually say what I always try to get around to saying. I think I flubbed something about it not really being in my professional interest, but what I really wanted to do was grab her by the shoulders and say "YES! Why can't everyone just let it go at that!"

God bless you, Mandy Wilson.

I think I shall now go upstairs and doodle.

THE LEAGUE TALKS PUBLIC HEALTH

Get your @#$%ing flu shot.

Today The League and Jamie headed down to the Toney Burger Center and got "free" flu shots. I don't know what the story was, but they were doing some sort of time trial or something. If they wanted to get good numbers, they got 'em. We were in and out of the place in under five minutes. I even thought I would wind up on Channel 42 5:00 news (who was there collecting footage), but I didn't. Which is good, because I winced like a weiner when I got my shot. And I don't need all of Austin seeing me discouraging people from getting a little needle in their arm.

I've gotten flu shots on and off throughout my life, especially once Jamie started insisting. But a few years ago I got macho, and had been suffering from flu-like symptoms when I got shots, so I decided to take my chances.

Well, here's the deal: If you go to work sick, you will make people (like The League) sick against their will. Stay home. Do not be a plague carrier.

For healthy people: Assume all people with young kids are probably carrying horrible germs. That's awful, I know. But little kids are germ factories.

Also: Some people are immune-compromised and really shouldn't be exposed at all. So if you go to work, you can expose someone like me, who has to go home and carry your germs with him to his immune-compromised wife.

So, Jamie aside, last year I finally got the @#$%ing flu. Bad. Not "put me in the hospital" bad, but "why can't I stop with the stomach cramping and horrible sweating?" bad.

I've wished I were dead maybe four times in my life. One I chalk up to vodka and college, one to gin and college, one to being stuck in the most boring conversation in the history of Christmas parties, and, lastly, when I was kneeling in front of the toilet at 2:30 AM.

Here's the deal: On the scale of possible flu's, that was a light one.

Leaguers, you need to get your flu shot so we don't get La Grippe.

Read here.

and here

No, seriously. The flu pandemic of 1918 was some seriously bad hoodoo. It KILLED 675,000 people. And this is without airplanes jetting people all over the world and a proliferation of CiCi's Pizzas filled with germy, germy kids.

The League loves life. I do not want to die because you thought you probably would not get the flu.

And even if you're a completely self-absorbed jerk, do you really want to spend several days in dire straights which you could otherwise avoid with a quick shot?

this site may help

and from the CDC

Erica/Bug,

You have asked for my e-mail. Here is the trouble... You did not send me your e-mail address. If you look in the left hand menu bar, there are instructions for how to e-mail The League of Melbotis. We will then follow up.

Oh, and I hear congrats of some sort are in order.

So today we went to see "Borat".

It's not often you spend a good deal of time watching a movie wondering how they completed the film without winding up in jail. Really, only the Jackass movies spring immediately to mind when you apply that sort of criteria. And, like Jackass, while viewing Borat, you will spend a good deal of your time wondering how anyone could lack the filter most of us walk around with that prevents us from (a) making others miserable, and (b) doing things that the average human would most likely not do for love or money.

Many people will see Borat and they will laugh. My parents would not be among those people. Well, you never know what the Karebear is going to dig, but I'm willing to bet that Borat comes and goes as a cultural phenomenon and she will never know. All for the best, probably.

Honestly, I wasn't nuts about the film's insistence on using a framing device and a storyline. I think Borat is relatively self-explanatory, and the interstitial scenes of Borat and his producer too often took the wind out of the movie.

I know Borat has been sued by some of the folks who appeared in the movie, and late-1990's internet phenomenon, Mahir, is apparently attempting to sue the filmmakers for stealing his persona. If this were possible, I think Randy might have a lucrative case on his hands.


A few weeks back I was at a wedding. I mentioned that Josh had gone into battle with an elk. Here is my evidence:


Josh is ready for action. The other guy, Frank, was trampled and lost his despoit from Al's Formal Wear.

Doubt The League at your peril.

veterans' day addendum

Jamie pointed out that her dad, Dr. Dick McBride, was in the Army for several years. I cannot believe that his service escaped me in my Veterans' Day post, especially as Judy and Dick practically live next door to Ft. Sill, the army base from which he was discharged. And that, of course, is where Jamie was over the weekend.

A thousand apologies to my father-in-law, with whom I would be honored to share a fox hole.

What an orthodontist would be doing in a fox hole, I have no idea...

The Weekend and Daredevil

Wow. You're probably reading this at work. I wish I had a job.

The weekend disappeared into a colossal loss. I wish I could say it had been more productive.

Last night Mangum (Matt, not Dusty) came by to watch UT beat KSU. Boy, did that not turn out well. Well, the Mangum coming by part worked like a charm. The "UT is going to beat the tar out of these 6-4 hosers" part didn't pan out quite how I'd hoped.

Still, it's always nice to catch up with Mangum.

Today, Jason woke me after 10:00. We went and got breakfast at Maudie's, and then returned to my house to digest Maudie's. This took more than an hour. We kept trying to think of something to do, but I didn't want to go spend money, and Jason was planning to head to a movie tonight, so that was out. Eventually we both acknowledged having chores/errands and parted ways.

I ran an errand or two, played with teh dogs in the yard and enjoyed the lovely Austin Fall day, did some cleaning up, and then went to get Jamie from the airport.

Returned home, and watched the Bears defeat (to my surprise) the NY Giants. That's about it.


Leaguers, you know I love my DC Comics, but that doesn't mean I don't read the Marvelous competition. And one comic that I am addicted to like old people try to mainline "The Price is Right" is Daredevil. Sure, the Affleck/Garner inflicted movie set back the franchise 20 years, and the subsequent "Elektra" movie was a dud, but the comics have had a few good runs that rival any storyline from X-Men or Batman you want to pull out of your hat. No, really.

Daredevil basically follows the adventures of Matt Murdock: blind attorney by day, super-hero with radar sense and ninja-like training protecting the streets of NYC's Hell's Kitchen by night.

I highly recommend the Frank Miller-era stories (which were the basis for the Daredevil movie and which spawned Elektra) which truly redefined the urban vigilante and made a lot of long-time comic fans finally take ntoice of the character. You can find these currently as Daredevil Visionaries 1-3, and Daredevil: Born Again.

Miller established the device which makes Daredevil work: Completely destroy Matt Murdock. Kill his friends. Make his girfriend betray him, etc... have the biggest crime boss in NYC go after him in his civilian identity... and when all hope is lost, let him start fighting back.

In the late 1990's, Marvel relaunched Daredevil under the unfortunate pen of movie-maker Kevin Smith, who put together a barely plausible storyline... But at least Smith got the title up and running again.

Brian Michael Bendis took the title over shortly therafter, and delivered several years worth of stories, all under one continuous storyline as Daredevil's secret identity is compromised.

The storyline was a bold call, and Bendis' treatment of the idea was well thought-out, and believable as could be expected in a book with superheroes. Many comic readers and Daredevil fans took umbrage when Daredevil would fail to actually don tights for several issues at a time, but I think those readers were missing the point of what Bendis was doing with the greatest superhero "what if?" storyline in recent memory.

While the end of Bendis's run was phenomenal, the truth is that as long as the comic continues to go to print, it's not entirely clear HOW they will ever wrap up the storyline. And that's got me hooked.

Of late, crime-comic scribe Ed Brubaker has been given the reins, and brought Gotham Central artist Michael Lark with him to the comic. I've just finished reading their first collection, "Daredevil: The Devil Inside and Out", and while the story is definitely Brubaker and Lark's, the continuity of Bendis's excellent stories seems to have given Brubaker some excellent territory to mine. In fact, I wonder if Brubaker isn't willing to take the brakes off even a little more than Bendis.

Great stuff.

If you're looking for something to start picking up in collected format, I highly recommend. Heck, I'll even try to point you to an online service or comic shop to help you out, if you'd like.

RE: The UT/ KSU game





shit.

A LEAGUE SALUTE TO VETERANS DAY

The League of Melbotis wishes to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our servicemen and women. Your service and courage are an inspiration.

Both The Admiral and my Grandfather, Marvin Ross, are proud veterans, and so a special thanks to you. Also, to Larry Lee (if he's still popping in to The League) for his years of service.

I like to think Veterans Day is an opportunity for shmoes like me to get to publicly acknowledge the good others do on our behalf and for our benefit. I'm not a "magnetic ribbon on the car" kind of guy, but that doesn't mean guys like me can't honor and respect the folks who DID put on a uniform for the U.S.

Veterans, The League of Melbotis salutes you.

Jamie has gone to Lawton for the weekend.

It's been years since she left me to my own devices for a trip not involving doctors. I do not know what she is doing in Lawton. I am hoping it involves a great deal of fun.

I dropped Jamie at the airport and, immediately, I realized I had no idea what to do with myself. It's been, really, since May of 2002 that I have been faced with nothing to do in a town full of people I can actually call.

But first I headed for Austin Books. One must always seize the chance to wander the vast aisles of Austin Books when one gets the chance to do so with no one in tow (who will inevitably get bored of seeing you pore through bagged and boarded back-issues of "Superman's Girlfriend: Lois Lane"), or without anyone worrying about when you will return for supper, etc... It was just me and those endless longboxes of lovely, lovely comics.

I bought only one new comic, picking up a handful of back issues (I got a good deal on Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen #133 in decent condition) and Will Eisner's "Life on Another Planet".

The one new comic was "Apocalypse Nerd" #4. One day, remind me and I'll write about this series. In the meantime, this is a comic every knob like me who makes a living working in front of a monitor should pick up.

I admit, I go into giddy comic-fan sensory overload everytime I walk in the door of Austin Books. I enjoy my usual weekly trip to my local comic shop, but as well-run as I find my LCS, the shop simply doesn't treat the history of comics with the same reverence, it doesn't treat the artists like artists to be studied, it doesn't look at the medium as an artform in quite the same way.

Back-issues at my LCS are not preserved pieces of pop-culture, they're old stock which needs to be taken off the shelf, like potato chips or twinkies. It's not that my LCS manager doesn't have an understanding of these things, or that he doesn't have an appreciation for comics. I think he's actually a very good manager. But he can't afford to take the chance on stocking the items he might want to put on the shelf as his audience is far more interested in what's new, what just came out, what's the latest...? The story behind the comics doesn't hold a candle to the story contained within the comic. And that's kind of too bad.

I like a somewhat scholarly approach to the medium. I like knowing I can walk in and pick up a book of interviews with the early creators of JLA comics, or a Wally Wood retrospective, or a Terry and the Pirates Compendium as readily as I can pick up this month's issue of "Super Teen-Aged Misfit Vigilantes". I'm glad someone just got Pekar's latest in paperback.

But I'm also glad they're across town. Otherwise, we'd be dead broke.

Jamie reads my comics, but she doesn't collect them. I have bought Jamie her first back-issue. It is hers. It is not mine, and I will not put it in my long-boxes. I want her to have it so she has one, shiny, pretty comic which she can say "that is mine".


I thought I'd spend this evening alone with the pets, but I didn't. I bugged some folks, but was having trouble finding someone to amuse me when Jason called. Thus, Jason, Mandy, Ellie and I wound up on S. Congress at Southside Flying Pizza, then at Jason's for a quick beer. Mel and Lucy came with me to the Hop-a-Long Lounge where they romped in the breezy weather with Cassidy.

It is now windy and cold out. I wonder if Fall is finally fallen.

Tomorrow I think I will try to summon folks to my house to watch the UT game and have a drink or two.

We are having an all-faiths and creeds Holiday party. Be there. Here's some details to help you get the shin-dig on your Holiday schedule.

Tomorrow Jamie heads off for Lawton, OK. She's going to spend some time with her folks without The League tagging along and shooting his mouth off for hours at a time.

I am, of course, excited about Jamie's visit to her parents, but it's always dicey leaving Jamie to talk to her folks without being in attendance. Nothing bad, per se, ever happens. BUT, I know that in five months Jamie will say something like "My parents are coming down Saturday for that monster truck pull you're signed up to drive the Forester in."
I will say "What?"
And she will say "The monster truck pull you agreed to be in. Remember?" And then she will roll her eyes.
I will not remember any of this, so I will say "When did I say I would drive the Subaru in a monster truck pull?"
And she will say, after sighing loudly, "When I went to my folks' house, and I came home and said 'my folks want to come down for the monster truck rally in March', and then you said you'd drive."
"Maybe I meant I would drive to the tractor pull," I will say, still not really remembering this conversation.
"Well, you said 'I will drive', and now you're signed up to drive in that rally.".
To which I will say "I said that?"
And she will assure me we had a conversation of which I recall no detail, but from which I think I misunderstood the questions, but, nonetheless, am now in motion to drive my V4 in a monster truck rally.
But I do not argue. Mostly because I heard my folks having this same conversation through my entire childhood, with my Dad constantly trying to recall committing to a multitude of activities. He always went, but...
These days, The Admiral no longer asks questions and just sort of goes along for the ride to an endless string of events that he cannot remember agreeing to attend.

It's just better if I am there to know what I am agreeing to.


The other day Jamie and I were walking through the aisles of Target when we came upon the 2006 Jones Soda Holiday Collection. You may recall the 2005 Jones Soda Holiday Challenge. I'm not sure that things didn't go according to plan, but I can say that it didn't make Christmas any better.

I paused in the aisle, read what the flavors were in the this year's offering. I think it's worth noting that Jones Soda has, this year, included both "peas" and "antacid" in the flavor mix.

But I'll never taste them.

At first, I was a little like "Ha! That was great fun last year! We should do it again!"
But then Jamie reminded me of the grueling pain I'd felt in my gut, and the multiple times I wasn't sure if I would boot or not in the sink.

Apparently I also left myself a little message, to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening again.

From the post:

After reviewing the Taste Test post, Jamie asked if I would do this over again knowing what I know now.

I want to say "Of course!", but I'm gonna be honest with you... I wouldn't voluntarily drink any of these things again. Did I learn anything? No. My sense of smell forewarned me, my sense of taste confirmed it. My lizard brain knew enough not to drink this piss, and I went ahead and did it anyway. Sometimes you should really go with your gut.

So, no Jones Soda taste test for me this year.

Spidey 3

ANNOUNCING THE LEAGUE of MELBOTIS 2006 HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR!!!
THE LEAGUE LAUNCHES THE FIRST VOLLEY IN THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS

Hey, Leaguers. We've been living out of town for a while. Some folks might say, too long. But we're back, and happy to have returned to the city that wore a violet crown.

After much pondering, we've decided that nothing says "we're glad to be back" like opening your doors to your friends and providing a veggie tray. And what better time of the year to show a little hospitality than during the Holiday Season?

So, without further ado, we invite you to The League of Melbotis 2006 Holiday Spectacular!

What: a lovely holiday party
Where: League HQ in S. Austin
When: December 9th. Doors open at 7:00 PM.



There will be a tree, lights, elves, a five-round cage match, and all the things you want out of an old-fashioned Holiday get together. And, I think if you ask, Jamie will play you a few Holiday tunes on her piano. Feel free to sing along, Steanso.

We hope you can come (yes... YOU), so mark your calendar now. Also, if you have ideas, would like to provide a service for the party, or just generally want to be a busy-body, e-mail us to let us know what you have in mind.

We will provide cookies, treats, a bit of food and some spirits for the occasion, but feel free to partake in the merriment by sharing in bringing some hooch of your own to be split several ways among attendees.

So, Leaguers, get the Yule Log out of storage, fire up the cocoa and find your tackiest Christmas sweater, because we're ready to help you blow off some steam as you head toward the 25th.

And remember, living outside of town is no excuse for not showing up.

SUPERMAN RETURNS, ONE FINAL TIME

This evening Jamie and I headed down to the Bob Bullock Museum's IMAX theater for the final showing of Superman Returns, in IMAX 3D. I was a bit surprised to see the handful of people who also showed up, including one little Superman in his red cape (which, of course, warms The League's heart). It may have been my fourth time to see the movie, but it was Jason, Jackbart and Reed's first time, so I had tried numerous times to explain to Steanso (who loves his action movies) that this was not so much an action movie, and would not contain a lot of fighting.

Anyway, it was great to see the movie again.

But I also realize that I may be reading the movie a little differently than some of my fellow movie-goers. I like to think I'm fairly familiar with Superman, so maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but I also think I'm allowed to stand by my reading of the movie.

ESPECIALLY within the comics, Superman's powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite do not always follow some strict, mathematical guideline. It's one thing to say "Superman can lift tremendous amounts of weight". However, it's noteworthy that in his first appearances, Superman was lifting cars, but by the early 1960's was re-shaping planets from a sphere to a cubical shape to accomodate Bizarro (him do opposite of all earthly things...). Similarly, Superman's weakness to Kryptonite often takes him down for the count immediately, while other times it merely weakens him. It depends.

I think what you have to know is that for many Superman fans, you don't put metrics on Superman. Superman is not about what you cannot do, he's about what you can do. His powers, abilities and weaknesses ebb and flow with the story, changing to fit the story or to demonstrate that he's Super enough to overcome his weaknesses to rush to the rescue of the person/s he's fighting to protect (see Superman travelling through time in "Superman: The Movie" in order to save Lois).

Just as Batman is a human who performs the impossible in the name of justice, so Superman is more than an arsenal of powers. He's a tall tale, a myth and an icon, both as a character and as a superhero. The point should not be: he can't do that. The point should be: He is Superman, and he can do what it takes to save the day, even if its the impossible. Especially if its the impossible, even for him.

SPOILER LADEN COMMENTARY: "Superman Returns" is not about Superman battling Lex Luthor. It is about Superman combatting the knowledge that he is utterly alone in the Universe. After discovering his home planet is, indeed, wiped from memory. His isolation is heightened by his feelings of abandonment by Lois when he discovers she has built a family in his absence. It is the discovery that he has a son (see the seaplane sequence) and the confirmation that Jason is his son (see the Lois Hospital sequence) that provide him with the means to continue the never-ending battle, even as Luthor perverts and twists the one small token he has of his home world against both he and the world he's trying to protect.

I read "Superman Returns" as a movie about a guy who discovers he is not alone in many ways (note the word "alienation" appears in the Scrabble game at the beginning), and does the impossible so that he can be there for both the ones we know he cares for and the ones he's learning to care for. If Superman suddenly lifts a huge rock of Kryptonite at the end of the movie, you can't say "well, he can't do that", you have to say "why can he do it? what's different now?" And if you aren't sure as to the beats in the story, check out the movie on DVD (coming in late November).

After four viewings, I still like the movie. It's not perfect, but I think its a movie that I've picked new clues from with each viewing, and will continue to enjoy with more viewings.

Aside from the movie, not much going on today. I'm still hip deep in long boxes as I prepare to put the comics in their future storage locale in my office closet. For good or bad, in doing my organizing, I uncovered about a long-box full of unorganized comics I'd quickly packed before leaving Phoenix.

Jamie is going to the comic shop with me now on a weekly basis, which is great fun, but I am waiting to see if she discovers some comics she wants to read all on her own. We don't need to spend the extra money, but I am curious to see what titles she gravitates towards. So far, Wonder Woman, some Teen Titans, she seems to pick up some 52, but I think Ultimate Spider-Man is still one of her favorites. Should I introduce her to Firestorm? Some other "kid on the learning curve" book like Blue Beetle? I'm not sure. I don't read enough Marvel to make comment, and I don't get to spend enough time at Austin Bookms to direct her toward any indie comics.

Anyway, hope you all are doing well.

DC KER-SHUFFLE

Politicians Sweep Midterm Elections

Geez. Well, if you'd asked me if I would have predicted Tuesday's results, I would have had no idea...

I'm going to bed soon. The Senate is in question, but the Dems are more or less thinking they have the House.

You know... so what...?

It doesn't matter now if someone is wearing a donkey pin or an elephant tie (or, in Lieberman's case... who really knows?). There's a country going on here. It's easy to take pot shots, but the Dems have as of yet to put forth a decent budget plan or say what they might actually do with Iraq, Afghanistan and other fronts in this "war on terror". Or to show they don't have a few Abrahamoffs and Mark Foleys hiding in their wings.

Two years. Then we all re-evaluate.

Perhaps our Robot Overlords will have risen from their subterranean kingdom by then.

GO VOTE

I just finished voting. Due to a clerical error, Jamie was re-registered to vote at our prior Austin address. Go figure.

She's gone up there.

I'm still giddy at taking part in the democratic process.

The League is no fan of the sort of music which usually populates the Country Music Awards. We are, however, terrific fans of schadenfreude.

See Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning Female Vocalist of the year.



I don't usually post twice in a 24-hour-cycle anymore, but I thought you guys at work might enjoy this.

An abbreviated post this evening.

I have long-delayed/ neglected things to attend to, such as bagging and boarding comics, putting comics in boxes, transporting all boxes upstairs to newly completed office.

Tomorrow is mid-term election day. If you're registered, go vote.


One may wonder what apocalyptic vision Diddy experienced which presaged the launch of the "Vote or Die" campaign. Ah, well.

Despite the fact that I find all four of the nimrods running for governor in the State of Texas to show no signs of actual leadership, I, too, shall be going to cast my vote for the earthling I find the least offensive.

I have never been an 11th-Hour undecided voter. I've always believed you had to be sort of goofy not to have a firm idea as to whom you would vote for pretty early on, but I guess that makes me sort of goofy. I made my decision earlier today, so I am going to vote on that and on some bond issues. Some guy named "Fred Head" is running in a nearby election. I almost jumped out of my car and stole his sign off the side of the freeway.

I'm voting now while I await the steely might of our coming Robot Overlords, who shall remove the democratic process as they make all decisions for us with their infallible binary logic.

Oh, how nice. Lucy just came in here, said hello, yawned, then went back to bed.

Due to the incompetencies of the very NON Six Sigma State of Arizona system and my insurance carrier, Jamie had to delay her sleep study. She is sleeping soundly somewhere upsatirs rather than in a room in North Austin with wires attached to her head.

In the future I shall blog upon:

Infinite Crisis: Still Smashing the Walls of the DCU
Jones Holiday Soda: Why 2006 will not see a redux
LEAGUE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 2006: We're Thinking December 9th. Mark your calendars.

HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY

I think I've given you Leaguers plenty of stuff to chew on over the weekend, so I hope that you've once again stuffed yourself to the gills, fattening yourself on my infotainment as you've sucked my spirit dry once again.

Here's an item: I don't know if you're watching Tina Fey's new NBC show, 30 Rock, but last week's episode featured a bit about Six Sigma. Yes, there is a GI Joe toy line called "Sigma Six", but Six Sigma is not quite what was depicted in the show, which would lead you to believe its about a boss being a busy body. Just wanted to clear that up.

According to the iSixSigma website:

Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

Its more of a statistical anaylsis process intended to find sources of inefficiencies in manufacturing that's been spun out as a philosophy on how to run a business, in general.

Also, I think Fey's "no comment" on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in her Onion AV Club interview is sort of telling.

Also found at The Onion, funny because its true...

This weekend we were lucky enough to have Unky B and Tia Linda come in from Virginia. They headed into Houston first where Linda got to hit an international quilting conference/show. I'm not into quilts, per se, but The League thinks we can identify with her school-girl giddiness regarding the quilts. While not in the same arena of trash/disposable art as comics, quilting is an artform of depth and complexity, and (like comics) the folks who are into it are probably also aware that their interest may be a bit nichey. So, this was sort of like Comic-Con International for Tia Linda. If The League were to go to Comic-Con International, Leaguers, you would most certainly see a display of unbridled school-girl-like giddiness.

Saturday Unky B and Tia Linda arrived here with my folks about 1:00pm. KareBear had picked up a brisket at a church fundraiser, so we got some good meat and some sides and got to basically sit around and chat for a few hours.

Saturday night we met up with some family friends going way back, and had a probably very expensive dinner. I got a few score updates throughout the evening, but mostly missed the UT game. We got in a little more face-time with the out-of-towners at the All Steans end of the table.

I saw the last 60 seconds of the A&M/OU game, but was in bed and out like a light by 11:20 thanks to a combination of: staying up too late getting the house prepared for a visit, coming down from an all-day caffeine overload, and a few glasses of wine.

This morning we got up, had some Cheerios and awaited the family's arrival. We visited, had lunch and then Unky B and Tia Linda went back to Houston. C'est la vie. The good news is that we got to see them this fall, despite the fact our holiday plans are not converging.

We TRIED to find a movie this afternoon, but Borat was predictably sold-out, I couldn't muster the energy for Flushed Away, and didn't feel like much better about Running With Scissors. So we didn't do much of anything this afternoon, which was okay.

Having had The Admiral foot the bill for three meals this weekend, we took our spare money and hit Romeo's for dinner, which was uncrowded and pleasant enough to sit outside.

Watched the taped VH1 movie "Totally Awesome", which was not totally awesome and made me sort of yearn for "Not Another Teen Movie".

That's pretty much it.

I thought Jason had a pretty good insight over the weekend when he pointed out (while watching CNN) that America has sort of slowly embraced Saddam as a loveable loser. Nobody seems to much care anymore about his crimes against humanity, etc... He's just the dude in the sport coat and beard on trial every day.

I don't think anybody is going to miss Hussein, but his mustachioed face of malevolence has sort of been displaced in the American mind for a while now by the spectre of faceless terrorists and our desire to sort of forget the reasons behind going into Iraq.

The League and Steanso were spit-balling and sort of wondering what was going to happen if Hussein were to be acquitted. I mean, just as a sort of intellectual exercise. What would the world have looked like this morning if the court had failed to convict Saddam..?

...and what can you say about our friend, Haggard? Quite a bit, I assume, but I don't have the energy.

Superman Pizza?

Tomorrow Jamie will be partaking in a sleep study to try to overcome her migraines. Apparently migranines can be affected by things like sleep apnea, so she's heading out tomorrow night after dinner to get hooked up to all sort of interesting devices that will, I assume, measure her theta waves. Hopefully, it will not end up like this.

Then she is off next weekend for sunny Lawton, Oklahoma. This means The League will be flying solo (translation: going to Austin Books and looking for New Gods back-issues). Book yourself now for League solo-adventures. It's like I was popular enough to get my own mini-series.

I am probably forgetting something. I keep forgetting to do things. Things like posting funny, funny links sent in by Leaguers. Responding to e-mails from Jill. Reporting to my parole officer. Things like that.

Yesterday was interesting, sort of. I had breakfast with a sort-of former co-worker at the Austin Java on Barton Springs. She wanted to meet at 8:30, which meant I had to get up at the crack of seven. Mid-Day was trying to clean things up for this weekend's impending familial visit. We've got Unky B and Tia Linda coming in from the DC area for a day or so. I am not really sure as to our agenda.

I was supposed to have an interview in the afternoon, and so I drove all the way up to the Arboretum area for a 4;30 interview (which was supposed to take place in a hotel lobby) hung out for half an hour, couldn't find the guys, and then went home in Austin 5:00 traffic on MoPac. Good times.

Ah, well. C'est la vie.

The flip side of all this was that I got to Jason's bands' show at the Ben White Florist (you play Ben White Florist, and you're, like, a week away from getting signed). Mono E sounded good. Actually, they sounded much, much better than I recall them sounding prior to my departure, which was probably due to the fact that they played songs (both covers and originals, including, I was told, a tune penned by Jason) rather than exploring the outer limits of the musical universe in an hour-and-a-half jam-odyssey.

I do not like bar bands. I do not like jam bands. I am sorry. Call it a weakness or a musical blindspot. But these guys are all quality musicians, so it was great to hear them showing their chops and having fun.

However, the show was outside, and despite the fire log (which almost turned Mandy's purse into a fireball) it was pretty nippy out. Reed's family was in attendance, including Jen, Meredith, Sharon and Heather, Mandy came and brought Susan, and the usual Mono E friends and family were all there.

We hit Hill's Cafe for dinner, and just as we received our salads, an extremely tardy Steven Harms and lauren made an appearance. The tenacious SGH had used his detective skills to track us from the florist (thanks, Reed!) to the restaurant. So, yeah..! A surprise visit from SGH and Lauren is always welcome.

Anyhoo, all is well. And, in case you missed my note about this below... Nathan C. is gonna have another kid.