Friday, November 23, 2007

Post-Thanksgiving

It is into the fourth quarter of the UT/ A&M game, and, goodness, UT's offense has not actually played a lick of football yet this game. Any doubts I've had about UT's offense have been completely confirmed as they look towards being stomped for the second year in a row by the sheep romancers of College Station.

Sigh.

Thanksgiving has thus far been lovely. Yesterday we had a very nice Turkey Dinner complete with yams, green beans, homemade rolls, and several other items. Dallas handily won their game and Green Bay also went to 10-1.

It's now 37-17. Our defense just rolled over and died. Because Colt McCoy will not keep the offense on the field for more than three plays.

Yurgh.

Today we dropped Jamie off at a dialysis unit in downtown Lawton and then Doug, Kristen and myself hit the two comic shops here in Lawton. One shop was in a former house and completely filled, wall-to-wall with back issues in absolutely no organizational order. I lucked into finding some of Jack Kirby's "Captain Victory" issues from his Pacific Comics days when he went indie, and some back issues of Airboy, The Spirit and a few DC comics which looked kind of interesting.

If this guy who owned the shop cleaned it up a bit, bagged and boarded his stuff, actually inventoried his comics, and got rid of the mountain of 90's-era refuse clogging the shelves, he might actually have a really interesting store on his hands. In the meantime, I suffered through an allergy attack after leaving the store, my stack of comics in hand.

At the second shop I found some Superman comics that are probably worth exactly what I paid for them, but were good finds for me, anyway. This shop was obviously a lot newer, and was very tidy inside, even if the selection was not as wildly varied. I mostly grabbed what 70's and 80's Superman stuff they had that I didn't (with an eye toward trying to keep the cost down), and then stumbled into the original Superman Red/ Superman Blue issue up by the counter (Superman #162).

It's been very chilly here in Lawton, although thus far no precipitation has come down. It's just cold and dry. Austin was warm when we left, but it won't be that way when we return Sunday and I'm supposed to be hanging Christmas lights.

Mel came with us for the trip. Jeff is staying home under Nicole's watchful eye, and Lucy has been dropped off out in Driftwood at a place called "The Austin Pet Ranch". I do not like leaving Lucy behind, but the guilt evaporated when I saw Doggy Fantasy Camp when we arrived. The place sits on a couple of acres, and she'll be able to run around and play with other dogs all day. The people running the joint were also really nice. I look forward to seeing her roll over and go to sleep from so many days in a row of excitement.

I hope your Thanksgiving Holiday is going well.

We'll be back in a few days.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Day Man

Thanks to CB and David, I've been watching a lot of the FX Network's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".

In an episode this season the characters put together a couple of bands, which resulted in two songs, "The Night Man" and "Day Man".



Apparently a few folks have adopted the "Day Man" tune as their own:









And, of course, jack-hole frat boys




Curiously, I could find no covers of "Night Man"

Doug Makes a Friend


CIMG0012
Originally uploaded by RSteans
Also seen in Wisconsin this past September.

Yes, it seems the Weiner Man is prepping himself for some form of auto-cannibalization.

Best comic page ever?



Non-sequitur lifted with proper awe from Mike Sterling's "Progressive Ruin"

Nash Rambler


CIMG0010
Originally uploaded by RSteans
I meant to post this a while back. When we were in Wisconsin in September for Jamie's cousin's wedding, there was a car show. The car I'm posing with here is a 1951 Nash Rambler. This isn't the exact car, but its the same make, year and model as the car driven by Lois Lane (played by the lovely Noel Neill) in the TV series "The Adventures of Superman".

Sadly, I started telling Jamie about how this was Lois Lane's car and how exciting it was to see one, before I saw the license plate. Yup, it read "LOIS LN".

By sheer coincidence, I'm wearing a very pro-Lois shirt in the photo.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Howdy, Leaguers.

It's in the 80's during the days right now and someone on the street perpendicular to mine has hung Christmas lights. Thanksgiving is at the end of this week, so its hard to say that its too early to hang the lights. After all, Christmas commercials hit the air in the days around Halloween and we've already sent out the announcements about our own Holiday party (you're coming, right?). Which means I'll be using the Monday after Thanksgiving (I asked off way back in September) to climb a ladder and string the front of the house with a million twinkling white lights.

There is a point: This Fall is going by too fast. Just how summer seemed to come and go too quickly, Fall is only a month from wrapping up. Hell, there's only one football game left in the regular season for the Mighty Texas Longhorns. With the change in time, the windows of my office (which face out onto a derelict building, complete with hobos, smashed bottles, graphitti and the occasional colorful act) aren't waiting until 7:30 to begin to go dark like they were during the summer. At 5:00 the sun dips low enough that my office is abruptly plunged into darkness, leaving me typing away by the light of my monitor. So I get up, turn on the $15 floor lamp, and sit back down to spend another hour-and-a-half or so wrapping things up, trying to catch up for another day.

It seems like there's been a lot of catching up lately, which makes me wonder where the time is going.

This weekend I bagged, boarded and boxed more comics than I want to think about. We made time on Friday night for grabbing BBQ at the Green Mesquite and then 18-holes at Peter Pan Mini-Golf on Lamar and Barton Springs. Matt demonstrated some amazing superhuman ability at the course, coming in pretty well under par and sinking at least four hole-in-one's.

Two photos can be seen here. As always, I wound up mixing and matching friends from various concentric circles in my life, with Julia from the office coming along with Matt, Jamie and Jason.

A somewhat impromptu Austin-Thanksgiving was cut short when poor Nicole, who'd planned to cook, was laid low with an illness I have yet to hear properly described. She's been out of pocket, staying at Matt's, so hopefully they've gotten all that resolved.

As much as I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with the family (we're headed to Lawton), a part of me is really trying to figure out how to better incorporate friends into the Holidays. Sure, we throw the Holiday Heckstravangza, but that's also seeing 40 people in the span of a few hours. My mother always had some folks at Thanksgiving and Christmas who (especially when I was in college) I really didn't know. I used to wonder how on earth that happened, but generally was so busy emptying the Box O' Wine at the end of the table that the mystery was never fully resolved... but I think I get it now. You open your doors and your table to your friends and even folks who maybe you don't know all that well, you feed everyone and pass around a few bottles of wine and hope for the best. Maybe that's where I'm headed, trying to coordinate some force of will that insists we'll all see one another on the Holidays despite the shopping and perfunctory office parties.

There won't be time enough for everyone between now and Christmas, and that's too bad. Hell, there's a birthday or two in there (right CB? when is that), and I know people with kids and jobs and all that are even more busy than their usual crazy schedule...

All that said, this weekend Jamie and I stuck close to the house and had a weekend not unlike the ones we'd have in Arizona. I was dinking around with comics, Jamie was on her laptop or puttering with the pets. It was very quiet and, should I go to bed sooner rather than later, I might actually catch up on my rest.

Time for bed, Leaguers.

I have no idea how busy I'll be over the next several days. Hope everyone has a good Turkey Day.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Chronological Snobbery

If you are not reading Chronological Snobbery, you hate America. and Freedom.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Marvel DCU

It's probably not a good omen for the new online effort from Marvel, but they've named it Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, aka: Marvel DCU. Keep in mind, DCU is also how DC Comics (Marvel's prime competition) refers to its entire line of comics: The DC Comics Universe. Sadly, I doubt anyone at DC ever thought to copyright "DCU", or else they couldn't. Apparently DCU is also the stock ticker for Dry Clean USA.

Yurgh.

In addition, Marvel hasn't made it clear what you're actually buying if you sign up for their annual subscription service. It's a $60.00 investment for a year, which... when comics are going for $3.00 a pop, that's not a bad price for access to thousands of comics. Especially when you know it's less than $5.00 a month.

The problem is that I'm not sure which comics they're making available. I'm certainly not interested if Marvel is placing all of their failed series online, but only a few issues of a series I want to read. If they're placing a bunch of their content online and planning on keeping it there, that's great (think Netflix comics).

Right now the entire first 100 issues of FF, Spidey and X-Men are online. Buying collections, that might set you back over $100. But what about newer stuff? What if I want to read all of Annihilation online?

It seems almost as if Marvel is using the online effort as more of a marketing effort than a new way to approach comics. They seem interested in providing back stories, etc... but they seem overly concerned with treading on the toes of their current distribution model (ie: 32 page comics followed by trade collections).

Marvel isn't going to want to step on the toes of their distributors. It doesn't behoove them to lower the number of folks walking into comic shops and killing the golden goose, so it more or less makes sense that they aren't putting new comics out online. The fact is, had Marvel or DC gone online in the 90's or early 2000's, they probably wouldn't be as worried about cutting into the comic-buying/ paper collecting audience. However, with an audience that only ever expands to about 150,000 for a best-selling comic (and down to about 20,000 before it faces cancellation) losing any sales from comic shops is a major problem. Especially at $5.00 a month.

Whether Marvel learns to offer their newer comics online at a premium rate remains to be seen. It certainly seems like a possibility.

Despite the better arguments of Scott McCloud for how comics were going to go online and change the world, comics don't work terribly well online. clicking to reach the next panel doesn't necessarily jive with the composition and gestalt of the comic page (and I am not limiting comics to the usual folded tabloid size here). There's no flow between panels as a passive experience when you have to engage the page.

That said:

Either a very good sign or very bad sign, the site has been so busy that Marvel hasn't actually made this work. In two days, I have yet to see an online comic. Not exactly awe-inspiring from a technical standpoint. I can understand the problems in the first few hours, but...

For collectors like myself, I'd like to not have a house full of comics or graphic novels I've read once, and I'd like the option of not dropping $20 to read reprints I may not find I enjoy. But mostly, I am sure Jamie would like it if I found a way to NOT bring more collections and comics into the house. I think that's easily worth a handful of shekels per year.

I'm still pondering the Marvel subscription. I'm never a first adopter, and this is one more case where I'm waiting to hear more before I jump on board. That said, if anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas... a Marvel Digital Comics subscription would be swell...

***UPDATE***

I finally got on to try a sample. I did find their interface to be straightforward and easy to use. I'm still not sure all of what is available to the subscriber, but any fears I had about how the pages would be formatted is no longer a concern. You just need a decent sized monitor set to a decent sized resolution. I guess buyer beware on that count.

Monday, November 12, 2007

More time killing links

No matter how poorly written, I see no way in which this book wouldn't be a good read.

Here.

Poorly thought out comic strips

Here.

Marvel makes a move they should have made years ago. DC still trying to figure out if they can put comics online now or must wait until 31st Century (I love Superman comics, but I know DC will not be the first to make sense of late 20th century technologies like PDFs)

Here.

For whatever reason, these Jack Kirby monsters and pages have never been reprinted.

Here.

Also, New Spock. Same as the Old Spock?

Here.

Super Time Wasting Clips

Lady Super Heroes have better theme songs:






I admit, I do not know what to make of this clip


Ultimate Cap?







Uhhhhh....

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Check your local listings

Austin City Limits is now broadcasting a few episodes recorded during ACL Fest this September. This doesn't mean they're showing the live shows from Zilker Park (which I seem to recall them doing in the past). However, they are showing sessions recorded during the festival while the bands were in town.

I watched the Wilco episode and am waiting to watch Arcade Fire for a time when other folks who might want to watch that episode might be around.

Nova recently had an interesting episode about the American space race, and that maybe we weren't as behind as we led the public to believe.

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
seems to be broadcasting during Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. Not a cartoon, but highly recommended by us here at LoM.

I think I am done again with Smallville.

Friday Night Lights, unsurprisingly, seems to be struggling in its second season. Two of the main plots seem simply too far fetched for the realistic spirit of the show.

Meanwhile, 30 Rock managed to handle the "green week" on NBC the best of any of the programs I caught. It also gave us Al Gore and restored some of my respect for David Schwimmer.



Football

UT soundly defeated the Red Raiders of Texas Tech on Saturday. It was actually a great game, even if the Horns defense allowed 40-odd points. Colt McCoy played, possibly, the best game I've seen him in. Charles, Cosby and Nate Jones all looked really good. I hope Colt can remember how this works when he hits the field again next year.

Cowboys beat the Giants, which is always a welcome victory. I only really don't like the Giants when they play the Cowboys, but I am annoyed with Shockey every day of the year. Man, that guy is annoying. He's awesome, but something about him is so... very... irritating.

And, man... Green Bay clobbered Minnesota. Sorry, Reedo. Brett Favre is playing so well, one can only assume he's drinking again. No idea what happened to the amazing Adrian Peterson. Someone had his number.



Cook-Out

Special Thanks to the Shoemakers for Meatfest 2007. Holy cow, not only was the meat fantastic, but there was more of it than the entire assembled party could possibly consume. I need to go get some of those sausages from Whole Foods.

I am also horrible at Guitar Hero III. You know things have gone south when someone tells you "Wow, after you did so bad the first time, that really took courage to get up there again and do just as bad."



In-Laws
Officially much more together on this whole "retirement dreamhouse" thing than my parents, Jamie's folks were in San Marcos this weekend working on their new place. It sounds like they're enclosing the porch to add what should be a really nice sun room, and adding a raised porch elsewhere off the house. The Father-in-law is still not biting on my idea to add an observatory.

Anyway, we saw them Friday night.




OCD and Comics


This is going to sound weird, but I sorta like bagging, boarding and inventorying my comics. I missed my calling by not working at that big warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark where you seal stuff up and lock it away forever.

The huge downside to the bagging and boarding of comics is that, I think, most people assume it doesn't take that long to deal with. Also, most folks don't realize that in order to accomplish the task, you need (a) space, and (b) time. While space is important, in order to get things really sorted, getting a few hours uninterrupted to just knock out the various portions of the task (yes... hours), its also hard to get the task done when other things are vying for your attention. Worthwhile, fun things.

The problem, of course, if that if you don't handle the task on a routine basis, you have just made the process take that much longer. You have that many more comics to deal with.

With our Holiday party coming up, its sort of imperative I not have piles of comics just strewn across the living room, so the day of reckoning is at hand. Now is when I have to tell people "No, I cannot go to Slippy Village or whatever fun place you're headed off to. I have to sit on the floor and put comic books into polymer bags with non-acidic backing boards. I must then place each individual comic into my database where I may track the value of the comic and size of my collection. After that, I will place each comic in publishing release order in a specialized box which will help preserve the integrity of the comic. These will be placed in a (a) by publisher, (b) by character arrangement of my choosing. No, I am not completely OCD."

So, I apologize to everyone in advance if I drop out of site for a few nights while getting this task completed. I am not being a misanthrope, I am trying to clean up the living room.

Norma Rae!

Not much content being generated of late here at League of Melbotis. It is time to reveal that my writers are on strike.

Yes, when contracts were originally negotiated here at the League, nobody anticipated the gold mine that League of Melbotis would become. Especially not the basement full of elderly Philipino women I keep who write most of my posts. I tell you Leaguers, when you want to write musings on the Man of Steel, you can do no better than to hit the canasta parlors of Manila. Those ladies like nothing better than playing games while chatting about Superman's latest adventures.

Unfortunately, the contracts we negotiated never took the internet or merchandising into account. Neither they, nor I, ever really guessed that downloading LoM from iTunes or selling full seasons of LoM on DVD would become so very profitable. I'd like to say that I was paying more attention to the wants and needs of all the gals, but, really, when you're distracted with the multitude of needs that an operation like LoM brings to your attention on a daily basis, soothing the fears of the investors and Board of Directors, sometimes the most important people of all get lost in the shuffle.

So it was that last week, while I was putting out fires, Norma Rae Sarmiento, one of our staffers (she usually covers super-hero related movies), put out her cigar, stood atop her folding chair beside her Smith Corona type-writer with the words "UNION!" typed out in an 11-pont font. Eventually someone wandered over and saw what was typed on her page, and word spread like wildfire. Indeed, it seems Norma Rae had brought in the WGA. And the WGA was on strike. Thus ended production on League of Melbotis.

As a responsible CEO, I took the only step I could to try to find middle ground with the folks on strike. I immediately set a gang of toughs upon Norma Rae to soften her up.

Nonetheless, it seems my erstwhile gang of writers has gone on strike, so I'll be stepping up to the old keyboard to take over until the strike comes to an end.

In the meantime, can someone tell me who this Randy person is?

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

League of Melbotis Holiday Heckstravaganza 2007!




Yes, Leaguers... I'm not ready for it, and neither are you, but it's that time of the year again. We're hurtling toward the Holidays like a comet towards Dinosaur-infested Earth. So it's time for ordering that Hickory Farms basket, pretending someone else sent it to you, and then eating the whole thing in one sitting.

It's also time for The League of Melbotis 2007 Holiday Heckstravaganza!

Needless to say, you're all in invited. Yes, even you.



So hire a baby-sitter, contact your parole officer and free up your calendar for the night of December 8th, 2007. For that night, mi amigos... we ride upon the Federales!

There's a small possibility that from 9:00 - 9:30, we will be entertained by the smooth, Holiday sounds of Jason's band, CRACK.

Further, there will be Wii. And snacks. And booze. Really, rum and egg nog sorta make my memories of last year's party kinda hazy, but it seemed we all had a good time. And the cops who showed up were real swell guys.

This party is BYOB, so bring a bottle of your favorite libation and we can all join in the merriment. There will be carols, and Ritz crackers and bum fights.



We're hoping you can come on down!

If you're planning to show, shoot us an e-mail or request a link to the Crusher invite. We'd like some sort of tally.

It's gonna be a good one.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Get Out the Vote

I went to vote on a few ballot measures last night after official work day and before dinner/ night work.

For once, nobody was running for office, so it was entirely voting on propositions, 3/4's of I had not done any research. So I skipped a few items and tried to understand what they were asking for on a few others, some of them fairly straightforward, like bonds for road work.

The controversial issue on the ballot was the request for state money for cancer research. Like most folks, I have a beef with cancer. Like most folks, cancer has touched my family and friends. I also know cancer is not a single disease but a blanket term to describe a plethora of conditions. I am also concerned about the distribution of money, and understand that there are many diseases to worry about. Take kidney diseases like FSGS. That one is much less fun than it sounds.

I guess my reasoning came down to: in 500 years, what will we have done? Will we have spent our vast resources building giant robots to kill people who do not have giant robots? Will we have chipped every person on Earth and spent money to make sure we were keeping a close watch on them? Will we have made any inroads to actually stopping the causes of grief and people raising their hands against one another? Or will we have insisted that the fight to heal the sick is someone else's mission?

I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse, or even much of a caretaker. I am not a researcher, and I am not able to help people much in my day to day life (and this is something I am considering in depth these days). There is very little I can do out there to help more people than myself and my family and friends. But there is a lot WE can do to help each other.

Without passing judgment on the rightness or wrongness of the current wars, I would rather live in a country at war with cancer, diabetes, heart disease and many other killers than with other nations or peoples. I don't see the two as mutually exclusive. One of the number one things any candidate could do to make me feel safer would not be to promise me endless war against any enemy or outside threat. They could promise me they would dedicate their term to the eradication of disease and hunger. In the end, I doubt I'll die from a dirty bomb. That may be naive, but I am certain diabetes, cancer or heart disease will kill me.

These things seem simple enough at face value, but they aren't where the people we elect put our money or our priorities.

As I mentioned, I am concerned about the use of the money. Government agencies are run by people, and people make ridiculous decisions. But I'm not sure that doesn't mean we shouldn't try, or that nothing will come out of the research, even if it isn't a cure.

So I voted for Proposition 15. And against getting rid of the office of taxidermy or whatever that wacky bill was.

Some Additional Super Costumes

Halloween has come and gone, but I feel that I would be negligent if I didn't post some additional pictures of some super Halloween costumes.

Below is SuperXan and CB. More here. And, here.


CB proves she is a person who knows how to raise a child the right way.

My parents live next door to some great folks who have taken on the unlikely task of producing substitute grandchildren for my grandchildless parents. It's a great arrangment as my parents get grandkids and I get to continue to spend money on comics.

I always said Jonathan and Kelsey were sharp kids, and it appears that they really know how to pick out a costume.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Hello

I may go see Fred Clause. Just to annoy other people.

Jeff the Cat had a few teeth pulled this week. He is doing very well and doesn't seem to miss them.

Carla made very good cupcakes. I bring this up not just to say Thanks!, but to point out that she's launched a new site, Dessert Lounge!

My folks were in town this weekend once again looking at property. This time, they may have even found something.

I slept a lot this weekend.

We walked the dogs. That was very nice.

I also read comics.

I ran into a co-worker at Austin Books.

Jason bought an X-Box and Halo.

I didn't watch the UT game and am regretting that decision. I did watch the Colts game and the Dallas game.

I briefly did some work.

The weekends are too short.

SOME COMICS I ENJOYED

Action Comics 858: After Infinite Crisis, DC decided that it was a good time to join the past/ future of Superman together with the Legion of Superheroes once again. A great set-up, wonderfully drawn, and for those (like me) with a gap in their DCU knowledge regarding the Legion, this is a great read.

Batman 670: You can't keep a good Demon's Head down. I didn't like the loss of Bat-villain Ra's al Ghul, as al Ghul was always one of the more complex characters in the Bat-Rogues Gallery. Morrison is doing the most to redefine Batman's world of any writer since the post DKR-era.

Justice Society of America 10: Do you like Superheroes? Did you enjoy mid-90's DC project Kingdom Come? Do you like Superman? Can your brain handle the multiverse? I don't know why this volume of JSA is so much better than the previous volume, handled by the exact same writer, but... man. Every month when this title comes out, this is the first comic I read from the stack.

Crime Bible: The Five Lessons of Blood (1 of 5)
: Montoya is back as The Question. Cult conspiracies, hard-boiled detectives, Greg Rucka, Tom Mandrake... Worth a look.

Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Superman-Prime
: Uhm. Look, this just isn't going to necessarily be a great first comic for anyone to read, but it is a good read as it basically ties together the entire past of the once Superboy of Earth Prime.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Cutest Kids on Halloween


The League, Mrs. League, CB and David
requires sound



also, not our dogs. Just something from YouTube

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloween 07 Kid Pic 2

Arden prepares for a fire breathing rampage upon the nearby villagers...



Jill's kid was a more-cute-than-fierce dragon this year. It sounds like Jess's mom made the costume. Well done, Jess's mom!

Halloween 07 Kid Pics 1

Nathan's Kids are Horrifyingly Adorable



Max = Pooh, Sam = Tigger

And, yes... Sam and Max look like their dad.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN


A typical moment of romance at League HQ

Hey, Leaguers.

You can tell I am off my blogging game when I don't do a big build up to Halloween.

Work got crazy this week, including work on Sunday. Add in being sick on Saturday, and... well, it was a perfect storm of not blogging.

Tonight we are going to get costumed up and hand out candy. (Jason, are you coming over?)

Last night we carved pumpkins and I force fed Nicole, our house guest, Evil Dead II. I don't think she really liked it, but, dammit, I'm not having a pre-Halloween viewing of a movie that's cute and sweet.

After candy distribution tonight we'll pop over to Carla's for Halloween fun.

Not too late, though. I have a big work day on Thursday.

Hope all Leaguers have a FRIGHTFULLY FUN Halloween. Those of you with kids, send in pics. I'll post 'em up. Or of yourself.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM LEAGUE OF MELBOTIS!!!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Trinity Tigers Crazy Game Winner

Both Jason and Jamie are proud Trinity University Alumni, and, in theory, Trinity Tigers.

Now, behold... the craziest ending to a football game. Ever. Courtesy the Trinity Tigers.



For the full story: Here.


***UPDATE****


Trinity Tiger Nathan Cone, now a proud employee of Texas Public Radio, has sent along this link with a good listen. Thanks, Nathan!

Halloween Fun: Zombie Apocalypse

Cracked finds the five ways in which mankind could face an honest-to-God Zombie Apocalypse.

JimD and Jason will, no doubt, be prepared.

On to the zombies

Sunday, October 28, 2007

IMG_0510.jpg


IMG_0510.jpg
Originally uploaded by sgharms
Cookies. Halloween cookies.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Best American Comics of 2007

Editor's Note: This post was up for a few hours yesterday and was removed to give me a chance to clear up some points and possibly give the post a bit more coherence.


Recently popular comic blogger Heidi MacDonald (aka: The Beat) took some lumps after posting on her site an actual opinion essay. This was followed by MacDonald displaying a willingness to unburn bridges, etc...

Basically, Heidi pointed out that Chris Ware had put together a book called "Best American Comics 2007" which was filled with a lot of stuff that was Indie comics, that could be construed as not too dissimilar to Ware's own work. For those http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifunfamiliar with , he's responsible for landmark comic "Jimmy Corrigan", as well as the Acme Novelty Library and the very fun to look at Quimby the Mouse.

She then went on to state that she didn't feel that Ware and his pals were making the best American comics. The reason presented was that the ability of these writers and artists to construct a compelling narrative was often found wanting. She said she wanted a story.

I read The Beat on a regular basis, and have rolled my eyes at Heidi's snarky sniping of superhero comics, but also understand there's context there and do not expect her tastes to match my own. The same sort of complaints regarding superhero comics crop up online amongst the indie comics crowd, of which MacDonald has seemingly been identifying with, especially since she jumped from Comicon.con to Publisher's Weekly.

Before I go any further, this is my opinion, so, you know... whatever.

Ware is a master of form, and has managed to create unique comic experiences with each work I've picked up. He's sort of the consummate comic fiend's comic. He plays with the form in intricate and fascinating ways, both subtle and less so, with a unique understanding of how the medium can be manipulated.

But... and here's sorta where I agree with MacDonald. With all the artistic expertise in the world at his fingertips, I still never felt more engaged than being wowed by the form of Ware's comics. There just wasn't much to the narrative to make it particularly page turning. It's about a mopey guy who had a rotten life and sorta tries to do something about it, but, whatever...

If you dig a good Todd Solondz movie, I may have a comic to recommend.

It's a delicate thing, because I do genuinely appreciate Ware's work and vision, but I'm simply not engaged by the misanthropic comics he puts together. At least Eisner figured out how to tell the story of an unlucky soul in a few pages.

The sad, unlucky soul as protagonist is also the focus of the work of Daniel Clowes, and it seems the success of these two opened a path for comics about sad sacks being an end unto themselves, and often with far less artistry than the two guys I've menioned above.

This is, of course, a small fraction of the indie spectrum, which contains an infinite number of genres and genre-less comics.

Here's the thing... from reading blogs like The Beat and Journalista!, one would get the impression that there's this huge industry of independent comics where lives were being bought and sold, and all the world hung on the opinion of what someone like Chris Ware thought were the best comics of 2007. This, of course, isn't the case. Not just in popular culture, but in comic shops and in the larger book publishing industry.

Exact distribution numbers are somewhat hard to figure, as I'm not sure where to dig up Fantagraphics distribution versus Diamond, nor do I have any knowledge of Indie comic distribution channels.

All that said, distribution isn't the point of The Best (American) Comics of 2007. Artistic merit and writing come into play somewhere.

So, really, now you're talking subjective criteria. That's okay. I don't necessarily think that the stories listed in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told are, necessarily, the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, either. But that's a publisher putting their name on a collection and putting as much out there about themselves as the comics included in the collection.

If you actually clicked on the links above to MacDonald's post, you'd notice over one hundred comments, many of them extremely heated. MacDonald may have done herself a disservice by not better framing her argument, and certainly by refusing to name names. But, really, in her line of work and with the vitriol tossed her way, can you blame her? If she knew it were coming? And did she know that this was going to put a ding in her career and reputation as indie comic fans, creators and critics each stepped up to the plate to take a shot at her?

If she didn't know that was going to happen, she hasn't been paying attention to her own work since the inception of her blog.

But was she necessarily wrong? Or did she just point out that the Emperor was parading down 5th Avenue in his tidy whities?

The folks who got rankled, like Tom Spurgeon, are more or less arbiters of the indie comic scene. Of late, its been the indie comics that get the faint praise of the literary establishment when they take notice of a book like "Jimmy Corrigan", and the occasional cross over hit like the deserving "Fun House" or "Persepolis" ("Fun House" made a critic's list or two last year under the "book" category, but went largely unnoticed in most comic shops. Likewise, Persepolis was winning awards, and I've seen it all but ignored in most comic shops. Likely any tie-in with the feature animated film of Persepolis will appear at Barnes & Noble long before it appears at Slappy's Comics Universe). Whether the indie comic reviewers and blogging press had anything to do with the discovery of those comics, or that those comics reflected pre-existing tastes of the literary establishment is a tough call.

Artistic commendation is worthy of striving for, so I don't want to dismiss any praise anybody has received from folks outside of the comic-sphere. And, honestly, I haven't seen the damn book that MacDonald is discussing, so I can't answer my own questions on this one.

But the fanboy behavior that the Indie-fans drum up in the comments makes the usual Gwen Stacey-related Spidey post on Newsarama look like a blip.

Unfortunately, Heidi is in a professional position where she CAN'T name names. She's not in the easy position of the critic as a face for Publisher's Weekly and as a blog manager. People give Matt Brady a hard time for not giving creators and the Big 2 the business, but... seriously, how long before that fatted calf would disappear if he decided to take Joe Quesada to task for every slight superhero fans believe he should answer for?

As does Matt Brady, so does Heidi.

Meanwhile, Tom Spurgeon and Co. are in a comfortable position where the artists and writers need them far more than Tom needs the creators. Any exposure is good exposure in small publishing where no marketing or advertising budget exists. As readers of The Comics Reporter, etc... make their decisions for purchases based upon comments on sites like Spurgeons or from other journals, its a different balance of power.

The bottom line in this case seems not to be that Heidi pointed out that some comics which get the indie street cred maybe aren't all that good (that's no secret), or even that Heidi may have divergent taste from the arbiters of the self-appointed comic literary meritocracy.

A recent post at Chronological Snobbery takes a pass through Chuck Klosterman-land to dish up a reminder of how hipsters and taste-makers believe their subjective tastes to be better informed than that of pretty much everyone else. While the Chron Snob post is interested in the legacy of 1980's hair band Ratt, it seemed to echo some of the same traits of the Best American Comics argument, albeit in a medium which even the people inside of the fanbase find divisive and geeky.

Success breeds contempt in any industry. Whether "SexyBack" is a good song or not is going to be diluted by the insistence that anything that popular was made for the masses and therefore not worthy of note. For more on the Klosterman ponderings, go here.

Comics being an almost sealed system, DC and Marvel are bigger kids on the block, and are therefore "mainstream", despite the small audience compared to almost any other medium. There's a built in snark factor for the crowd who loudly refuses to be associated with the super medium.

It doesn't seem that Ware and Anne Elizabeth Moore meant the name of their collection ironically, but the book reflects little outside of the tastes of a niche within the already nichey world of comics. All things being equal, it's either a ballsy or arrogant statement to assume that your taste in comics is going to define the best of the year, I don't care how diverse your buying habits. It's probably somewhat fair to state that a lot of what went into the volume is a lot of the same, as Heidi suggests. After all, its fair to say the same of DC's output, tentacle porn, or anything that someone has tried to dub with a genre name. Indie comics have remained mostly genre-free in the same way that "college music" did until a marketing exec dubbed Nirvana and Pearl Jam as "alternative" in 1992 or 3 (and, unlike electronica, the name stuck). Staying under the radar gives you the advantage of staying out of a category unless you're seeking one.

Most likely publisher Houghton-Mifflin can't get the reprint rights to most of DC and Marvel's stuff, anyway. If DC were interested in a best of the year, they quit printing their Blue Ribbon digests a long time ago. Not to mention the fact that a self-contained, single issue story in this era in a post Bendis superhero comic is far more the exception than the rule.

Not that Moore and Ware would consider those sorts of stories, but...

Is Heidi correct in asserting that the kids these days can't tell a story?

Oh, hell. I think (thus, my opinion) more DC writers fit that profile than not, just as 90% of any medium isn't all that great (including independently produced comix).

It's just a bitch to buy a $2.99 comic, get home and say "That was it?" Moreso when its an expensive graphic novel or indie comic that you wanted to take a risk on. Like any movie that's getting good reviews, its always an interesting venture to see what and why a comic is getting hyped outside of superhero circles. (my personal theory: With stunning regularity, the comics are about outsiders trying to make good and overcome their traumatic past. Sort of the same formula as Spider-Man and Batman, only without the spandex and web-shooters.)

Just as even the best comics of 2007 come at a price of $22. Is $22 the price of finding out if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a noise?

I will watch and reject dumb TV

Last night I watched three episodes of Elivira's "The Search for the Next Elvira".

I refuse to watch the new NBC show "Phenomenon".

Pulled comic post

hey, i want to apologize to anyone who read the comic post I'd had up earlier this evening. I actually read what I'd wrote and decided that maybe writing a lengthy post like that over several days and taking several angles ina single post wasn't working.

Jason had posted a well articulated and well thought out response. Which also led me to realize that my post made absolutely no sense.

Anyway, I apologize.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

I am sorry about the huge fire in California

Okay.

I know two days ago I blew off the fires in California (to people I was talking to at work and elsewhere, not here at LoM).

I am sorry.

California burst into flames every year that I could recall, and I wasn't really clear until yesterday that this is a lot more serious than the usual fires which consume a few homes.

So, anyway, The League shares our sympathies and best wishes with the folks of Southern California and Mexico who are dealing with the fires.

Nerd Mailing List Catalog

Apparently my nerdiness caught up with me. Someone bought some nerd mailing list I was on, and this catalog recently showed up at my house: The Pyramid Collection

It's not nu-agey stuff. It's sort of a weird mix of Ren Fest wear, pixie costumes, fantasy-novel themed lingerie, and other good ideas.

My favorite item: Dragon Commode Lid

This item screams out to be found by the Admiral under the tree on Christmas morning

Don't worry, Judy! There's one for you, too.

I can't really make fun. Anyone whose ever been to League HQ knows what it means to commit to a particular geeky lifestyle.

One of the things I find bizarre about wallpaper stores, etc... are how all of the stuff looks pretty much the same. Inoffensive patterns on inoffensive earth-tone colors, so your house can look pretty much exactly how everybody else's house looks.

I don't really understand people who don't have a pursuit or two, so certainly that plays into my thinking on the subject. And while our doors are always open to whomever wants to pop by, it's still where I live, and if I can't use that space to suit my needs, what space am I supposed to use?

I do understand needing to compromise with your spouse on home decorating, our house seemingly not a good point to that fact. But sometimes you find particular stuff interesting and you go with it.

That isn't to say that people without lots of knick-knacks all over their houses haven't found something that works for them, or that home decoration isn't a passion of theirs to begin with. But I think when you cross a line from "this would look cool and people would like it" to worrying about what other people will think if they see your house and it somehow makes them itchy. That said, somethings are just bad ideas.

As much as I want everyone to be able to do whatever they want, there are some rules about what's in your house versus your choice of wardrobe. You can STILL go out and look like an everyday schmuck on the street. You don't need to dress up as Superman just because you like the character (although, you know... would it be totally crazy to do so...? Jamie says yes, but I don't know...).

The Pyramid catalog is full of all kinds of ideas, but you might want to save those for your special times. or LARPing.

Some ideas are just more socially acceptable, whether we like it or not. After all, Jason loves his music, live and recorded. Nobody bats an eye at his music festival posters or guitars strewn about his house, but you get one Monster Commode Seat (this one's for Mom!), and everyone thinks you're crazy.

So, if you're into your fantasy novels, why not decorate with the dragon lamp?

The weird one is sports. Into football? Wear a jersey like you're the fat guy who got cut and nobody cares. However, you can't paint your living room Viking purple and gold. And your child, at that, even though you have to look at them anyway.

Cookie Party

Last night we had a Halloween Cookie Party.

Nicole made a delightful spaghetti dinner (which was great, but nowhere near as shocking as Jason's decision to invite us over for Jambalaya on Monday. Jason often uses the grill, but his gas stove usually goes untouched). Anyhow, we all had too much to eat, even with both Steans Boys in attendance, and Nicole and Jamie having a pile of spaghetti. We still had leftovers. That's a lotta pasta.

Around 8:00ish, Steven and Lauren came over, and the cookie making/ nonsense commenced. Well, really, Jamie spent like, an hour sifting sugar.I have no idea what was going on, but when I asked was greeted with a disgruntled shout... something about lumpy frosting.

No sooner had Steven and Lauren shown up (with Australian delicacies in hand) than JimD called the house to instruct me to go see 30 Days of Night. I passed off the phone to longtime JimD friend and fan, Steven, and I sorta hoped that would push JimD over the edge and relocate him to Austin.

Anyhow, we watched a bit of Ed Wood and the 1931 Frankenstein (which I view annually). We glazed cookies, and then got into the Tim Tam (very good!) and the Vegemite (which tasted just as bad today as I remember it tasting when I was 10).

There were many delightful Halloween cookies. Sadly, few photos. Steven took some, so perhaps he'll post them.

It's good to have Steven and Lauren back in town and frosting cookies.

However, there was absolutely nothing spooky about our pre-Halloween party.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Sunday, October 21, 2007

More Fall is Falling

Today we got up and immediately agreed to hit The Salt Lick to get a plate of brisket and go hear the Flying A's. Fall is here, as evidenced by the lovely weather we had on our way out.

Tomorrow the temperature drops from the high 80's to somewhere below 65 for a high.

It's Austin. Don't like the weather? It'll change in ten minutes.

Return of Robb

It's been nothing short of a lovely weekend since I walked out of work on Friday, second to last to leave the building. No matter where I work, somehow I'm always last to leave.

Friday we headed to Manuel's on Congress where we met up with Matt & Nicole, as well as Lauren, who was flying solo as Steven prepared to return to Austin after a few weeks in Australia. Lauren had been with him, and for reasons I never gathered, she returned slightly ahead of our man, Harms.

At dinner I got very drunk. I have no idea why, but it seemed like a swell idea at the time. I do not drink much. Honestly, I never have. Certainly the years we were gone to Arizona, huge chunks of time would pass and I would have not so much as a beer with the fellows after work. But with Fall coming on, more than a year back in Austin under our belts, work seemingly going well, dinner with good friends and Lauren's birthday so recent... it seemed a good night to tie one on.

We all came back to League HQ after dinner, where I gradually sobered, and Lauren unwittingly popped open old wounds regarding my opinion of portions of my undergraduate education which led to an unpleasant tirade about the critical analysis of film as an academic pursuit vis-a-vis the Narrative Strategies course I took circa 1995... Anyway, it got late and Matt and Nicole bothc amped out at League HQ.

We woke up today, got breakfast for our guests, found the game on cable and watched Ut spiral out of control, eventually pulling it together again in the 4th quarter and putting a score on the board that suggests things were much more in hand than they ever actually were.

Ate an early dinner at Chuy's as we never had lunch (Matt and Nicole had departed), and came home to a message that an old friend, Robb K, was in town and would be appearing at the Texas Showdown for a limited engagement.

Once upon a time... when we were young and probably much more fun than we are today... Anyway, it had been, we realized, seven full years since we'd seen Robb. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what continent Robb was on. I'd heard he'd been craching in Berlin for a while, and would occasionally hear dispatches from the Seattle contingent that he was in New York or God-knows-where.

So, really, a sudden appearance by Robb is something one should really always have in the back of their mind as a possibility, even when one has not seen Robb in seven years.

We met up at the Showdown, pulling together with a fragment of the folks from back in golden, old days of college. Pat, Jeff, Matt, Robb and Jamie. It could have just as easily been an evening in 1997 or so, sitting around with a beer out back of some bar with Robb still hand rolling cigarettes.

We've gotten older now. Jeff is married, and so Keora was there. Nicole came and saw a glimpse of Matt's sordid past. But we're not all so different, even with jobs and mortgages and all that. We worry about different things, maybe. Certainly not school or grades or whatever we were worried about then. We're now almost ten years from when college graduation, and life's rolled on.

A gentleman cut in on our conversation and asked for a haiku.

We tried to push him off, but, as Matt said, there's so little Austin weirdness left, sometimes you have to grab onto the weirdness when it happens. Even when the guy ashes on Jeff by accident while asking for the haiku. So we had a collaborative haiku.

And despite the fact I kept wondering how this guy was going to try to make money off of us, I dashed off the final line and handed it off. "Time passes us by."

Because sometimes it does.

Whether we've been doing the same things for ten years, or whether we occasionally manage to pull it together and catch a glimpse of good days, I don't know. The days in Austin have been good again. We talked over that while we were eating at Chuy's thsi evening with Jason. It's been a strange 15 months or so. Lots of good days and bad, as I guess it goes, life is evening itself out. 24 months ago, going to Chuy's for an early dinner was something we would have talked about wishing we could do.

As much as I loved parts of yesterday, the parts you can remember while watching your friend hand roll cigarettes for the first time in seven years, there's always tomorrow. You sort of have to think about what you're going to do then, and the next day.

We made our Mister Miracle escape from the X-Pit and the Orphanage of Granny Goodness, but, like Scott Free, I know that's only the beginning. The traps aren't always so obvious, and complacency is as much a trap as anything else. We'll keep moving, listening for the pinging of Mother Box to tell us when its time to spring the manacles and jump free from the nose cone of the rocket.

Lately, I hear people grumbling a bit about Fall coming on, about shorter days and the end of summer. Maybe its too many years at universities and in education, but Fall is a time for new things, for thinking about the year ahead.

Up in Seattle, My and Brandy have found out they're pregnant. Jeff and Keora are talking about trying. On Thursday Peabo and Adriana stopped by with Owen (who looks like every other male member of Peabo's family already), and Peabo's as happya s I've ever seen him. Xander is already moving so fast, CB should put him in red jammies and call him The Flash, and David is here from North Carolina.

The world moves on, and time passes us by.

That's not a bad thing. We're doing okay. Both despite and because of the events of the past year, so are our family and friends.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Friday Superman

On which Earth did THIS occur?

It's nice to know there was an Earth (pre-Crisis) where Superman met Lucy and Ricky, and all three of them stayed completely in character.



I grew up watching "I Love Lucy" in re-runs, and it was the first place I ever saw George Reeves' Superman.

As much as I like the current run on Superman, and the direction the comics and movies have taken, there's a part of me that wishes that there were also a place for this sort of take on Superman.

Viva George.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

In Rainbows - What do you think?

This weekend, once it was clear the UT game was pretty much over by the third quarter, I wandered upstairs to my computer to download the only-on-line album from Radiohead, "In Rainbows".

I also downloaded some stuff from The Kleptones, that CB and David had recommended. Unlike the average college student or high school student, I firmly believe in continuing to pay for music despite the proliferation of locations where you can get pirated music. It boils down less to a healthy respect for the law and RIAA than a faint hope that musicians will actually get some cut from their label.

I am intrigued by Radiohead's label-less experiment. For those who don't know (Mom and Dad), they've released an online album which the user can decide how much they want to pay before they download, from $0.01 to whatever they like.

A few years ago Doug (Jamie's brother) and I were driving back from Minnesota and debated this very model. Will it work for Radiohead? Absolutely. They're one of the biggest bands in the world right now, especially for one that gets a fraction of the radio play of someone like Beyonce. These guys have been on the charts since 1993 in the US, and have been building a rabidly loyal following for a decade and a half. Whether the album is a bust and nobody wants to pay, Radiohead has stadium tours they could sell out for a decade without worrying about putting out new music or selling a single records, and they'd all make enough money to become space tourists.

In this model, sure it works. For the start-up musician... let's call our hypothetical band The Surrender Monkeystm, who is a local act and trying to get attention, having music available for free and trying to take donations is a great idea. To a point. I mean, they're struggling musicians, and its difficult to see the kids willing to actually pay for music they don't know, let alone music they do. So, I guess that means you post your stuff for free. Which makes it kinds of hard to afford server space, etc... unless you have significant income coming in from outside.

I guess then there's the rest of the bands slugging it out in the Billboard Chart who don't have a huge following and would be helped by the sale of albums and may or may not be able to sell to venues big enough, and at ticket prices high enough to make a go of it. Is NOT selling albums really going to help them?

Despite the fact that Camelot Records paid for part of my rent and put food in my mouth for over a year, I sort of think brick and mortar music stores will become specialty boutiques, like comic shops, or else will only sell music that appeals to a luddite audience. Make something elitist if that if you will, but... I mean, c'mon.

I am sad to say that my 1996 prediction that we would drop CD's from thumb-drive like chips for albums never really became a reality. McDonalds briefly had N'Sync singles on little USB drives for a while as part of a Happy Meal promotion, but eventually, nobody wanted the extra plastic, I think.

What I do think is that radio and internet broadcast now have a great opportunity... nay... RESPONSIBILITY to disseminate new talent. How this will eventually work is anyone's guess... So why not yours?

What I am curious to hear are not so much Leaguer opinions of the new album (which I like, and so does Jason, I think). But the future of online dissemination of music.

What do you think?

Peabo: The Al Gore/ Jor-El Connection

So Peabo and I were having a conversation, via e-mail, in which we were discussing... well, that's not really important. What IS important is that I had reason to reference Superman's dad, Jor-El.

Peabo had this to say:


After reading your link below about Jor-El (supermanica) I am amazed at the similarities between Jor-El and Al Gore. I mean serious, is this comparison being bantered around in comic geek circles, because the similarities are eerie I tell you.

(1) Both keen men of learning with a leaning toward science

(2) Both from well respected families

(3) Both conducted detailed research on anomalies discovered in their planet.

(4) Both reached the conclusion after their studies that doom was not only possible but probable and impending

(5) Both were roundly scoffed at and ignored by multitudes

And the real clencher in my opinion:

(6) Both, though lacking scientific proof to substantiate their hypothesis, were ready to report their findings to prestigious scientific councils

From http://supermanica.info/wiki/index.php/Jor-El:


Finally, although he still lacked positive scientific proof to substantiate his hypothesis (Act No. 223, Dec 1956: "The First Superman of Krypton"; and others), Jor-El was ready to report his findings to Krypton's prestigious scientific council. "Gentlemen," he intoned solemnly, as he addressed his scientific colleagues in Krypton's hallowed Hall of Wisdom, "...Krypton is doomed!...



Which leads me to believe that Jor-El must have also won the Krypton version of the Nobel prize. Probably post-humously.

The real question though ?

Where has Jor-Al sent his son ?( I mean beside the Betty Ford clinic)?
What secret powers will Jor-Al junior have when he lands on a planet far far away ? The ability to give super-speeches that lull enemies into a trance? The ability to hide in a super powered lock box?

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Red Baron Movie in Development

I saw this over at Dave's Longbox, but certain aviation buffs in the audience may find this interesting.



Let's hope this makes it to American shores.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Catching Up

Hey Leaguers,

The past few days have been kind of busy.

Wednesday my company (well, the company I work for) had an Oktoberfest. Yes, I too think it odd to schedule Oktoberfest on a Wednesday if you want functional employees on a Thursday. Jamie, Jason and Matt joined me at the Zilker Clubhouse and met several of my co-workers.

On Thursday I met up with my former employee/ co-worker, T-Tine. T-Tine is doing very well and is close to getting his PhD in human/ computer interaction. It's amazing to see this skinny kid who wandered into my office years ago about to become a serious researcher. Well, he's a serious researcher now, but he's not got the PhD behind his name quite yet.

Friday after work I grabbed a beer with Julia from my office, then met up with David, CB, Hilary and Stuart at CB's house. It was no holds-barred Uno (plus wine). CB will soon be launching a web project I, personally, think sounds like its going to be really fun. I don't think I should unveil the name here, as it will reveal quite a bit, but when she launches it, I'll be sure to make a big deal of it.

And, lest I forget, CB and David made some killer pot-stickers and Pad Thai. There are benefits to having friends who are excellent cooks.

Hilary and Stuart are talking about a website re-design for their band. They're very talented musicians, and on a good trajectory with the number of shows they're playing and the kind of shows. You can check out their site prior to the site redesign here.

CB, David and I also gave them the hard sell on an PowerMac, so we'll see what decision they make as they upgrade (get the PowerMac, Hil).

By the way, they're playing between 12 and 3 on Sunday at the Salt Lick if anyone feels like going. And, next Friday evening if you can't make that.

Today I signed up to get a security system. I, too, find the idea that someone might break in and find nothing but comics to steal totally awesome. But...

As much as I would like to have faith in other people not to rob us, I'm enough of a skeptic that I'd just as soon give a burglar reason to move on to another house.

Unless Texas goes Mad Max post-Apocalyptic, it's unlikely I will ever own a gun. I do not trust myself to properly maintain a gun or to use it wisely. And, hell, if it came to that, they could just have the damn comics, anyway. I'm not shooting anybody. So I go with deterrents.

Anyone whose been here knows the dogs are no help once people are actually in the house (I assume they'd just hide in the tub if frightened), and while I think Jeff the Cat could take on two or three burglars (no, really), four or more would have him outnumbered.

So, we will soon have a security system.

The code is: 1-2-3-4-5

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Steans Nation and Dallas Cowboys

Unlike MySpace, Facebook seems fairly flexible and offers a lot of opportunity to use the various third party features authorized by Facebook. In addition, the "Groups" feature is fairly easy to manage.

In a fit of "Well, let's see what happens", I searched Facebook for my surname, Steans. It came up with 80 or so responses, some of which were variations on Steans, but many of which were, like myself, named Steans, with little in the way of a flourish.

Growing up, we knew virtually nothing of the Steans name. Pre-Internet, there was an assumption that Steans was an Ellis Island butchering of some German name, and we were somewhat certain we had a name which was mostly unreplicable because it was a nonsense word. We pretty much resigned ourselves to being misidentified as "Stearns", until the end of days.

Then, when I was in high school, The Admiral got a phone call from a woman in New Zealand who was doing some genealogical (sp?) work. It turns out the name is from England, and as near as I can tell, it means "Stone" or "stone wall" or something. or Stone Jug. Really, no idea. More perplexing was that we were unaware any of the family hailed from England.

In college, a fellow student shared my name, looked me up in the Ut directory and called. Her name was Shoni, and we've chatted via e-mail once in a blue moon. She's married now, but she kept the name going by hyphenating. Had I not already thrown in with Jamie at that point, I would have endlessly pursued Shoni so when we eventually did get married, she'd have no paperwork to fill out.

So, anyway, I'm now trying to include all folks with the surname Steans in my Facebook as friends, as well as building a Group called "My Surname is Steans".

There are lots and lots of people from the UK with the last name Steans. Also, for reasons I am unclear on, everyone in the US with the last name Steans seems to be African American. Go figure. There could be some ugly historical context there as per what sort of jerks my forebears could have been, but the Steans family seems to have been mostly East Coast, and arrived in the latter portion of the 19th Century from Europe, so... I dunno. Either that, or I'm black and have no idea.

Anyhow, I'm trying to collect Steanses. Soon our numbers will be legion.



Also, I totally missed the last half of the Cowboys game the other night after giving up on them in the second half. Had I watched the second half, I would have seen one of the craziest Monday Night finales in recent memory. But, no... I was watching DVR'd episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".

Part of why I watch sports is the freak nature of the thing. Sometimes a team is down by more than a touch down, has thrown four interceptions in the first half, and can come back and win it in under a minute.

And here's the good, the bad and the ugly.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Monkey's Inhumanity to Monkey

Every once in a while, you come across a bit of media that so accurately reflects your view of the world, it's a bit startling. The media resonates so much that it seems as if you, yourself, were responsible for the media, were you more energized to write lengthy blog posts NOT praising Superman.

Thanks to Randy, I've come across just that sort of thing. And, of course, the media I refer to is an article in the online version of the semi-defunct humor magazine, "Cracked". Such is my fate.

The article is based upon research published in the 90's surrounding "Dunbar's Number", and, I guess, the research is pretty well assimilated into primate anthropology (which means that research into good 'ol human anthropology is applied).

The story in "Cracked" describes how our brains are really only capable of caring about 150 people or so at any given time. Through some evolutionary survival instinct, or perhaps because of the limited capacity of our noodle, we seem to be hard wired to find emotional connection to only a limited number of people. This wiring, coupled with how homo sapien has set up societies across the globe is probably responsible for many of our ills as a species.

Fairly serious stuff for Cracked, I'd say, but, of course, its written in the current, abso-ludicrous Cracked fashion, and so it's a highly digestible read.

Anyway, check out the article. It's worth a read.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Fall is here in spirit, if not in weather

Hey, Leaguers!

The mighty Texas Longhorns fell at the hands of the loathsome OU Sooners. It was a somewhat sorry showing. Sorry, JimD, if I didn't text you back. I was too busy mourning.

We'd headed over to CBG's place and watched the game with CBG, David, Xander and CBG's mom, Bettye. I hadn't seen Bettye in what seems to be years, so it was great to catch up a bit. Also Max was in attendance, Bettye's corgi. He was super friendly, as long as I didn't stand up. Which I can appreciate. I like me sitting, too.

Poor Xander was alarmed by what little cheering we mustered during the game. Fortunately for Xander, we will have very little to cheer about for the remainder of the '07 season.

Xander is almost in motion. He's working on walking, and he's figured out how to say "good", mostly in relation to cheddar crackers.

I'm not sure what happened with the game itself. UT seemed to get outplayed from the first quarter. The secondary appeared baffled by the OU pass offense, and the offensive line didn't seem able to contain the OU blitz. Add in Colt's inability to keep his head on a swivel and/ or run away when the line is breached, and it was a formula for a long drive home from Dallas for the UT fans.

At half-time we watched a DVR'd episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", a show I once gave an opportunity of about five minutes, and then wandered off. CBG had suggested I give it a shot, so I watched some new episodes this week, and it's ending up in the DVR rotation. To try to explain the show is not to do it justice, so I shall not bother.

After the game, Jason popped over and we wound up watching the new version of "Dawn of the Dead" as we got into the Halloween spirit. I think I like zombie movies more now than I used to, and this one was okay. I did feel the ending was a bit lame, but there you have it. I am coming to terms with the super-bleak ending to zombie movies as part and parcel of the formula, but I've never gotten over bits of the walking-dead formula as the laws of thermo dynamics are thrown out the window. For example, somehow in Dawn of the Dead, the zombies are still wandering around without any food after what seems to be more than a week. Still fairly peppy, too. I understand they're dead, but if they're driven by an insatiable hunger... Anyway, I still think 28 Days Later handled this the best of any zombie movie I've seen.

I also watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" for the annual October viewing. Perhaps I shall do a Halloween DITMTLOD in appreciation of Columbia.

Today Jamie and I got the spider web up, plus our ghost, Jim Dead-Man. I also planted a spooooooky light post I picked up at Target, and added some spider lights to the giant spider web. All in all, very festive, but our house is TERRIFYING (We really need to vacuum). ***Update: You can see a pic of the house here. Thanks, Jason.***

I have reason to believe one of our neighbors is going to way out-Halloween us. He's been working on a whole cemetery worth of stuff that I think is intended for his house, but I'm crossing my fingers that he intends it for a haunted house elsewhere and our house will remain the rulingist Halloween house on in the block. Because, honestly, his stuff looked really cool, which means our stuff will look quite lame in comparison.

I guess I'll enjoy it while I can.

Oh, "Friday Night Lights" is back on NBC. Get your DVR's set.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

What's Up at League HQ

The answer is: Not much.

But, Matt's girlfriend, Nicole, has recently moved into League HQ.

We want to be a house where the doors are open to friends and family (and maybe the occasional foe, but they'll get a bill). Nicole's brother is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia up in Dallas, and that's made her living situation a bit oddball, so... anyhoo, we've got a person living in our guest room.

If Matt and Nicole break up during all of this, so help me...

Nicole is small and fun, and this should all work out nicely.

Anyway, work has been okay lately. I saw two interesting projects coming down the pipe at the office, so I will probably get the third one... But, whatever. It beats digging ditches and people really seem to like the fake aquarium I recently bought at CVS for $10. Here's a picture of a similar one I found online. I am also letting co-workers name fish after themselves, and its amazing how long they take to select a fish they feel represents them somehow.

I'm productive at work, i swear to God.

I also found my Frenchman on Facebook. Long ago I worked at UT, and an international student came into my office, lost and looking for a job interview elsewhere. I, of course, hired him on the spot and put him to work that afternoon. No, really. I ran a tight ship in those days.

T-Tine (not his real name) was a good guy, and the first Frenchman I'd ever spent so much time with. T-Tine was also really, really smart. He was at UT to study satellite technology at the time, and is now getting his PhD in human computer interaction stuff.

Anyway, for some reason T-Tine and I hit it off. Mostly because he would let me intorduce him as "My Frenchman", but he also did confirm my suspicions regarding the French and their love of bagettes. He was absolutely hilarious, and I assume he still is, so I'm thrilled to have found him.


Oh... and the Cubs have been a soul crushing disappointment. Ah, well. Not really. They're the Cubs. If I had my hopes up, I could be considered legally insane.

Adam West: Dark Knight

If your copy of Dark Knight Returns is as mangled and mutilated from dozens of readings as mine is, then you will understand the following. Otherwise... not so much.



Here for more.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

The Big Bang Theory (sitcom) and Superman

To be clear: The show is not about comics, Superman, or comic geekdom. However...

Last week, due to a DVR catastrophe/ meltdown, we missed the opening episode of the new CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", a title which suggests either something either more in the realm of Nova or skewing into the adult film spectrum than the show actually delivers.

I wouldn't normally be up on the latest of CBS's sitcom offerings, but The Big Bang Theory stars Jim Parsons, a guy I know from high school and whose mom is still very pally with The Karebear. This week we got ourselves situated and watched the show rather than just letting it record (Jamie had also missed Heroes last week, and was quite despondent).

I am delighted to say that Jim is great as Sheldon, one of two geeky physicists living in an apartment across the hall from "Penny", an attractive Cheesecake Factory waitress. Of course, Penny is pretty, so the geeks across the hall (Sheldon excepted) awkwardly try to pitch woo while becoming distracted with geeky pursuits. Sheldon is the one decidedly not infatuated with the girl, and is, perhaps, mildly annoyed by his friend's infatuation. The program is a sort of "clash of cultures" comedy that pits stereotypes of socially awkward, but brilliant, minds against the stereotypes of pretty, anti-intellectualism without ever really taking sides.

What's interesting is that Sheldon is supposed to be a DC Comics fan, as hinted at through wardrobe choices and the opening segment of this week's episode in which the geeks were prepping for a Superman movie marathon.

It is odd to know exactly where you stand when you hear characters uttering actual conversations you've had as a point of amusement. Especially when the conversation is accurate, according to The Science of Superman (although Wolverton doesn't foresee Lois being cut into pieces as much as being smushed when Superman saves her).

Alas, I suppose I know I'm a geek. The 20-somethings at work have remarked as much, as have most girls in middle-school and high school. My wife. My parents. Jason, as often as possible.

What I do find curious is that the show looks at these sorts of things as tics rather than merely deriding comic fandom as a clean intersection with loserdom on the geek Venn Diagram (although most of the audience will surely read it that way, bringing their own opinions into the mix). The show has to ask you to respect Leonard and Sheldon to some extent, or else the premise of the multi-camera sit-com won't work (single camera sit-coms do not ask that you actually like the stars of the show. See: The Office, US and UK, and Arrested Development). So, just as Dustin Hoffman once bought his underwear at Sears when he wasn't counting matchsticks, our intrepid heroes ponder the might of the Green Lantern Corps when not discussing Newtonian Physics.

Further, its a sign that the 80's (and perhaps the 90's) have ended that the premise of the show is NOT the transformation of the leads "from geek to chic", but in letting Penny, and therefore the audience, discover the men behind the Superman t-shirts.

Now, from experience, I assure you, comic fandom may come part and parcel with a PhD in Physics (though I doubt it), but comic fandom absolutely does not equal genius in the sciences or much of anything else. It is nice, however, that the stereotype of my early comic reading days, that comics were for the dimwitted, apparently no longer applies (I was asked a question along these lines during an e-mail exchange with a journalist when I wrote for Comic Fodder. I was asked if I found readers to be kind of slow, or wasn't it a sign that the readers had no imagination of their own. No, she had no idea she was being sort of insulting.).

I withhold any opinion on The Big Bang Theory until more episodes air. I'm not sure how they intend to make the premise work over multiple seasons, but the producers do seem keenly aware that the trick to a show is a simple premise at first, then to build around the characters.

Anyhow, tune in and watch Jim.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Wisconsin and back again

Friday we left for Wisconsin for the wedding of Jamie's cousin, Steve. I have seen Steve four times now, and three of those times have been at weddings, one of which included my own wedding, during which most of Jamie's side of the family sort of blurred together. I've sorted things out now with the Clan McBride/ Hendrick/ Swalley side of the family. But, anyhoo, that was why we headed to lovely Lake Geneva.

We mostly traveled on Friday, checked into our hotel where the clerk insisted we wanted five rooms, but, no... we wanted three and would not pay for five no matter what their reservation sheet said. I think I know where the miscommunication happened, but... anyway.

Saturday we woke up and there happened to be a classic car show in the small town of Lake Geneva, so we wandered down to the show. They had a nifty sorta banana colored Nash Rambler, I think a '55, which was what Lois Lane drove in "The Adventures of Superman". Well, apparently the driver of teh car knew this as their license plate read "LOIS LN", which i saw only after geeking out and identifying the car.

I am a nerd.

They also had a lot of mid-50s Chevy's, which I've loved since middle school, especially in that goofy aqua color they used back then. I'm no car guy, but I do like the occasional car show. It does, however, make one feel totally lame for owning a Honda SUV.

We wound up having lunch with Steve (the groom), Jeff (his brother), Jack (Jeff's kid), Nancy (Steve and Jeff's mom) and Joe (Nancy's husband and a fun guy) at a surprisingly good restaurant. I then fell asleep for a while, read some Superman on the balcony of our hotel room while soaking in 70 degree temperatures, then watched OU disintegrate in the second half.

The wedding was in a horticultural garden, and was actually a good ceremony. Nothing cheesy. The bride was lovely and the groom sharp.

We set sail for the reception aboard a boat. Most importantly, a boat with an open bar.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of dancing, so that'll have to happen at the next wedding so Jamie can feel she's gotten her groove on properly.

Sunday we rose, ate a nice brunch with the rest of the wedding guests, then hopped back on a plane. We got home around 9:30 after getting the dogs from jason, etc...

Today Jamie wasn't feeling well, so we ran to the doctor. She's okay now, and all is well. But, you know... I wanted a day off when we came back, but not really this way.

I'm off to bed.

Hope all is well.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Weekends are better at Jason's



While we were off in Wisconsin for a wedding, Melbotis and Lucy stayed with Jason.

The other dog is Cassidy. Rrruuuooooouuurrrrr!!!!!!!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

The League OOO

The League will be out of office/ town as of tomorrow morning. We'll be back on Sunday evening.

We're headed to Jamie's cousin's wedding. Steve and his lady friend are making it legal somewhere in the wilds of Wisconsin, and so, off I go to Wisconsin.

Its kinda weird, because I don't get out of town too often and somehow I keep winding up in Wisconsin. Go figure.

Anyhow, if I don't reply to your comments, phone calls, e-mail or smoke signals, its not because I don't care.