Ice Day Flashback

Last week we were hit with some ice. Believing the gods were angry with us, The League was terrified. We cowered inside our home, and emerged to take only a few photos.


Mel zips around the front yard, enjoying the ice crunching uder his feet.



Icicles hung from the front of the house. I don't remember ever getting icicles like this before in Austin. The window on the left is the window to the Fortress.




Icilces in the backyard hanging from the porch. I kept one of these. It's in the freezer.




Ahhh... the firepit. The firepit filled with rain. And then the rain froze. And now it's melted, and it's gross, but the yard is all muddy, so I haven't cleaned it out. You can see icicles beneath the firepit.



Ah, the front yard. Yes, the front steps did ice up and become a deathtrap. As did the sidewalks.

2000th Post!!!

Son of a gun. 2000 posts. That's what Blogger is telling me.

I'm not sure if this includes the "draft" posts I never bothered to post nor delete. It also doesn't include the first week of posts Jim D. had to salvage when I committed blogocide early on, then JimD convinced me to have a change of heart. But, according to Blogger, this is big 2000.

Great googildy moogildy.

When I think of the time I've spent working on this blog, I realize I could have obtained a masters degree, written several novels, or dug a tunnel between here and Guadalajara. It's kind of pathetic. Instead, I've spent countless hours navel gazing, performing haphazard self examination and generally wasting everyone's time. I'm glad to see so many of you who've chosen to stick with me every miserable step of the way. After all, I already know what I think, so you keep coming back, I suppose to see what nonse will appear here as part of my permanent record.

League of Melbotis has been instrumental in my ability to locate old friends, make new friends, and keep up friendships in ways I never would have predicted. We've been linked to from USA Today, have made appearances in some odd blogs, and can proudly state that we've become the number one destination for folks looking for pictures of "supergirl + naked" using Google. I am so proud.

We've traced my dissatisfaction with Chandler, Arizona straight through to my final, crucial decision to skip town and return to my beloved Austin in my beloved Texas. I'm not sure that move would have happened as soon as it did, in the way that it did, had I not had LoM as a communication tool between myself and some other parties. Nor do I think my leap would have made as much sense to friends and family had I not chronicled my dissatisfaction with such excrutiating detail.


The assembled Justice League of America looks back on 2000 posts

It's my hope I've been able to somehow pique your interest in the sequential art form known as "comics" with my unending diatribes which I shall qualify as my "enthusiasm" for the subject. Comics were always my bag, but with very few entertainment options and fewer social outlets with my arrival in PHX, comics became a great source of distraction and amusement for me during some pretty tough times over the past few years. It's been my hope that you guys might hit your local comic shop once in a while to see what's available, and maybe find something you can enjoy.

I've spent no small amount of time dwelling upon all things Superman, and will continue to do so. It's my hope that I've dragged you kicking and screaming from seeing Superman as a silly man ina cape to a pop-culture icon and symbol for modern mythology. I also hope I conned you into seeing this summer's "Superman Returns".

Some of this enthusiasm you've shared with me, some less. I've taken my desire to blog upon comics and tried to do something with it. I hope you're either checking out Comic Fodder or breathing a sigh of relief that every third post isn't about the genius of Justice Society of America. Without years of practice here, I sincerely doubt I would have made the decision to throw my hat in the ring and give such an effort a try.

We've dwelt upon all things pet-related. I confess, the blog was much heavier in pet-related posts in the first year. Honestly, the pets sort of have their patterns, and I'm not sure how much of their daily activity to cover which won't start to make me the "crazy dog guy".

In the past few years I've also become much more interested in sports, so I appreciate everyone humoring me as I waxed rhapsodic upon the 2005 Lonhorns, the Phoenix Suns, the lowly Diamondbacks, and my occasional bursts of enthusiasm for various NFL teams. Sports is the great equalizer.

And League of Melbotis has given me my rooftop from which I get to regularly proclaim that I am, indeed, a lucky guy. Not too many people get to meet someone who can be their high-fiving best friend and get to marry them. Nor do I know of anyone else who is married who has a spouse as patient, understanding and as much fun as Jamie (sorry, rest of the world. It's true.). And she's given up a lot of quiet hours while I've sat and click-clacked on a laptop, in order to post as regularly as possible. So thanks, Leaguers, for letting me try to get you to know Jamie, just a little.


It seems like just yesterday I was telling JimD I didn't think I had enough to say to sustain a blog. And I was right, but that hasn't stopped me.

There are no plans for League of Melbotis to disappear anytime soon. I know I occasionally whine about a lack of readership, or that I feel as if I'm whistling into the wind here, but by-and-large, this has been a phenomenal experience for me, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Thanks to all of you for making 2000 posts not just possible, but something I wanted to do.

We'll see you at 3000.


The entire Superman Family wishes you a happy 2000th post

Post for Monday Morning

SHAME

Leaguers, only a small fraction of you bothered to wish Reed a happy birthday. I am ashamed of you.

Reed has been a vital part of this blog for many years, and all you had to do was post a birthday message. But, apparently, you're too busy. Apparently, you're too good for Reed. I had no idea this was the sort of snobbish audience the League had grown to cater to.

I shame myself and I shame the good name of The League if I can't get you to post a "Happy Birthday" message to Reed.


SUN

We finally got some sun today. It's been cold and wet since last week sometime, so a little break in the weather was a welcome change. We didn't manage to take as much advantage of the weather as I would have liked, and I didn't make it home until after dark, so I didn't go running, which I'm feeling sort of badly about.

We've got another wintery blast scheduled to come through (cold, but not a freeze), and then we should have sunshine again on Thursday. So, right now, I'm holding out for Thursday.


PLAY-OFFS

We're not even done with the 1st quarter of the NE/IND game as I watch this, but I did see the end of the Bears/Saints game. I suppose I must now make Superbowl plans. No matter what, I suppose I shall cheer for the team that is NOT the Bears, unless I am given a compelling reason why the Bears should curry my favor.

I've been fairly dispassionate about pro-Football this year, and have already snuck over and watched a few NBA games (although I am reminded that the NBA coverage in Austin is abysmal in comparison to what we had in Arizona. My kingdom for an NBA Season Pass on Time Warner Cable).

Peabo was right about one thing in life, and that's about the inherent superiority of College Football over Pro Ball. I cannot get onboard with the anti-NBA plank of his platform, although I understand his argument.

***UPDATE***

Holy SMOKES, man!!! Was that ever a game! Holy cow!!! COLTS are AFC CHAMPS!!! Whoooo!!!!

(sorry, we like Peyton Manning at League HQ and have been waiting for him to have his shot at a ring for a while.)


GHOSTRIDER

I've never been a huge fan of the Ghost Rider comics. I sort of think the idea begins and ends with character design, and you can get more out of an 80's-era Iron Maiden poster than you can out of the average Ghost Rider comic. GR's not actually terribly scary or anything, so I'm not really clear on the point of the guy. I actually think he would be handled better as a DCU Phantom Stranger/Spectre-type character, but that's just me.

Now it's a movie. So far, the most interesting thing in the trailers has been Eva Mendes. And my deep love for paying to see very bad movies.

Who am I kidding? I'm going to see this movie. I sort of wish I could figure out a way to see it with Randy, because I bet Randy is going to love this flick. Somehow the idea of dragging Harms to such quality, low-brow entertainment is equally appealing.


Norbit

Is this movie just about making fun of fat girls? Am I really supposed to pay money to see that?

Eddie Murphy.... You used to be beautiful, man.


John Wayne

So the other day I watched all of "The Sons of Katie Elder", which I had never seen before. Darn good Western, and one could clearly see where they'd lifted some moments for Silverado. I did not know this, but 2005's "Four Brothers" was a sort of homage to "The Sons of Katie Elder". Only, with Marky Mark instead of John Wayne.

Last night, after watching "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", I watched a good chunk of "The Undefeated". I've got "Rio Grande" in my DVR queue. Either I, or TCM or AMC am on a John Wayne kick. Given the amount of John Wayne on TV everyday, I am inclined to think it's me.

Sure, me and Mr. Wayne might not have agreed on too much had we ever met each other, but I love a good John Wayne movie. I think, partially, because I respect Wayne's ability to make any nonsense that comes out of his mouth sound like God's own truth. And he's not above having a good laugh at other people getting slugged in the head in many of his films.

Oddly, I've not seen too many of John Wayne's non-Westerns, such as "The Green Berets", "Donovan's Reef", or "The Flying Leathernecks". Luckily, I have DVR and basic cable, so it's just a matter of time.


Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Make sure you wish Reed a happy birthday.

DC Reviews for 1.17.2007 are up

Hey all, I've done my Comic Fodder duty and reviews are up for DC Comics released last week.

Please come on by and check it out. Click on some ads, and then take a look at some of my other DC commentary.

And, also, I'd love some comments. It's always nice to get a discussion going.

I could certainly use the support, and, if nothing else, it keeps me from posting lots of comic stuff you're not going to read at LoM.

That is all.

Happy Birthday, Reed!

It's Reed's birthday. So everyone post a happy birthday wish to Reed-o.

Go. Do it now.

The League has been associated with Reed longer than most Leaguers. He was in band with Jason back in middle school, shortly after we moved to Austin. At the time, he was known as "Weed Saw".

Ahhhh... after all these years, that's still gold.

Anyway, Reed and Jason probably don't remember this, but the first time I met Reed, I came home and Jason and Reed were in my room for reasons that I still am not clear on. I think they were going through my comics. At any rate, my privacy had been well invaded.

So it's been two decades I've known the man. He's now an engineer, a drummer, a husband and father. Quite a growth curve for Reed-o. He no longer dwells upon Trek the way he once did. Instead, he's replaced that geekdom with a tremendous mental database of all things Rock 'n Roll. Seriously. It's frightening.

Sure, the days are long since past of hitting comic shops together and going over the happenings in Batman comics, but we still see quite a bit of one another, and Reed is still the same good guy he was when he first invaded my room.

Happy B-Day, Reed. Go eat some cake.

Football PodCast

hey all,

Friend of the League, Sigmund, has begun a fulltime career as a sports journalist. He's focusing on a Football themed podCast called "The Audible", I believe.

You can sign up for Sigmund's podcasts at the Applestore, here.

2 things

Comic reader appears in TV show The League enjoys

The League doesn't watch too many one-hour dramas on TV. But we do hunker down once a week to watch NBC's Friday Night Lights.

If you haven't watched the show, it's based upon the award winning book from circa 1990, and produced by Peter Berg who handled the feature film version from a few years ago. The show is framed by a small-to-medium sized Texas town that lives and breathes for the local high school team.

One of the characters is former quarterback Jason Street, played by actor Scott Porter. Street was injured in the first episode and is now confined to a wheel chair.

Apparently, Porter is a big geek and reads quite a few titles. Read more here.


John Kelso is a moron.

In his column for today he argues that Austin was perfectly safe during the recent ice storm, and that the newscasters had brewed up a conspiracy to keep us off the roads and watching their news stations rather than going to work.

Kelso has lived in this town long enough to know better. People in Austin can't handle the ice. They tend to do things like cause 60 car pile-ups on I-35 (which occured in Dec. 1998), drive off of roads into ditches and each other. And, apparently, the number of emergency calls for the elderly escalates tremendously as some fairly frail people slip and fall on icy patches.

Kelso has made a career out of being a grump, and it's occassionally difficult to tell if he's being serious or not as he stays in character. I think, in this case, he's throwing in with the folks who would like Austinites to cowboy up and just keep on with business as usual when the ice hits. And, yes, some of the reports were flat out dumb. But apparently he missed the part of Amy Hadley's news8 story that he makes fun of that remarked that the trucker he mentions was, in fact, stuck. (It's not the trucks which are the problem here, it's our inability to sand and salt our roads). I guess Kelso missed the footage of trucks jack-knifed all over I-35 on his voyages.

Look, we suck at this ice thing. We're very bad at it. So quit whining and watch some movies or get ahead on your columns, Kelso.