Pavarotti, the only opera singer anyone knows outside of Placido Domingo and Jessye Norman, has been recalled to the Pearly Gates.
I own, I think, two CD's featuring Opera. Maybe three...? I'm not exactly an opera buff, but if you were paying attention in the mid-90's, Pavarotti was 1/3rd responsible for a resurgence in interest in the artform.
Plus, he looks like Vultan from Flash Gordon, which is ,in all ways, awesome.
He was bigger than life, had a huge appetite for life, and seemed to have a terrific sense of humor. And he gave chubby guys like me hope that we'd find some talent in ourselves.
Why not pick up Pavarotti in Pagliacci (it's about, as I was once ridiculed for summarizing it, a sad clown).
So long, Pavarotti.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
A Few Items of Import
Lots of Jason Bourne
I'm not a huge espionage/ spy/ cloak & dagger movie kind of guy. But this week we watched both The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. At some point I do want to have a Bourne-a-thon as, really, all three movies are one, long movie.
I may also actually check out the Ludlum books at some point. I'm a little curious to see how Ludlum handled the source material.
I did dig the last Bond movie a whole lot, but I think the Bourne movies probably informed the latest Bond more than the other way around.
The movies don't talk down to the audience, they move at a good clip and keep you engaged in the mystery surrounding Bourne. It's pretty good stuff. Jason will bemoan this opinion, but I wasn't a huge fan of the movie Ronin, and I generally feel my interest glazing over when it comes to spy movies and their trailers. Perhaps its the good casts in the Bourne movies (well, I'm a fan of Brian Cox, and I could watch Joan Allen tie her shoes for an hour), or the well choreographed fights and chases...
I dunno.
At any rate, one day they will put all three movies together in a DVD set, and I will buy them.
The Big Bang Theory
This fall CBS is bringing a sitcom to the airwaves featuring a guy I knew back the day, Jim Parsons. Leaguer Anne F. got all up in my grill about my lack of Big bang Theory coverage, and lately they've been placing ads for the show on Yahoo Mail, so I figure now is the time to mention Jim's latest venture in the world of TV.
Here's a link to some promo the show is running.
Here's a link to more info about Jim Parsons.
Here's the show's official site.
You may remember Jim Parsons from such shows as Judging Amy or movies like Garden State. Or that Quizno's commercial where he nursed from a wolf. Anyhow, we're wishing Jim the best of luck, even if his show is at least partially about making fun of socially awkward comic geeks (ahem).
It was good to hear from leaguer Anne F. Hi, Anne!
Jason on Skates
It seems that next Thursday, I shall be on skates. Jason's pals Eric and Stephanie have rented out Skateland for the night before ACL Fest begins.
I have not been on skates for many pounds and many years. Still, I am intrigued. Do my old skating abilities still linger in the back of my mind? Is Jamie still up for a couple's skate?
It's also important to note that Eric, Jason and Reed's band, the Mono E, will be playing hot, hot 80's tunes. Who knows what horrors await us...?
Toad in the House
This evening when we let the dogs back into the house after they had a potty break and treat, a huge toad came in with them. It was a fairly large toad, maybe three inches long and two inches wide, and it just sort of hopped in the back door and under a piece of furniture we have by the back door.
Obviously toads don't bite, and I've played with enough toads as a kid to know there's nothing less risky in nature than picking up our croaking friends, but they do pee all over you when you pick them up.
Anyhow, we got toads in our yard, which is great. They eat bugs. I must read up on how to cultivate a toad population.
Oh, and I got the toad out with an open door and a bit of encouragement with the business end of a broom.
I'm not a huge espionage/ spy/ cloak & dagger movie kind of guy. But this week we watched both The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. At some point I do want to have a Bourne-a-thon as, really, all three movies are one, long movie.
I may also actually check out the Ludlum books at some point. I'm a little curious to see how Ludlum handled the source material.
I did dig the last Bond movie a whole lot, but I think the Bourne movies probably informed the latest Bond more than the other way around.
The movies don't talk down to the audience, they move at a good clip and keep you engaged in the mystery surrounding Bourne. It's pretty good stuff. Jason will bemoan this opinion, but I wasn't a huge fan of the movie Ronin, and I generally feel my interest glazing over when it comes to spy movies and their trailers. Perhaps its the good casts in the Bourne movies (well, I'm a fan of Brian Cox, and I could watch Joan Allen tie her shoes for an hour), or the well choreographed fights and chases...
I dunno.
At any rate, one day they will put all three movies together in a DVD set, and I will buy them.
The Big Bang Theory
This fall CBS is bringing a sitcom to the airwaves featuring a guy I knew back the day, Jim Parsons. Leaguer Anne F. got all up in my grill about my lack of Big bang Theory coverage, and lately they've been placing ads for the show on Yahoo Mail, so I figure now is the time to mention Jim's latest venture in the world of TV.
Here's a link to some promo the show is running.
Here's a link to more info about Jim Parsons.
Here's the show's official site.
You may remember Jim Parsons from such shows as Judging Amy or movies like Garden State. Or that Quizno's commercial where he nursed from a wolf. Anyhow, we're wishing Jim the best of luck, even if his show is at least partially about making fun of socially awkward comic geeks (ahem).
It was good to hear from leaguer Anne F. Hi, Anne!
Jason on Skates
It seems that next Thursday, I shall be on skates. Jason's pals Eric and Stephanie have rented out Skateland for the night before ACL Fest begins.
I have not been on skates for many pounds and many years. Still, I am intrigued. Do my old skating abilities still linger in the back of my mind? Is Jamie still up for a couple's skate?
It's also important to note that Eric, Jason and Reed's band, the Mono E, will be playing hot, hot 80's tunes. Who knows what horrors await us...?
Toad in the House
This evening when we let the dogs back into the house after they had a potty break and treat, a huge toad came in with them. It was a fairly large toad, maybe three inches long and two inches wide, and it just sort of hopped in the back door and under a piece of furniture we have by the back door.
Obviously toads don't bite, and I've played with enough toads as a kid to know there's nothing less risky in nature than picking up our croaking friends, but they do pee all over you when you pick them up.
Anyhow, we got toads in our yard, which is great. They eat bugs. I must read up on how to cultivate a toad population.
Oh, and I got the toad out with an open door and a bit of encouragement with the business end of a broom.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Ready to Talk About It
So... UT's first game wasn't so great.
We had a small crowd over for the game, and I did some cooking. I've also pledged never to invite people over and buy beer ever again. People are all too generous with beer (and, as it turns out, shrimp) and we still have quite a bit of beer left in the house.
But... okay, the game. I'm going to leave real analysis of the game to those who (a) know more football, and (b) watched more of the game than I did. Let us just say that while I am glad that we didn't lose to Appalachian State, I'm not exactly burning with confidence about our chances at a national or even conference championship. Both OU and A&M had much better games and didn't lose steam after the first quarter.
UT used to (when VY was there) bulldoze over a team so they simply couldn't keep up anymore in the third and fourth quarters. We gave up yard after yard, finally giving up a touchdown in the last minute.
Terrible.
We're ranked very high, I guess AP still thinking there's enough of the Championship team of two years ago in the team's DNA to put up a good showing. And as much as I think Colt McCoy has a good arm, the Greg Davis DNA in the offense is playing out just as it did during the gutless Chris Simms years.
It's going to be a long year for the Horns and their fans.
The OC and Pavlov
For years the dog's dinner time has been 5:00 PM on the nose. Around 4:30 they might start bugging us and hanging around the pantry, but that will win them no favors. 5:00 is as early as they are going to be fed.
Recently SoapNet moved the OC to 5:00, and Jamie has been watching. So much so, that now the opening piano keys of the OC theme song are now enough to get the dogs up and moving. In fact, with the SoapNet OC marathon today, we may have an opportunity to get the dogs riled up every hour just after the start of the hour.
Kind of sad for both the dogs and Jamie, I think.
Michael comes to town
I first met Michael in 9th grade when Justin Lincoln and I were working on a class project and Michael hung out with us and helped out.
Justin and Mike lived together Freshman year (actually, every year) at UT, and it turned out they were also on my floor (as I was cohabitating with Peabo and my pile of dirty clothes). Justin (JAL), CB, Mike and myself were all RTF majors and spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out.
Then, one day, Michael was graduating, and about that time, he met a girl. A girl in Oklahoma. And, poof, Michael disappeared.
He's been in touch. You'll see his comments here at the League, but I hadn't seen the guy in somewhere around 10 years. Also I don't think he'd ever met Jamie, and I hadn't ever met his wife. Anyhow, we all caught up at Hut's on Sunday. Justin (and his wife), Michael (and his wife), me and Jamie, and CB and Xander. 10 years on, and , for good or ill, it really didn't feel like that much had changed.
We're just one good death away from The Big Chill, I guess.
Anyway, Michael seems to be loving Oklahoma, so I wasn't littering him with questions about when he was coming back, but speaking of...
The In-Laws in San Marcos
Jamie's folks bought a place in San Marcos. It's very close to Wonder World, so its got that going for it.
We're actually pretty excited about them coming down. They won't be down here full time for probably two years or longer, but they now have a base sort of near Austin (and with easy access to the glass bottom boat tours of Aquarena Springs).
It's a really nice house, and I think it will suit them. We've already brought Mel and Lucy down to run in their big back yard. You can always tell when Mel approves of something because his tail doesn't just wag, it goes into a sort of gyrocopter spinning motion.
I have no idea what my own parents are doing in a few years when they wrap up this work business. There's been some talk about Austin, but I'm guessing they wind up in the Woodlands, just north of where I went to high school. We'll see. It's certainly the major topic of conversation whenever we're together.
At any rate, we're happy to know Dick and Judy will be close by soon.
We had a small crowd over for the game, and I did some cooking. I've also pledged never to invite people over and buy beer ever again. People are all too generous with beer (and, as it turns out, shrimp) and we still have quite a bit of beer left in the house.
But... okay, the game. I'm going to leave real analysis of the game to those who (a) know more football, and (b) watched more of the game than I did. Let us just say that while I am glad that we didn't lose to Appalachian State, I'm not exactly burning with confidence about our chances at a national or even conference championship. Both OU and A&M had much better games and didn't lose steam after the first quarter.
UT used to (when VY was there) bulldoze over a team so they simply couldn't keep up anymore in the third and fourth quarters. We gave up yard after yard, finally giving up a touchdown in the last minute.
Terrible.
We're ranked very high, I guess AP still thinking there's enough of the Championship team of two years ago in the team's DNA to put up a good showing. And as much as I think Colt McCoy has a good arm, the Greg Davis DNA in the offense is playing out just as it did during the gutless Chris Simms years.
It's going to be a long year for the Horns and their fans.
The OC and Pavlov
For years the dog's dinner time has been 5:00 PM on the nose. Around 4:30 they might start bugging us and hanging around the pantry, but that will win them no favors. 5:00 is as early as they are going to be fed.
Recently SoapNet moved the OC to 5:00, and Jamie has been watching. So much so, that now the opening piano keys of the OC theme song are now enough to get the dogs up and moving. In fact, with the SoapNet OC marathon today, we may have an opportunity to get the dogs riled up every hour just after the start of the hour.
Kind of sad for both the dogs and Jamie, I think.
Michael comes to town
I first met Michael in 9th grade when Justin Lincoln and I were working on a class project and Michael hung out with us and helped out.
Justin and Mike lived together Freshman year (actually, every year) at UT, and it turned out they were also on my floor (as I was cohabitating with Peabo and my pile of dirty clothes). Justin (JAL), CB, Mike and myself were all RTF majors and spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out.
Then, one day, Michael was graduating, and about that time, he met a girl. A girl in Oklahoma. And, poof, Michael disappeared.
He's been in touch. You'll see his comments here at the League, but I hadn't seen the guy in somewhere around 10 years. Also I don't think he'd ever met Jamie, and I hadn't ever met his wife. Anyhow, we all caught up at Hut's on Sunday. Justin (and his wife), Michael (and his wife), me and Jamie, and CB and Xander. 10 years on, and , for good or ill, it really didn't feel like that much had changed.
We're just one good death away from The Big Chill, I guess.
Anyway, Michael seems to be loving Oklahoma, so I wasn't littering him with questions about when he was coming back, but speaking of...
The In-Laws in San Marcos
Jamie's folks bought a place in San Marcos. It's very close to Wonder World, so its got that going for it.
We're actually pretty excited about them coming down. They won't be down here full time for probably two years or longer, but they now have a base sort of near Austin (and with easy access to the glass bottom boat tours of Aquarena Springs).
It's a really nice house, and I think it will suit them. We've already brought Mel and Lucy down to run in their big back yard. You can always tell when Mel approves of something because his tail doesn't just wag, it goes into a sort of gyrocopter spinning motion.
I have no idea what my own parents are doing in a few years when they wrap up this work business. There's been some talk about Austin, but I'm guessing they wind up in the Woodlands, just north of where I went to high school. We'll see. It's certainly the major topic of conversation whenever we're together.
At any rate, we're happy to know Dick and Judy will be close by soon.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
I need HBO
I haven't had much opportunity to catch Flight of the Conchords, but I need to see more of it.
From Nicole
And from Jim, I believe
From Nicole
And from Jim, I believe
HOT! HOT! HOT!
Hey, remember these guys? Famous for the worst promotional video everywhere?
They just beat Univ. Michigan. Ranked No. 5 Univ. of Michigan.
It all seems like fun and games, this business of bringing in a sucker team to stomp in in your first game to get the alumni pumped up for your billion dollar football program. Until the rubes from Appalachian State accidentally screw up and beat you.
Ah, this football season is already off to an interesting start.
They just beat Univ. Michigan. Ranked No. 5 Univ. of Michigan.
It all seems like fun and games, this business of bringing in a sucker team to stomp in in your first game to get the alumni pumped up for your billion dollar football program. Until the rubes from Appalachian State accidentally screw up and beat you.
Ah, this football season is already off to an interesting start.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Too Many Comics, once again
Sweet Mother of Moses.
I just got back from the "super secret sale" at Austin Books. Leaguers, $1 back issues are a dangerous, dangerous thing. Anyway, I think I just filled in a pretty good chunk of missing Detective Comics issues from the 80's by the Grant/ Breyfogle creative team, a bunch of 70's era Superman issues, some George Perez Wonder Woman comics and a few other gems. I also got some half-off issues of Jimmy Olsen. All in all, a successful venture in some ways, in other ways, its going to be embarrassing when I can't afford heat this winter.
Here's the kicker:
Jason and I were in line checking out and the owner/ proprietor of Austin Books, Brad, stopped me and said "Hey, you're the Melbotis guy." I am, indeed, the Melbotis guy. You may recall Brad has commented on this very blog before when I wrote about the hall of wonders that is Austin Books. Well, I guess he put my name on my credit card with my grinning face and realized the guy buying too many 70's era Superman books was yours truly.
So that was kind of awesome. Leaguers, the power of my golden retriever pal is the glue that holds this crazy world together.
Anyhow, Austin based Leaguers or mere hangers-on would be interested to know that the sale continues thru Sunday. I sort of thought that unless I got to Austin Books during the super-secret sale, a lot of good stuff might be gone. I'm not sure that's exactly accurate, but it was fun being there with all the rest of the comic geeks on the hunt for deals.
I just got home and the three stars of "Superbad" are on Leno. Jonah Hill was wearing an Alamo Drafthouse shirt with the tell-tale Pam Grier "BadAss Cinema" logo.
Huh.
And, seriously... WHAT?
I just got back from the "super secret sale" at Austin Books. Leaguers, $1 back issues are a dangerous, dangerous thing. Anyway, I think I just filled in a pretty good chunk of missing Detective Comics issues from the 80's by the Grant/ Breyfogle creative team, a bunch of 70's era Superman issues, some George Perez Wonder Woman comics and a few other gems. I also got some half-off issues of Jimmy Olsen. All in all, a successful venture in some ways, in other ways, its going to be embarrassing when I can't afford heat this winter.
Here's the kicker:
Jason and I were in line checking out and the owner/ proprietor of Austin Books, Brad, stopped me and said "Hey, you're the Melbotis guy." I am, indeed, the Melbotis guy. You may recall Brad has commented on this very blog before when I wrote about the hall of wonders that is Austin Books. Well, I guess he put my name on my credit card with my grinning face and realized the guy buying too many 70's era Superman books was yours truly.
So that was kind of awesome. Leaguers, the power of my golden retriever pal is the glue that holds this crazy world together.
Anyhow, Austin based Leaguers or mere hangers-on would be interested to know that the sale continues thru Sunday. I sort of thought that unless I got to Austin Books during the super-secret sale, a lot of good stuff might be gone. I'm not sure that's exactly accurate, but it was fun being there with all the rest of the comic geeks on the hunt for deals.
I just got home and the three stars of "Superbad" are on Leno. Jonah Hill was wearing an Alamo Drafthouse shirt with the tell-tale Pam Grier "BadAss Cinema" logo.
Huh.
And, seriously... WHAT?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Superman/ JLA Rumors
I do not understand how Hollywood works. I don't. I'm an armchair spectator of the entertainment industry no more nor less than your average joe.
But one thing I do keep an eye on are rumors of Superman movies.
Recently, the Superman Homepage ran several items regarding a potential Justice League of America movie. Rumors ran from the notion that Christian Bale and Brandon Routh would not appear as Batman and Superman to the movie being an entirely CGI operation.
Now, whenever rumors like this begin to swirl, it can always be some ill-informed dork or some prankster pulling everyone's leg, but...
Superhero movies cost lots and lots of money. More than the GDP of most countries kind of money. When rumors as various as the ones I've been seeing flying all over the place begin to occur with no confirmation from the studio, it usually means one thing:
Someone is floating an idea to see how the fans respond
Hollywood's recent attention to events like Comic-Con and their slow realization that a reasonably close adaptation of comic book properties can lead to huge ticket and DVD sales has quickly led to the entertainment industry using message boards, websites, etc... as sounding boards for concepts before more than a few dollars are spent.
Now, sites like IESB.net seem to bite on these rumors hook, like and sinker, most likely knowing the rumors are false, but in this world, you have to drive up your hit count if you want ad revenue. There's, no doubt, a lot of mutual scratching of backs going on in there somewhere.
It's not necessarily diabolical. Before I spent $2 million dollars putting Jeff Goldblum into Joker make-up on the tip from the suits at my studio that Goldblum is HOT! right now, I'd want to see if anyone actually agrees. So, you float an unconfirmed studio rumor to IESB.net, and in 24 hours you have enough information to tell you how an audience is going to take to a person in a role. Or, indeed, how folks would like their JLA made up of polygons and gradients.
Alternately, some agents float similar rumors in order to get their client's name in the ring for a "coveted" role like Wonder Woman. (I can't tell you how many e-mails I get per year from various folks telling me who the next Wonder Woman is going to be in the not-even-in-pre-production WW flick).
Recently, the JLA and Superman camps have been floating rumors with an added sense of urgency to drum up some interest in their projects. This week rumors floated regarding the next Superman movie (supposedly titled "Man of Steel", probably to match "The Dark Knight"). Clearly the folks working on the JLA movie would like to just get going on their JLA movie and do not wish for a second Superman movie to get rolling, so wouldn't it behoove them to get folks talking about how absolutely great it would be to see a JLA movie?
There is a point to all this:
For the love of mike... unless you see something in an article with a studio exec going on the record regarding casting, start dates for filming (actors, producers and directors do not count as studio execs), do not believe the articles. People are attacked to projects all the time that never occur (I never got my mid-90's remake of "Harvey" featuring Tom Hanks or my "King Conan" with Gov. Arnold).
WB is trying to move carefully as they work on their potentially lucrative film projects. This includes Superman and JLA, as well as any member of the JLA in a spin-off flick.
So, you know... settle down. It's all hearsay until you see the first set picture.
But one thing I do keep an eye on are rumors of Superman movies.
Recently, the Superman Homepage ran several items regarding a potential Justice League of America movie. Rumors ran from the notion that Christian Bale and Brandon Routh would not appear as Batman and Superman to the movie being an entirely CGI operation.
Now, whenever rumors like this begin to swirl, it can always be some ill-informed dork or some prankster pulling everyone's leg, but...
Superhero movies cost lots and lots of money. More than the GDP of most countries kind of money. When rumors as various as the ones I've been seeing flying all over the place begin to occur with no confirmation from the studio, it usually means one thing:
Someone is floating an idea to see how the fans respond
Hollywood's recent attention to events like Comic-Con and their slow realization that a reasonably close adaptation of comic book properties can lead to huge ticket and DVD sales has quickly led to the entertainment industry using message boards, websites, etc... as sounding boards for concepts before more than a few dollars are spent.
Now, sites like IESB.net seem to bite on these rumors hook, like and sinker, most likely knowing the rumors are false, but in this world, you have to drive up your hit count if you want ad revenue. There's, no doubt, a lot of mutual scratching of backs going on in there somewhere.
It's not necessarily diabolical. Before I spent $2 million dollars putting Jeff Goldblum into Joker make-up on the tip from the suits at my studio that Goldblum is HOT! right now, I'd want to see if anyone actually agrees. So, you float an unconfirmed studio rumor to IESB.net, and in 24 hours you have enough information to tell you how an audience is going to take to a person in a role. Or, indeed, how folks would like their JLA made up of polygons and gradients.
Alternately, some agents float similar rumors in order to get their client's name in the ring for a "coveted" role like Wonder Woman. (I can't tell you how many e-mails I get per year from various folks telling me who the next Wonder Woman is going to be in the not-even-in-pre-production WW flick).
Recently, the JLA and Superman camps have been floating rumors with an added sense of urgency to drum up some interest in their projects. This week rumors floated regarding the next Superman movie (supposedly titled "Man of Steel", probably to match "The Dark Knight"). Clearly the folks working on the JLA movie would like to just get going on their JLA movie and do not wish for a second Superman movie to get rolling, so wouldn't it behoove them to get folks talking about how absolutely great it would be to see a JLA movie?
There is a point to all this:
For the love of mike... unless you see something in an article with a studio exec going on the record regarding casting, start dates for filming (actors, producers and directors do not count as studio execs), do not believe the articles. People are attacked to projects all the time that never occur (I never got my mid-90's remake of "Harvey" featuring Tom Hanks or my "King Conan" with Gov. Arnold).
WB is trying to move carefully as they work on their potentially lucrative film projects. This includes Superman and JLA, as well as any member of the JLA in a spin-off flick.
So, you know... settle down. It's all hearsay until you see the first set picture.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Reading Comics
Nothing is more dull than reading blogging about blogging, but...
So after six weeks or so of consideration, I've decided to pull the plug on my participation with the Fodder Network/ Comic Fodder.
You have to understand that Comic Fodder was a great experience, but... I love my comics. What with a job, friends and family I want to spend time with, and a whole lot of other factors, reviewing up to ten comics in a week can get to be a bit of a grind. I love my comics, and worrying about getting the blogging done every week was making me feel a bit guilty, which sort of makes reading the comics a commitment. And that's sort of always been the opposite of what I had in mind when it came to reading little stories about aliens with an overinflated sense of justice.
I think I gave it a good run. An article I wrote on "what do women want in comics?", which was really just a question more than an article, continues to get hundreds of hits per month. And that's kind of cool. It's nice to know you're giving folks something to read, and it certainly was getting more hits than The League ever receives.
But I was also losing a good chunk of every weekend writing about what a swell comic I find Blue Beetle. Life isn't quite the same here as it was in PHX. I actually have stuff to do here, and I kind of want to enjoy it. And my comics.
There's other stuff I want to try, too, you know. I once wrote some prose stuff. I'd like to finish that. I have stuff I'd like to try to draw myself and try out the Comic Creator software Jason got me for my birthday. I'd like to work on my choreography for "Steanso: A Rock 'n Roll Dance-Splosion!".
Anyhow, it was fun. I gave it a shot. Maybe someday again. In the meantime, you can probably expect to see an increase of comic-related blathering here at the League.
So after six weeks or so of consideration, I've decided to pull the plug on my participation with the Fodder Network/ Comic Fodder.
You have to understand that Comic Fodder was a great experience, but... I love my comics. What with a job, friends and family I want to spend time with, and a whole lot of other factors, reviewing up to ten comics in a week can get to be a bit of a grind. I love my comics, and worrying about getting the blogging done every week was making me feel a bit guilty, which sort of makes reading the comics a commitment. And that's sort of always been the opposite of what I had in mind when it came to reading little stories about aliens with an overinflated sense of justice.
I think I gave it a good run. An article I wrote on "what do women want in comics?", which was really just a question more than an article, continues to get hundreds of hits per month. And that's kind of cool. It's nice to know you're giving folks something to read, and it certainly was getting more hits than The League ever receives.
But I was also losing a good chunk of every weekend writing about what a swell comic I find Blue Beetle. Life isn't quite the same here as it was in PHX. I actually have stuff to do here, and I kind of want to enjoy it. And my comics.
There's other stuff I want to try, too, you know. I once wrote some prose stuff. I'd like to finish that. I have stuff I'd like to try to draw myself and try out the Comic Creator software Jason got me for my birthday. I'd like to work on my choreography for "Steanso: A Rock 'n Roll Dance-Splosion!".
Anyhow, it was fun. I gave it a shot. Maybe someday again. In the meantime, you can probably expect to see an increase of comic-related blathering here at the League.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Iraq, South Africa education suffers from U.S. Americans' lack of access to maps
Thanks to RHPT and Peabo
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Just some stuff
Wagner is in town, but she's headed for the Flugtag (sp?). I was not terribly tempted to show up. Anything before the 1st week in September is always dicey as per heat index.
In the meantime, here's some stuff.
The Top 10 Poor Man's Versions
Goth's Invade Disneyland.
From the "Bats Day at Disneyland" slideshow at LA Weekly: When the Happiest Place on Earth plays host to the saddest people on Earth and the line for the Haunted Mansion is longer than ever
I'm ditching MySpace as soon as I can bother to find a way to alert folks. I'm moving to Facebook. Hopefully I'll get less spam and fewer ads featuring girls giving me a come-hither glance.
Eric Trautmann, the co-writer on last week's issue of Checkmate, showed up to in the comments section at Comic Fodder and was incredibly gracious. Of course, I heart Checkmate, so it was a lot nicer than had many other writers shown up.
You should read Checkmate, btw. And Blue Beetle.
Josh sends along this:
Nothing better than Finn-language YMCA. Some Leaguers may know, the Steans boys are of 1/2 Finn stock. Watching this video, so much becomes clear.
And the following video is exactly like dinner time at JimD's house.
In the meantime, here's some stuff.
The Top 10 Poor Man's Versions
Goth's Invade Disneyland.
From the "Bats Day at Disneyland" slideshow at LA Weekly: When the Happiest Place on Earth plays host to the saddest people on Earth and the line for the Haunted Mansion is longer than ever
I'm ditching MySpace as soon as I can bother to find a way to alert folks. I'm moving to Facebook. Hopefully I'll get less spam and fewer ads featuring girls giving me a come-hither glance.
Eric Trautmann, the co-writer on last week's issue of Checkmate, showed up to in the comments section at Comic Fodder and was incredibly gracious. Of course, I heart Checkmate, so it was a lot nicer than had many other writers shown up.
You should read Checkmate, btw. And Blue Beetle.
Josh sends along this:
Nothing better than Finn-language YMCA. Some Leaguers may know, the Steans boys are of 1/2 Finn stock. Watching this video, so much becomes clear.
And the following video is exactly like dinner time at JimD's house.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, ADMIRAL
Happy Birthday to the greatest Dad. Ever.
Sorry I posted on it so late.
Thanks to Steven and Lauren for joining us this evening for dinner. I still need a mint.
Anyway, looks like we may be teaming up to watch the first game of the UT season. Any and all Leaguers are welcome to join us at League HQ for kick-off on September 1st at 6:00 PM. Well, come before that.
We won't provide dinner, but we will provide TV, chips and a maybe a six-pack of beer.
I shall wax rhapsodic upon the arrival of football season soon.
What else?
Oh, I watched this really depressing episode of Nova about Typhoid Mary.
It was an interesting look at the social conditions, class warfare, living conditions and emergence of science in America as a force which could now touch and greatly change people's lives in ways we're still struggling with today. In short, how much liberty DO you have to give up when suddenly confronted with the knowledge that you're a carrier for a disease? Is getting a disease a crime?
Anyhow, there were some re-enactments, which were brief enough that they didn't seem to repaint the picture, and which did a bit more for illustrating the points than a graying talking head re-telling the events. Plus, for some reason, they had Anthony Bourdain as one of the experts. Very odd.
Also did some comic blogging, but most of you guys arent dorky enough to read that, anyway.
Anyway, looks like we may be teaming up to watch the first game of the UT season. Any and all Leaguers are welcome to join us at League HQ for kick-off on September 1st at 6:00 PM. Well, come before that.
We won't provide dinner, but we will provide TV, chips and a maybe a six-pack of beer.
I shall wax rhapsodic upon the arrival of football season soon.
What else?
Oh, I watched this really depressing episode of Nova about Typhoid Mary.
It was an interesting look at the social conditions, class warfare, living conditions and emergence of science in America as a force which could now touch and greatly change people's lives in ways we're still struggling with today. In short, how much liberty DO you have to give up when suddenly confronted with the knowledge that you're a carrier for a disease? Is getting a disease a crime?
Anyhow, there were some re-enactments, which were brief enough that they didn't seem to repaint the picture, and which did a bit more for illustrating the points than a graying talking head re-telling the events. Plus, for some reason, they had Anthony Bourdain as one of the experts. Very odd.
Also did some comic blogging, but most of you guys arent dorky enough to read that, anyway.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sleestak Art
Probably because I hit Lady, That's My Skull every day, I had the image of Sleestaks on the brain.
Anyway, hopefully this is something we can all enjoy. Especially candidate Sleestak.
Anyway, hopefully this is something we can all enjoy. Especially candidate Sleestak.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A nice, slow weekend.
I needed a slow, quiet weekend this weekend, though. Having a job, I find, does that to me.
Friday night we never made it out of the house except for an early dinner. I'd managed to leave work at a reasonable time, so it was a nice change of pace, given how the rest of my week had gone. We watched "Batman Begins", and after Jamie went to bed, I watched "When Worlds Collide". I think it's an interesting movie, but I somewhat question some basic premises of the film.
"When Worlds Collide" is a 1950's movie about what happens when astronomers figure out a huge planetoid is headed towards Earth, and when it hits, we're all gonna die. The gameplan is to put people on a giant rocket and shoot them out into space to find a habitable planet.
Now, there's some talk of the financing that would need to occur to make this work, and that strikes me as something sort of odd. I suspect that with the world about to blow up, somehow money really wouldn't be a huge focus. I suspect some folks would try to do the right thing and do everything they could to assist the space ark to give humanity one tiny chance at survival, and a whole lotta other people would go berserk and do a lot of really despicable junk. Because the movie takes place in the 1950's, everyone stands around in suits and talks things through with a lot of product in their hair.
Saturday Jamie went with Carla to a dance class somewhere. I believe they did a lot of arm swinging and hopping, but I'm not sure. All I know is that Jason and I headed to Gus Frugh and floated with Mel and Cassidy (Lucy has an ear infection, so no swimming for her). It was really nice out, and the $10 floating fisherman's hat I recently picked up at Academy worked like a charm. Plus, I could throw it and Mel would retrieve it out of the water.
Late Saturday we saw "Superbad", which was better than I expected. I don't recommend it for the parents, but I thought it was funny, and the story was a good "one night in the life of high schoolers" first spawned with American Graffiti. While as raunchy in its way was "American Pie", the characters feel far more believable than the Tommy Hilfiger models of American Pie (that Apatow touch of casting believable looking actors) as well as not dumping too many over the top stereotypes on the audience (ie: No Stifler, no sexy foreign exchange students).
Today I was worthless. We ran some errands and ate lunch at the charming French stereotype, La Madeline over in Brodie. I don't really get la Madeline. It's incredibly complicated just ordering your food, and then it's kind of expensive for what you get. And, of course, where there was a field a few weeks ago, you're now in a rustic French cafe. Manned by surly high schoolers who take an insane amount of time putting together a cup of French Onion soup. Seriously. Speed it up.
I came home from errands and promptly fell asllep on the couch for over an hour, got up and FINALLY got to the task at hand (which I had planned to do all weekend), and began sorting comics from my downstairs bins in order to bag and board them for entry into Comicpriceguide.com and then filing in a long box.
This, sadly, was the task which was why I asked Steven and Lauren to meet us for dinner Tuesday rather than this evening. I'm a sad, sad dorky man.
Speaking of:
Thursday at work we were working on a course which features a "wizard" who guides learners through a lesson. A media developer, who is a long-time acquaintance of mine, said, "Ryan, you know the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer, right?"
"Man, I don't know." I paused and considered the question. "Why," I finally asked, "do you think I know that?"
"Because you're the dorkmeister."
I am the dorkmeister. Even at work.
I actually brought it up again Friday, and Pat was able to explain that my dorkiness falls into very specific areas, and that my dorkiness doesn't spread to area involving wizards and warlocks. Actually, it kinda/sorta does, but Dungeons and Dragons was long, long ago.
I then found myself talking about how cool Nova is in front of this guy later, and I realized that my reputation is all too well earned.
I needed a slow, quiet weekend this weekend, though. Having a job, I find, does that to me.
Friday night we never made it out of the house except for an early dinner. I'd managed to leave work at a reasonable time, so it was a nice change of pace, given how the rest of my week had gone. We watched "Batman Begins", and after Jamie went to bed, I watched "When Worlds Collide". I think it's an interesting movie, but I somewhat question some basic premises of the film.
"When Worlds Collide" is a 1950's movie about what happens when astronomers figure out a huge planetoid is headed towards Earth, and when it hits, we're all gonna die. The gameplan is to put people on a giant rocket and shoot them out into space to find a habitable planet.
Now, there's some talk of the financing that would need to occur to make this work, and that strikes me as something sort of odd. I suspect that with the world about to blow up, somehow money really wouldn't be a huge focus. I suspect some folks would try to do the right thing and do everything they could to assist the space ark to give humanity one tiny chance at survival, and a whole lotta other people would go berserk and do a lot of really despicable junk. Because the movie takes place in the 1950's, everyone stands around in suits and talks things through with a lot of product in their hair.
Saturday Jamie went with Carla to a dance class somewhere. I believe they did a lot of arm swinging and hopping, but I'm not sure. All I know is that Jason and I headed to Gus Frugh and floated with Mel and Cassidy (Lucy has an ear infection, so no swimming for her). It was really nice out, and the $10 floating fisherman's hat I recently picked up at Academy worked like a charm. Plus, I could throw it and Mel would retrieve it out of the water.
Late Saturday we saw "Superbad", which was better than I expected. I don't recommend it for the parents, but I thought it was funny, and the story was a good "one night in the life of high schoolers" first spawned with American Graffiti. While as raunchy in its way was "American Pie", the characters feel far more believable than the Tommy Hilfiger models of American Pie (that Apatow touch of casting believable looking actors) as well as not dumping too many over the top stereotypes on the audience (ie: No Stifler, no sexy foreign exchange students).
Today I was worthless. We ran some errands and ate lunch at the charming French stereotype, La Madeline over in Brodie. I don't really get la Madeline. It's incredibly complicated just ordering your food, and then it's kind of expensive for what you get. And, of course, where there was a field a few weeks ago, you're now in a rustic French cafe. Manned by surly high schoolers who take an insane amount of time putting together a cup of French Onion soup. Seriously. Speed it up.
I came home from errands and promptly fell asllep on the couch for over an hour, got up and FINALLY got to the task at hand (which I had planned to do all weekend), and began sorting comics from my downstairs bins in order to bag and board them for entry into Comicpriceguide.com and then filing in a long box.
This, sadly, was the task which was why I asked Steven and Lauren to meet us for dinner Tuesday rather than this evening. I'm a sad, sad dorky man.
Speaking of:
Thursday at work we were working on a course which features a "wizard" who guides learners through a lesson. A media developer, who is a long-time acquaintance of mine, said, "Ryan, you know the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer, right?"
"Man, I don't know." I paused and considered the question. "Why," I finally asked, "do you think I know that?"
"Because you're the dorkmeister."
I am the dorkmeister. Even at work.
I actually brought it up again Friday, and Pat was able to explain that my dorkiness falls into very specific areas, and that my dorkiness doesn't spread to area involving wizards and warlocks. Actually, it kinda/sorta does, but Dungeons and Dragons was long, long ago.
I then found myself talking about how cool Nova is in front of this guy later, and I realized that my reputation is all too well earned.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Dark Knight Photos
Jamie randomly wanted to watch "Batman Begins" this evening. Which reminded me of a link Randy sent me earlier today.
Photos from the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight
go here
The photos reveal that the Batsuit may be the first functional looking Batsuit in any live version of Batman I can think of. For once, Batman can turn his head, and he's not wearing an ill-fitting unitard.
Add in an oddly pragmatic looking Joker, and... yeah. Sure, why not.
Photos from the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight
go here
The photos reveal that the Batsuit may be the first functional looking Batsuit in any live version of Batman I can think of. For once, Batman can turn his head, and he's not wearing an ill-fitting unitard.
Add in an oddly pragmatic looking Joker, and... yeah. Sure, why not.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Stuck@Work
I am stuck at work.
I am waiting for other people to do things so I can see that they are done. When they are done, I can go home.
In the meantime, here I sit. Alas.
My job is sort of unpredictable that way. It makes for long days sometimes. Especially when i came in early to address other issues and never managed to see daylight at any point. Because its been that kind of day.
Also, Steven Harms has gone dark.
Es Muy Mysterioso.
Just want to go home. Please, co-workers, quit screwing around.
It's been a long week.
And I have another day of it tomorrow. The job is okay, it's just moments like these that I miss actually being somebody else's manager and being able to give my co-workers a moment of pause when I ask if we couldn't be doing something faster or better. Or, at least, quit screwing around and just finish the darn thing.
I am paid to keep things in line. This is something my family is shocked by. They tend to think of me as sorta screwy, so the idea that at work my job is keeping the ball rolling gives them a moment of disconnect.
hey, good news. Jonathan just fixed something for us and he wasn't even on our project. That's rad.
Stuff like that is why I dig working here. Everything is sort of a team effort. Everything at my last office was also a team effort, but we were mostly working on the same projects, as it was a smaller office. Here, you never know when one of 60-odd people is going to wander over and say "Hey, I'm going to fix that. I've got a few hours" when they could totally be heading home.
Still sitting here though. I just want to release the project.
Release! Release!
I am waiting for other people to do things so I can see that they are done. When they are done, I can go home.
In the meantime, here I sit. Alas.
My job is sort of unpredictable that way. It makes for long days sometimes. Especially when i came in early to address other issues and never managed to see daylight at any point. Because its been that kind of day.
Also, Steven Harms has gone dark.
Es Muy Mysterioso.
Just want to go home. Please, co-workers, quit screwing around.
It's been a long week.
And I have another day of it tomorrow. The job is okay, it's just moments like these that I miss actually being somebody else's manager and being able to give my co-workers a moment of pause when I ask if we couldn't be doing something faster or better. Or, at least, quit screwing around and just finish the darn thing.
I am paid to keep things in line. This is something my family is shocked by. They tend to think of me as sorta screwy, so the idea that at work my job is keeping the ball rolling gives them a moment of disconnect.
hey, good news. Jonathan just fixed something for us and he wasn't even on our project. That's rad.
Stuff like that is why I dig working here. Everything is sort of a team effort. Everything at my last office was also a team effort, but we were mostly working on the same projects, as it was a smaller office. Here, you never know when one of 60-odd people is going to wander over and say "Hey, I'm going to fix that. I've got a few hours" when they could totally be heading home.
Still sitting here though. I just want to release the project.
Release! Release!
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