POLL POSITION

Here are the results of the last League of Melbotis User Poll

Unsurprisingly Powergirl drew in a lot of votes. Thanks Steanso, Reed-o and CrackBass.

Just so you know, Batman's partners tend to get killed and/ or are usually emotional trainwrecks after living in a cave with a zealot for a few years. They also are sometimes recruited by Checkmate (see the upcoming series by Greg Rucka starring OMAC Project's Sasha Bordeaux)






We've got a new poll up. Go nuts.

SUPERBOY REVERTS TO SIEGEL FAMILY

Okay. I wasn't going to post on this until I understood what was going on a little better. Jim and I have been kicking this around a bit today, and while I shared my concerns over the suit, I confessed that I had very little understanding of what was going on.

Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman with Joe Shuster, has passed. However, his widow and daughter have just secured rights to "Superboy" about 60 years after the character was first conceived and millions made from the idea.

My confusion came from my misunderstanding of Siegel's role at National Comics in the 1940's (taken from having misread Les Daniel's Superman: The Complete History).

Leave it to The Beat to clear things up in a way I can understand. Read here.

I'm a little concerned for the Superman franchise, but I see this as a win-win for for DC and the Siegels if everyone can just play ball nicely. The fact that Siegel was NOT work for hire at the time of his concept of Superboy came to print means that my concern about individual law suits chipping away at DC until it's no longer a viable company is probably not a huge issue. Hopefully the Siegels can come to see their legal adversaries as their publishing friends and wish to maintain the Superman legacy so everyone can make some dough.

That, and as of IC #6, this may all be a moot for a while, anyway.

3rd ANNIVERSARY of LEAGUE OF MELBOTIS

I should mention that sometime around March 31st 2003 The League of Melbotis leapt forth from my skull and into existence.

Jim D. and I were in the habit of sending each other vast e-mails, and he'd launched his own blog several months prior. It was upon his suggestion that I launched LoM.

The League almost didn't survive it's first week in existence as I got freaked out about having anything online that could be traced back to me.

Back then it was suggested that the blog was to be named "The Unbearable Lightness of Steans". A few other names were tossed about, but I had sort of thought at the time that League of Melbotis suggested a sort of team or community feel, and Melbotis makes a great mascot and avatar for the sort of nonsense we'd be covering.

Things were perhaps a little racier around here at first. And political whatnot was included in the tense weeks leading up to war. There was also a circle of blogs that constantly cross-referenced one another, and usually it was pretty friendly. Of those, Jim D's site is occassionally maintained and Maxwell's site is still in existence, if not as routinely maintained. Molly disappeared into the Japanese wilderness. RHPT finally gave in to his crippling sense of self-doubt regarding his own blog and now haunts my comments section and e-mail box.

Later on Steanso dipped a tow into the blog-o-sphere, and it's been an interesting ride watching him be fruity on his site.

We started with no images, no comments and an orange and green color scheme. I have no idea what I was thinking. Google bought blogger and made a lot of changes that I still haven't figured out how to adapt to my site (Picasa and setting up an RSS feed remain a bit of a mystery).

Leaguers have come, Leaguers have gone. Where is Anne Francis? Madi H.? Brenda? Shoemaker? Molly?

I always assume people got bored or offended. It's so hard to keep track.

Content has changed. I'm consciously avoiding any public printed statements of political convictions these days, though I may slip from time to time. I learned that despite the overarching comic-theme of the League, folks were just as happy when I moved all that on over to Nanostalgia.com. I dunno. We are what we are, I guess. I wish Jamie would post more. She's really a good writer and funny. Ah, well.

We've no real recollection as to why we decided to begin to use "The League" as our pseudonym, epsecially when everyone knows our real name. Or why we use the royal "we" as often as possible. Or why we switch randomly back and forth between third and first person. I've heard it makes the site difficult to get used to. C'est la vie.

And the contests? Remember the glorious contests? They died out for a while, but the Mellies brought them back with a vengeance.

I now see The League of Melbotis as:
1) A tiny little space where folks can pop in to kill some time
2) My attempt to get people a little interested in comics
3) A place for folks who like any of the following: robots, space ships, monkeys, pirates or superheroes
4) Probably something else, but I have no idea.

Anyway, we hope it's been enjoyable for you Leaguers who have stuck around. We're not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I hope you guys find something to amuse you as you drift in.

If you're lurking and not speaking up, howdy and thanks to you, too. Feel free to e-mail me any time. We'd love to hear from you.

If you've been hanging around for a while and I haven't educated you on comics or perhaps even raised your interest, well, then I've completely failed in one aspect of my mission. But I'm going to keep trying.

THE GRAND FINALE
sort of...

I'm going to try to wrap this up tonight. Let's see if we can't finish this thing. In order to mix things up, let's mix and match questions 13 and 14. Will we see any discernable pattern here? Most likely, no.

Still, not only does this give me an excuse to wrap things up, but it also gives for an interesting view of all of our Leaguers. Read into it what you will.

Question 13:

I'm no astrologist, but I love the planets. If I could dedicate myself to studying but one planet, it would be

and

Question 14:

I am most like the following Hanna Barbera cartoon character

Eric Nordtrom:

13) Venus.
14) I would have to say Captain Caveman. Don't know why.

Tamara:
13) Is Venus too corny? Is Planet X too hip?
14) Atom Ant--tiny but uncannily strong . . . and totally willing to have my style nicked by future generations of hipsters.

Or, when I'm feeling a bit less self-indulgent: Curly from the Harlem Globetrotters series. The combination of his moniker, 'Curly,' and his plainly bald head reveal a keen sense of irony. Yea, irony. And I've got a pretty prominent cranium myself.


Natalie:
13) Hello? Mars! That's where men come from, right?
14) Penelope Pitstop -- I am always in one mess after another, but come out (mostly) unscathed each time.

Jim D.:
13) Earth. There's always something interesting there, though perhaps not on my part of it.

If pressed, I'd say Pluto, as there is some fierce debate about whether Pluto is indeed a planet (as it does not appear to meet whatever the formal definition of "planet" is). It seems, though, that since the great majority of the populace considers Pluto to be a planet (from their early schooling and memorization of the planets in our solar system), there are those who say that it must remain classified as a planet (since we have always considered it to be such). Who would have thought that a planet could have an identity crisis?

14) Reed Richards. Clearly, RHPT is Space Ghost and The League is Lex Luthor.


Ryan V.:
13) Earth. Yep. Predictable.
14) Astro from the Jetsons.

Peabo:
13) Seriously….is this a question ? They’re PLANETS. They are giant, uninhabitable, non-life yielding, gas filled/covered rocks. A more interesting question would be name your favorite piece of corn in your stool.
14) Although I always felt Shaggy was a kindred spirit (we both liked dogs and eating), I don’t think I’ve ever said the word zoinks. The kids in the youth group at church used to tell me I reminded them of Johnny Bravo. So I will trust their judgment even though I’ve never seen a Johnny Bravo episode.


Denise:
13) -Dunno…K-PAX.
14) -Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory. I wear a white coat and like science.


RHPT:
13) Saturn or Jupiter. I read once that if you could find an ocean big enough, Saturn would float, and Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a perpetual storm larger than Earth.
14) X The Eliminator, the version on Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-law.

Nathan:
13) Jupiter (and its moons)
14) I am most like the following Hanna Barbera cartoon character: I do not have an answer, since I think I relate more to Donald Duck than any Hanna-Barbera character. Are there any Donald-like HB characters? (editor's note: Nothing comes to mind. Yakky Doodle?)


Social Bobcat:
13) we're supposed to say Uranus, right?
14) Shaggy - someone said if i had a green t-shirt and bell-bottomed orange pants i could pass for him at Halloween


Maxwell:
13) Mars. Just kidding. Uranus.
14) Velma Dinkley. I wear a lot of orange.


Harms:
13) The planet I like most is Jupiter. So massive, so proto-stellar, so gassy.

And it has that cool whirling eye - a gigantic hurricane, that's so cool.

And saying "hurricane" gives me one more chance to say: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

And remind you that the man who said that is a boob.

14) Hair Bear of course. Despite being locked up in a zoo, I generally find my way into mischief anyways.


Steanso:
13) Dagobah
14) I'm most like Gloop from the Herculoids. No, wait. Maybe I'm more like Gleep....


CrackBass:
13) Neptune – looks so cool in the books, all that blue and green. Plus, in the OUR UNIVERSE books from National Geographic, the “possible life forms were pretty cool (although the fire breathing creatures from Mercury were a close second.)
14) I’d love to be one of the Herculoids, but I’m probably more like Snagglepuss…

Reed-o:
13) Saturn. Big planet, plenty of satellites, and of course those awesome rings.

By the way, don't you mean I'm no astronomer? Otherwise, wouldn't we be dedicating ourselves to the study of one astrological sign?
14) No idea. Haven't watched the Jetsons, Yogi, Tom and Jerry in awhile, and I don't think I'm like any of the Scooby Doo characters. Maybe the League should tell me what HB cartoon character I'm most like.
;-)
(editor's note: Muttley)


D. Loyd:
13) Jupiter. Much to learn
14) Top Cat


Jamie:
13) Jupiter, because it is huge!
14) I am Boo-Boo to Ryan's Yogi.


The League:
13) Mars. Because one day I shall live there.
14) I was going to say QuickDraw McGraw, but I think Jamie probably hit the nail on the head. Probably Yogi. Because of the Pic-a-nic baskets and my uneasy relationship with Park Rangers.
Professionally, I may be most like SGC2C's Moltar.


RESULTS:

Let's see here. We've got 5 for Jupiter, 2 for Mars, 2 for Venus and 2 for my anus. Well done, Leaguers.

Ah, there's Peabo, once again overwhelmed with the majesty of the universe The Lord has made for him. Peabo's getting the "boo" on this one big time. It's not just the response he gave, it's also that when we were Freshman Peabo was taking a "self-paced" astronomy course and didn't get a score he liked on his exam. In challenging his instructor Peabo informed his instructor he could "write his own" astronomy text. He did not get his grade curved.

Apparently his knowledge of the cosmos is so great he now feels the topic is no longer of interest.

Oh, and Leaguers, quadruple points to Reed-o for picking up my time bomb. An astrologist uses a "horoscope." An astronomer uses a "telescope". I can't believe only Reed-o noticed that. You guys gotta stay on your toes.

No points can be awarded for naming your likeness after a Hanna-Barbera character.

Notes of interest: Nathan DIDN'T compare himself to Shaggy? I... I don't even know how to reconcile that in my mind.

Peabo IS quite a bit like Johnny Bravo.

I have no idea what to make of Jamie being my small, male friend. Yogi has a girlfriend, Cindy. But apparently she thinks my little partner in crime, and, possibly, my whispering conscience.

That said, she's way more like Jan from Space Ghost.

Jim loses points for (a) using a licensed Marvel property once animated by Hanna-Barbera (b) listing me as Luthor. Clearly Jim D. was hopped up on goofballs when putting his list together. (c) Imagining a world which contains Reed Richards, Space Ghost and Luthor. It's madness.

Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed. I'm taking a break for a day or two, and then I'll write a few final thoughts.

THE TRIUMPHANT TWELFTH QUESTION

AKA: LEAGUE OF MELBOTIS READING LIST

Wow. Getting down to the end here.

Books. Page after page of words and words. Words combine to form meaning, and, with a little syntax and whatnot, you get a thought. Thoughts are usually expressed in a sentence. Piles and piles of sentences all listed one after another make paragraphs. Sometimes all of these tie together, they put it on paper, glue the pieces of paper together, and, voila... a book.

The League mostly reads comics and pornography, but occassionally we'll pick up a novel or work of non-fiction. Usually we won't read enough books. This year I asked for some reading tips and Peabo suggested "Confederates in the Attic" which was an excellent read. I totally recommend it.

So I figured, "Hey, Peabo's barely literate. If he can suggest a decent book, so can other Leaguers." Now is your chance.

Anyhoo... What are YOU reading? And won't you share a book with me?

Question 12:

If I could force you to read but one book, it would be

Eric Nordtrom: Fast Food Nation.

Tamara: The Thanatos Syndrome by Walker Percy--so germane to current debates regarding quality of life vs. value of life . . . and the source ofthe text of one of my tattoos, viz. "Tenderness leads to the gaschambers."

Natalie: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (which came out in 2004, but I didn't read it until 2005)

Jim D.: I would force you to read my standard favorites, including anything by Fitzgerald or Hemingway, and of course, The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor and/or the wonderfully melancholy The Clown by Heinrich Boll. (What does it say about me that I recommend one book with the worth "sadness" in its title and another which I characterize as "wonderfully melancholy"? Yikes.).

Ryan V.: Too hard. So many. Recently, I’ve been pretty blown away with “The Kite Runner,” which I’m 3/4 of the way finished.

Peabo: The gospel of John

Denise: Anything that would make you lean a little less to the left. Will send you the works of George Will in the mail as training wheels.

RHPT: Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent

Nathan: For a Future to be Possible, Thich Nhat Hanh

Social Bobcat: Catch 22 - black wartime humor at its finest

Maxwell: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Fast food is evil. Except for the King. He's dreamy.

Harms: _Snow Crash_ by Neal Stephenson or any of his Baroque cycle books. I realize they are far too long to be easily recommended, but they are full of buckles a-swash and derring-do (and tawdry, ribald sex).

If you want "literature" I liked Ann Patchett's _Bel Canto_.

Steanso: The Necronomicon

CrackBass: Franny and Zooey –JD Salinger. Though I’ve never heard any confirmation, I think it was a major influence of The Royal Tennenbaums. (editor's note: If it wasn't, I'll eat my hat)

Reed-o: Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion by Mickey Hart, Jay Stevens, Fredric Lieberman

D. Loyd: Ender's Game, though I detest the author's politics.

Jamie: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Unlike any bookI've read, this nonfiction account of Bryson's attemptto hike the entire Appalacian trail with his extremelyout of shape hiking partner casts brilliant imagery,is informative, and at times hilarious.

The League: Go, Dog, Go! Very compelling. Where ARE those dogs going in their cars?

THE RESULTS:

This is going to e a bit different tonight. I'm going to address books more than people.

Two of you mentioned "Fast Food Nation". I read quite a bit of non-fiction, and others have recommended the book. Maybe now is the time.

Books I have read from this list:

The Book of John
Franny and Zooey

Denise, I've read George's column in Newsweek since high school. And here I sit. The last book I read which tried to sway me from my wild-eyed a-political ways was Sowell's "Visions of the Annointed". That book probably did more to convince me that a single-minded view to political matters is not for me than any other single experience.

I've heard of "Ender's Game". Never read it. Orson Scott Card is currently responsible for "Ultimate Iron Man" by the way. For Sci-Fi I mostly read Asimov and Bradbury, 'cause that's how we roll at The League of Melbotis.

I do confess that Snow Crash has been on my list for about ten years. Or whenever it was I read "The Diamond Age". I picked up the Necronomicon or whatever it was called, but didn't make it past page 40. It was simply too daunting and I wasn't sure I liked it at page 40.

Likewise, Catch-22 has been in my hand a number of times at the book store. Somehow it never makes it to the register. Maybe now?

If anything here sounds interesting, let us know if you decide to pick it up.

I dunno. I got nothing.

All I know is that none of these books will compare to my novel when it comes out. Do you want to hear about it? Well, okay... It's about a.. hey! HEY! Where are you going? This is a website. You can't wander off from a website!

Dammit.

RIP Ann "Banana Nose" Calvello - Queen of Rollerderby

As you may know, The League has become quite a fan of the A&E television program "Rollergirls". The show features the ladies of Texas Rollerderby, AKA Lonestar Rollergirls.

One very special episode featured a trip by a few memebers of TXRD to meet with Rollerderby legend Ann Calvello, for whom TXRD had named their trophy "The Calvello Cup".

Anyhoo, Ann Calvello seemed like a heck of a lady, and she passed in mid-March.
You can read her obit here.

It's Catch up time with D. Loyd

D. Loyd had some other stuff going on and couldn't get his Mellie Noms in during the suggested timeline.

That's cool. We can help a Leaguer out. I promised to post his answers that had not yet seen the light of day. They just don't earn any points.

Yes, the eleventh question is somewhere below. Keep scrolling when you get to the end.

Anyhoo, kudos to D. Loyd. He got his questions in. He just did it sort of late.

1) The person who is always on TV, but whom drives me insane Kevin Bauch of "The Thirsty Traveler". How a guy can be such an annoying jerk and STILL have the best job in the world totally escapes me.

2) Most questionable release from a major movie studio (theatrical release) Brokeback Mountain. It's a great movie, but when has greatness motivated hollywood?

3) Most poorly thought-out band/album/ song Ok, Flamesuit on, but I still can't get Radiohead. Someone help me out?

4) You know what was surprisingly good, but you'd never think it? Ski School

I... Radiohead..? Really? That's okay. I don't get like 98% of the stuff out there. Like what Faustian deal led to Aerosmith not only having a coming back on the back of a rap group, but maintained that popularity for like 15 years afterward.? Or Fitty Sent. Or Kelly Clarkson. Or Kenny Chesney. Or...

Anyhow, thanks for helping out D. Loyd.

Ya'll go to town on D. Loyd.