1) Beverly Hills Chihuahua has been #1 at the box office for two weeks. It has earned $55 million domestically. here
2) There is a line of Beverly Hills Chihuahua stuff at Petsmart. Just say no. Dogs are not dolls.
3) Spoiler: Jonathan "Pa" Kent died in Action Comics #870 last week.
4) No matter how much time you have, it's never enough
5) This year when watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", I will know that both Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez are no longer with us
6) I talk a lot of smack about the future of comics being online, but I still only read Achewood and re-runs of Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts online for the most part. Other than that, I depend on Leaguers sending me funny strips. I never made it through Zuda's "Bayou", as I decided I'd rather wait to see if they printed it. They did not. I never got around to spending $60 this year to read back-issues of Marvel.
7) I will never read 99% of what I probably should, and, that roughly translates to option paralysis
8) Movies like Ratatouille get forgotten in favor of lesser films
9) Sometimes I don't know what it is that Lucy would like when she obviously wants something....
10) Too much of the time, I am not the change I am looking for
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Neverending Story of the Floors and Not-Living in Your House
Our furniture is back in the house, but I am now struck with the realization that I (and mostly likely I alone) will be putting all the stuff back on the shelves, etc... while Jamie is in Berkeley yukking it up with Douglas.
No worries. I'm just glad to have the furniture back in the house so I can sit on something other than cement.
My blogging has been a little light lately, I suppose, at least from a content perspective. Probably a product of a busy schedule and that I haven't been thinking "what shall I blog about?" so much as "what's on the agenda today that I need to get done?".
Things should be slowing down considerably for the next few days, and I admit that I'm looking forward to less-to-do. But I am not excited that Jamie will be AWOL until Sunday. Ryan sort of go crazy when Jamie go out of town...
No worries. I'm just glad to have the furniture back in the house so I can sit on something other than cement.
My blogging has been a little light lately, I suppose, at least from a content perspective. Probably a product of a busy schedule and that I haven't been thinking "what shall I blog about?" so much as "what's on the agenda today that I need to get done?".
Things should be slowing down considerably for the next few days, and I admit that I'm looking forward to less-to-do. But I am not excited that Jamie will be AWOL until Sunday. Ryan sort of go crazy when Jamie go out of town...
Happy B- Day, Funky L
You'll note we already had a bit of a celebration, but happy birthday to Lauren.
May this next journey around the sun be greater than the all those before, but be just the first of many, greater journeys to come.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Weekend and Whatnot
Lauren's B-Day at the Salt Lick
I have no photos, but on Saturday evening we headed out to the Salt Lick to celebrate the birthday of Lauren. Unfortunately, Jason and I took the "all you can eat" option as some sort of physical challenge, and so when Letty presented us with rum cake and Lauren with Pumpkin Pie, we could only have a bite of each. Jamie ALSO took the thing as a challenge, but I don't think she walked away with the same food-baby that Jason and I wound up with.
Anyhoo... this week is Lauren's B-Day, so everyone wish her the best as she turns... I'm not sure. 39? 17? Something in there.
We saw some friendly faces, caught up with Letty and Juan G. who recently visited Yellowstone, met some friends of Lauren's I'd not met before, and all-in-all, had a swell time.
In-Laws Now 100% More Texan
In the madness this week, I failed to mention that my in-laws, Judy and Dick, have moved to San Marcos, just south of us by about 30 minutes.
They've lived in Lawton, Oklahoma since the 1970's. Judy grew up in Central Houston (by the Bell building, if you know it), and then they did a stint in San Antonio when Dick was in the service (the Fighting 101st Dentists, I believe). Now they're safely tucked into the edge of the Texas Hill Country, not far at all from Wonder World Drive (if you know the area).
We are, of course, thrilled to have them here. I think it's safe to say Jamie and I are pretty close to both sets of parents, so not having to drive six hours to see them will be a welcome change.
My folks are actually closing on a house next week, I think, in Steiner Ranch, with plans to move out there in 2011 or so.
Wow, that sounds so futuristic.
Saturday - Day
The dudes finished at our place on Saturday, painting the living room and kitchen. It looks very, very different.
I've long wished for something other than white walls (a major issue for me in our house in Arizona), but it's pretty clear the builder assumed you were going to paint, and only put up the cheapest of white paints around the house to begin with.
So that's done. Sort of. We need to get the base-boards touched up.
We then watched the Red River Rivalry game at Jason's house while the guys painted, grabbed lunch with my parents at Central Market, then headed back to pay the guys.
We are moving everything back into the house on Tuesday morning. Then we'll probably have to move things so we can put down rugs later, but we need to save up for a while before that happens.
Sunday
We picked up a water-splatter mat for Lucy and Mel's waterbowl, then headed to Taco Express (aka: Mary's, Maria's), which in true Austin Institution fashion has mediocre service, decent food, and a horrible layout which is all but a people-mill.
But, as with most places with decent food, once you sit down, you sort of forget about the hassle.
Last night Jamie and her mom went to the "So You Think You Can Dance?" tour. Which, you know, I'm not judging anyone... They seemed to have fun. Jamie's dad (who is devoid of a cool nickname, so we'll need to come up with one) and I did some stuff around the house, then hung out til Judy and Jamie returned.
Return of Dogs
A special thank you to Jason for housing my dogs since Monday night. They're a handful, especially with Mel's stubbornness and Lucy's endless energy, so my kudos to the man.
They came home yesterday, and were obviously terribly confused by (a) the lack of furniture, and (b) the new slidy-ness of the floors. Mel took a few minutes to adjust. We'll have to put some rugs down for Cassidy, I'm thinking.
Last night Lucy came and slept in bed. I woke up this morning with Lucy sprawled out near me and Mel on the floor (he rarely comes upstairs). Neither came down with me when I left for the day. I think they're sticking to familiar territory and carpeting.
UT Hits #1 in rankings (this week)
I'm not talking academics, I'm talking about what really matters for alumni: Football.
Mack Brown's kids soundly defeated OU, and for some reason, the AP Poll vote talleys placed them at #1. A dangerous place to be, as this now changes the game to "who can knock the #1 team off their pedestal?"
And the UT season is really just heating up. We've now got to face other competition such as Tech (always a hard opponent) and Missouri.
I'm happy as heck if we stay high enough in rankings to end up in a BCS game. To me, that far exceeds a winning season. As every Texas fan knows, the games that matter are OU and A&M, so we're now 1 for 1. But A&M also always goes nuts on UT in that game (see: last year).
Anyway, UT has already exceeded my expectations all year. Hopefully they can win the rest of the season, too.
Hook 'Em.
I have no photos, but on Saturday evening we headed out to the Salt Lick to celebrate the birthday of Lauren. Unfortunately, Jason and I took the "all you can eat" option as some sort of physical challenge, and so when Letty presented us with rum cake and Lauren with Pumpkin Pie, we could only have a bite of each. Jamie ALSO took the thing as a challenge, but I don't think she walked away with the same food-baby that Jason and I wound up with.
Anyhoo... this week is Lauren's B-Day, so everyone wish her the best as she turns... I'm not sure. 39? 17? Something in there.
We saw some friendly faces, caught up with Letty and Juan G. who recently visited Yellowstone, met some friends of Lauren's I'd not met before, and all-in-all, had a swell time.
In-Laws Now 100% More Texan
In the madness this week, I failed to mention that my in-laws, Judy and Dick, have moved to San Marcos, just south of us by about 30 minutes.
They've lived in Lawton, Oklahoma since the 1970's. Judy grew up in Central Houston (by the Bell building, if you know it), and then they did a stint in San Antonio when Dick was in the service (the Fighting 101st Dentists, I believe). Now they're safely tucked into the edge of the Texas Hill Country, not far at all from Wonder World Drive (if you know the area).
We are, of course, thrilled to have them here. I think it's safe to say Jamie and I are pretty close to both sets of parents, so not having to drive six hours to see them will be a welcome change.
My folks are actually closing on a house next week, I think, in Steiner Ranch, with plans to move out there in 2011 or so.
Wow, that sounds so futuristic.
Saturday - Day
The dudes finished at our place on Saturday, painting the living room and kitchen. It looks very, very different.
I've long wished for something other than white walls (a major issue for me in our house in Arizona), but it's pretty clear the builder assumed you were going to paint, and only put up the cheapest of white paints around the house to begin with.
So that's done. Sort of. We need to get the base-boards touched up.
We then watched the Red River Rivalry game at Jason's house while the guys painted, grabbed lunch with my parents at Central Market, then headed back to pay the guys.
We are moving everything back into the house on Tuesday morning. Then we'll probably have to move things so we can put down rugs later, but we need to save up for a while before that happens.
Sunday
We picked up a water-splatter mat for Lucy and Mel's waterbowl, then headed to Taco Express (aka: Mary's, Maria's), which in true Austin Institution fashion has mediocre service, decent food, and a horrible layout which is all but a people-mill.
But, as with most places with decent food, once you sit down, you sort of forget about the hassle.
Last night Jamie and her mom went to the "So You Think You Can Dance?" tour. Which, you know, I'm not judging anyone... They seemed to have fun. Jamie's dad (who is devoid of a cool nickname, so we'll need to come up with one) and I did some stuff around the house, then hung out til Judy and Jamie returned.
Return of Dogs
A special thank you to Jason for housing my dogs since Monday night. They're a handful, especially with Mel's stubbornness and Lucy's endless energy, so my kudos to the man.
They came home yesterday, and were obviously terribly confused by (a) the lack of furniture, and (b) the new slidy-ness of the floors. Mel took a few minutes to adjust. We'll have to put some rugs down for Cassidy, I'm thinking.
Last night Lucy came and slept in bed. I woke up this morning with Lucy sprawled out near me and Mel on the floor (he rarely comes upstairs). Neither came down with me when I left for the day. I think they're sticking to familiar territory and carpeting.
UT Hits #1 in rankings (this week)
I'm not talking academics, I'm talking about what really matters for alumni: Football.
Mack Brown's kids soundly defeated OU, and for some reason, the AP Poll vote talleys placed them at #1. A dangerous place to be, as this now changes the game to "who can knock the #1 team off their pedestal?"
And the UT season is really just heating up. We've now got to face other competition such as Tech (always a hard opponent) and Missouri.
I'm happy as heck if we stay high enough in rankings to end up in a BCS game. To me, that far exceeds a winning season. As every Texas fan knows, the games that matter are OU and A&M, so we're now 1 for 1. But A&M also always goes nuts on UT in that game (see: last year).
Anyway, UT has already exceeded my expectations all year. Hopefully they can win the rest of the season, too.
Hook 'Em.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
UT wins (a big surprise)
So, I had gone into today's UT game believing that #1 ranked Oklahoma would surely rack up about 45 points, and we'd get, maybe 35. It was a test not to see if we could beat Oklahoma, which we surely could not, but to see how we would stack up against the rest of the teams we would be playing.
As you probably already know, UT won the game 45 - 35. And if the refs hadn't made that horrendous "roughing the kicker" call (which was really just the kicker cramping up again after his ill-advised running play), who knows what the final outcome would have been.
"At least it's a good game" we were saying well into the 3rd quarter, pleased that UT was keeping pace with OU. And then UT took the lead, and... well... 2008 just got better in a lot of ways.
I have no idea where UT is headed BCS-wise, but I know Colt McCoy and Co. now have a huge target painted on their backs for the remainder of the season. I am now believing we could very well end up in a real BCS bowl this year.
Whoo-hoo!
Oh, and a very special welcome to Texas for my in-laws, who just moved to San Marcos from Oklahoma this week.
As you probably already know, UT won the game 45 - 35. And if the refs hadn't made that horrendous "roughing the kicker" call (which was really just the kicker cramping up again after his ill-advised running play), who knows what the final outcome would have been.
"At least it's a good game" we were saying well into the 3rd quarter, pleased that UT was keeping pace with OU. And then UT took the lead, and... well... 2008 just got better in a lot of ways.
I have no idea where UT is headed BCS-wise, but I know Colt McCoy and Co. now have a huge target painted on their backs for the remainder of the season. I am now believing we could very well end up in a real BCS bowl this year.
Whoo-hoo!
Oh, and a very special welcome to Texas for my in-laws, who just moved to San Marcos from Oklahoma this week.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Happy Birthday to Meredith B.
The League figures we won't remember to do Meredith B. the solid next year, so a happy birthday wish to Meredith B.
I met Meredith, originally, in elementary school when we both attended Haude Elementary. Mere and I were in a play together, "How the Sea Got Salty" (or something along those lines). I played "The Poor Boy" who goes mad with power when he steals a magic salt shaker from elves (I feel like I've taken crazy pills even as I describe the play), and Meredith played "Gabby Goblin".
We later went on to be several plays together in high school, and were sort of bossy to lower classmen together as Seniors. We were in:
The Crucible
You Can't Take it With You
Watch on the Rhine
Rhimers of Eldritch
Rumors
All My Sons
And probably something I'm missing. But we spent a LOT of time together backstage and in and outside of school. Sometimes with The League's own Jill H-W. I know we also had Junior year English together, because I think Jill was in there, too... And so was Denise...
Wow... there's a lot of Ms. Richard's 1991-1992 Honors English class represented at LoM. If only David Parajon, Laura A. and that Beth girl who sat in front of me would show up...
Meredith and I were supposed to go to summer drama camp together, and then she headed off to North Carolina for drama camp and I went to UT for camp. Not so surprisingly, she headed off to NC for school. But before that, we hung out quite a bit.
Meredith is also the only person I know who has almost, literally, crashed into a bus full of nuns (I doubt she remembers this, but I remember the looks on the faces of those nuns as if it were yesterday).
Younger readers will be shocked to learn that people once sort of lost touch with one another as e-mail and Facebook did not exist. But, now that they do, I am happy to be back in touch with Mere and hear she and the Family B. are doing well in NC.
You can keep up with Mere at her blog.
I met Meredith, originally, in elementary school when we both attended Haude Elementary. Mere and I were in a play together, "How the Sea Got Salty" (or something along those lines). I played "The Poor Boy" who goes mad with power when he steals a magic salt shaker from elves (I feel like I've taken crazy pills even as I describe the play), and Meredith played "Gabby Goblin".
We later went on to be several plays together in high school, and were sort of bossy to lower classmen together as Seniors. We were in:
The Crucible
You Can't Take it With You
Watch on the Rhine
Rhimers of Eldritch
Rumors
All My Sons
And probably something I'm missing. But we spent a LOT of time together backstage and in and outside of school. Sometimes with The League's own Jill H-W. I know we also had Junior year English together, because I think Jill was in there, too... And so was Denise...
Wow... there's a lot of Ms. Richard's 1991-1992 Honors English class represented at LoM. If only David Parajon, Laura A. and that Beth girl who sat in front of me would show up...
Meredith and I were supposed to go to summer drama camp together, and then she headed off to North Carolina for drama camp and I went to UT for camp. Not so surprisingly, she headed off to NC for school. But before that, we hung out quite a bit.
Meredith is also the only person I know who has almost, literally, crashed into a bus full of nuns (I doubt she remembers this, but I remember the looks on the faces of those nuns as if it were yesterday).
Younger readers will be shocked to learn that people once sort of lost touch with one another as e-mail and Facebook did not exist. But, now that they do, I am happy to be back in touch with Mere and hear she and the Family B. are doing well in NC.
You can keep up with Mere at her blog.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
10 Things to Do to Prepare for Halloween
1) Watch Thriller Video
Is anything more Halloween-o-rific than the full video for Thriller? It's scary, campy, has a werewolf movie within the movie, has dancing and singing and a horde of zombies. Really, if you're going to be attacked by zombies, I hope its of the dancing variety.
Here's the full version.
I can't embed the full version of the video, so here's a version from India:
By the way, Austin is participating in some worldwide, synchronized Thriller dance on October 25th. They're going to shut down 6th street to make way for the dancers. From what I saw on News 8, Austin Mayor Will Wynn is participating.
Somehow, I regret not getting me, Steven and Mangum involved in this...
2) Caramel Apples
This year, I want to skip the wax sheet, pre-cut caramel and do the full, heated dipped caramel apples.
Dizzam. I love a good caramel apple. Especially tart green apples.
3) Watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
I hate to think how much this cartoon affected me as a kid, but I think the mix of hilarity and disappointment that marks "Great Pumpkin" is something every kid can sort of relate to.
I got a rock, indeed.
4) Do the Time Warp
Ah, Columbia.
They're looking to remake The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I cannot imagine this movie without the original cast, but if they DO choose to do it, hopefully they can get Tim Curry to play The Criminologist.
5) Get Super-suit squared away.
Yup, I'll be the Man of Steel again this year. That costume wasn't cheap last year, and I'm not ready to go back to being Green Lantern again for Halloween.
6) Hang up decorations
Due to our displacement, we haven't managed to get the decorations out yet for Halloween. Maybe on Sunday.
7) Watch a full-length scary movie or ten
We watched Ghost Hunters last night to get in the spirit, but we haven't gotten around to a scary movie yet...
8) Decide on Halloween candy for the kiddies
This is always a much bigger deal than it sounds. We have to figure out how much we want to pay for, and this year, I'm assuming we'll have a ton of kids with Halloween landing on a Friday. We'll probably do a mix of chocolate and sugary-type stuff, and be more sparing in how much we give out.
9) Consider hitting 6th Street Halloween
If you haven't been... it's usually 80,000 people who mill about, with a sort of informal constant circling of a blocked off portion of the street. It's a lot of people watching.
You see all manner of costumes, from the incredibly elaborate to the frat boys who get drunk and show up wearing saran-wrap diapers (that was Halloween 1996, if memory serves). My favorite is still the guy who came as the Grim Reaper, stood about nine feet tall, and would just point at random people as he passed by. Truly creepy.
It's been probably 10 years since I've been down there on Halloween. I miss it, but I also don't know if I want to go downtown in a Supersuit.
10) Invite Apartment-Dwelling pals down to hand out candy
If anyone wants to help us hand out candy this year, we'd love to have you. Maybe we can have an impromptu Halloween party of sorts?
Just wear a costume and come hang out. It'll be fun.
Is anything more Halloween-o-rific than the full video for Thriller? It's scary, campy, has a werewolf movie within the movie, has dancing and singing and a horde of zombies. Really, if you're going to be attacked by zombies, I hope its of the dancing variety.
Here's the full version.
I can't embed the full version of the video, so here's a version from India:
By the way, Austin is participating in some worldwide, synchronized Thriller dance on October 25th. They're going to shut down 6th street to make way for the dancers. From what I saw on News 8, Austin Mayor Will Wynn is participating.
Somehow, I regret not getting me, Steven and Mangum involved in this...
2) Caramel Apples
This year, I want to skip the wax sheet, pre-cut caramel and do the full, heated dipped caramel apples.
Dizzam. I love a good caramel apple. Especially tart green apples.
3) Watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
I hate to think how much this cartoon affected me as a kid, but I think the mix of hilarity and disappointment that marks "Great Pumpkin" is something every kid can sort of relate to.
I got a rock, indeed.
4) Do the Time Warp
Ah, Columbia.
They're looking to remake The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I cannot imagine this movie without the original cast, but if they DO choose to do it, hopefully they can get Tim Curry to play The Criminologist.
5) Get Super-suit squared away.
Yup, I'll be the Man of Steel again this year. That costume wasn't cheap last year, and I'm not ready to go back to being Green Lantern again for Halloween.
6) Hang up decorations
Due to our displacement, we haven't managed to get the decorations out yet for Halloween. Maybe on Sunday.
7) Watch a full-length scary movie or ten
We watched Ghost Hunters last night to get in the spirit, but we haven't gotten around to a scary movie yet...
8) Decide on Halloween candy for the kiddies
This is always a much bigger deal than it sounds. We have to figure out how much we want to pay for, and this year, I'm assuming we'll have a ton of kids with Halloween landing on a Friday. We'll probably do a mix of chocolate and sugary-type stuff, and be more sparing in how much we give out.
9) Consider hitting 6th Street Halloween
If you haven't been... it's usually 80,000 people who mill about, with a sort of informal constant circling of a blocked off portion of the street. It's a lot of people watching.
You see all manner of costumes, from the incredibly elaborate to the frat boys who get drunk and show up wearing saran-wrap diapers (that was Halloween 1996, if memory serves). My favorite is still the guy who came as the Grim Reaper, stood about nine feet tall, and would just point at random people as he passed by. Truly creepy.
It's been probably 10 years since I've been down there on Halloween. I miss it, but I also don't know if I want to go downtown in a Supersuit.
10) Invite Apartment-Dwelling pals down to hand out candy
If anyone wants to help us hand out candy this year, we'd love to have you. Maybe we can have an impromptu Halloween party of sorts?
Just wear a costume and come hang out. It'll be fun.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Displacement - Day 3
So today is day 3 of displacement, and already I think I'm starting to lose it a bit.
And poor Jason is okay with playing host to dogs, but I'm not sure he can put up with me and my passive-aggressive "I don't care what we watch" as he tries to find something on cable.
They have successfully scored the floor (cut grooves into it) and stained the concrete. Tomorrow is a "finishing coat". Then, on Friday, they'll paint the walls. The whole thing is going okay, I guess. It's not even a long process when you see what they're doing. It's just a LOT of stuff going on and you hope it worth it.
Right now, it seems like it will be. Especially if you'd seen the state of the carpet they pulled up.
Then, we have to move furniture back into the house from the garage, followed by bringing all our stuff back downstairs that went upstairs. Which is just a reminder that you own too much stuff.
I think we'll be done with the important stuff by Monday or Tuesday. Then, gradually, we can bring the stuff back down, which will be probably less hassle than bringing it up (I love books. I just don't love hauling them upstairs in stacks).
I guess I should take some pictures when we finish things up...
And poor Jason is okay with playing host to dogs, but I'm not sure he can put up with me and my passive-aggressive "I don't care what we watch" as he tries to find something on cable.
They have successfully scored the floor (cut grooves into it) and stained the concrete. Tomorrow is a "finishing coat". Then, on Friday, they'll paint the walls. The whole thing is going okay, I guess. It's not even a long process when you see what they're doing. It's just a LOT of stuff going on and you hope it worth it.
Right now, it seems like it will be. Especially if you'd seen the state of the carpet they pulled up.
Then, we have to move furniture back into the house from the garage, followed by bringing all our stuff back downstairs that went upstairs. Which is just a reminder that you own too much stuff.
I think we'll be done with the important stuff by Monday or Tuesday. Then, gradually, we can bring the stuff back down, which will be probably less hassle than bringing it up (I love books. I just don't love hauling them upstairs in stacks).
I guess I should take some pictures when we finish things up...
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Investing for the Future?
Here's an interesting column from Newsarama.
It seems that as stocks are plunging, somebody is investing in back-issues of comics.
Here's the sort-of interesting thing about Back-Issues. Theoretically, there's a limited and dwindling supply. There are only so many copies left in existence of, say, "Jimmy Olsen #134". Unless someone finds a comic miser with an endless warehouse where he's keeping literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of copies of the comic, the rarity of the comic is part of the price point. You cannot grow or mine more Jimmy Olsen #134. You cannot manufacture more Jimmy Olsen #134. One thing that can decrease is the number of people who want a copy of Jimmy Olsen #134.
And, of course, copies of Jimmy Olsen #134 are deteriorating. They are being kept off the market by Jimmy Olsen collectors. They are being destroyed as comic shops suffer damage in hurricanes and floods (Houston's Westheimer location for the superlative "Bedrock Comics" took a huge beating during Hurricane Ike, in which a HUGE portion of their back issue stock was destroyed.)
In theory, then, Silver Age comics, in particular, hold value pretty well despite tumultuous economic times, and are much more likely to go up than down in value.
What we know now, versus what we thought in the mid-90's, is that not every issue is a collector's item. No matter what sort of holographic cover, or trading card is stapled inside, a bagged and boarded comic is only a bagged and boarded comic of, at best, dubious value. Only time will decide what is a collector's item.
But, before you throw a stack of comics in the recycling, as I did circa 1999, check to make sure none of them are worth $100, as I later learned one of my comics was valued(Lady Death #1). Go figure.*
Anyway, its interesting to hear investors are making a run on Silver Age comics. I don't have much in the way of a Silver Age collection as its very cost-prohibitive, but compared to a single share of, say, Initech, it's not that bad. It's just not going to make you a profit so much as be a fairly safe place to put your money for a while. Off the market, the comics will probably retain value (especially Silver Age, which is a very different market than modern or Bronze). Like anything else, however, if the investors re-flood the market... it's going to drive costs down. Which is nice for the collector, but for the dealer, its not going to be great.
That's not to say that those misers aren't out there with warehouses full of comics. They darn well may be. You hear a lot about estate sales where comics come up, and it can be anything from a shoebox full of moldy Archies to a storage space full of Silver Age classics. And, I hate to say it, but as collectors die, need a cash influx, etc... those collections will continue to rotate to some degree.
I don't lose a lot of sleep over it, but I do worry that if I croak tomorrow, Jamie and my parents are going to just drop off my whole collection in a dumpster behind Target. At minimum, I'd hope they would drop everything off at Austin Books so SOMEBODY could make a profit off the collection (note to Austin Books... that's a respectable run on New Gods and Mister Miracle... throw them a few bucks in the case of my untimely demise, okay?).
Unlike stocks, T-bills and pork bellies, there's not too much of a regulatory commission for the value of comics. So its something of a pure economic model. Find the price point of a back-issue by whether or not you can actually sell it to somebody (anybody) at that cost. Supply and demand in its simplest form. And maybe that's why so much of the back-issue market has gone to eBay, where you can see the transaction in real time. Kind of fascinating. But, as a total pain for the retailer, its done on a literally comic-by-comic, or run-by-run basis. And that's a lot of work to manage. Thus the built in S&H fee on so many comics.
*The comic is no longer worth that amount, but hit that selling point about seven years ago.
It seems that as stocks are plunging, somebody is investing in back-issues of comics.
Here's the sort-of interesting thing about Back-Issues. Theoretically, there's a limited and dwindling supply. There are only so many copies left in existence of, say, "Jimmy Olsen #134". Unless someone finds a comic miser with an endless warehouse where he's keeping literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of copies of the comic, the rarity of the comic is part of the price point. You cannot grow or mine more Jimmy Olsen #134. You cannot manufacture more Jimmy Olsen #134. One thing that can decrease is the number of people who want a copy of Jimmy Olsen #134.
And, of course, copies of Jimmy Olsen #134 are deteriorating. They are being kept off the market by Jimmy Olsen collectors. They are being destroyed as comic shops suffer damage in hurricanes and floods (Houston's Westheimer location for the superlative "Bedrock Comics" took a huge beating during Hurricane Ike, in which a HUGE portion of their back issue stock was destroyed.)
In theory, then, Silver Age comics, in particular, hold value pretty well despite tumultuous economic times, and are much more likely to go up than down in value.
What we know now, versus what we thought in the mid-90's, is that not every issue is a collector's item. No matter what sort of holographic cover, or trading card is stapled inside, a bagged and boarded comic is only a bagged and boarded comic of, at best, dubious value. Only time will decide what is a collector's item.
But, before you throw a stack of comics in the recycling, as I did circa 1999, check to make sure none of them are worth $100, as I later learned one of my comics was valued(Lady Death #1). Go figure.*
Anyway, its interesting to hear investors are making a run on Silver Age comics. I don't have much in the way of a Silver Age collection as its very cost-prohibitive, but compared to a single share of, say, Initech, it's not that bad. It's just not going to make you a profit so much as be a fairly safe place to put your money for a while. Off the market, the comics will probably retain value (especially Silver Age, which is a very different market than modern or Bronze). Like anything else, however, if the investors re-flood the market... it's going to drive costs down. Which is nice for the collector, but for the dealer, its not going to be great.
That's not to say that those misers aren't out there with warehouses full of comics. They darn well may be. You hear a lot about estate sales where comics come up, and it can be anything from a shoebox full of moldy Archies to a storage space full of Silver Age classics. And, I hate to say it, but as collectors die, need a cash influx, etc... those collections will continue to rotate to some degree.
I don't lose a lot of sleep over it, but I do worry that if I croak tomorrow, Jamie and my parents are going to just drop off my whole collection in a dumpster behind Target. At minimum, I'd hope they would drop everything off at Austin Books so SOMEBODY could make a profit off the collection (note to Austin Books... that's a respectable run on New Gods and Mister Miracle... throw them a few bucks in the case of my untimely demise, okay?).
Unlike stocks, T-bills and pork bellies, there's not too much of a regulatory commission for the value of comics. So its something of a pure economic model. Find the price point of a back-issue by whether or not you can actually sell it to somebody (anybody) at that cost. Supply and demand in its simplest form. And maybe that's why so much of the back-issue market has gone to eBay, where you can see the transaction in real time. Kind of fascinating. But, as a total pain for the retailer, its done on a literally comic-by-comic, or run-by-run basis. And that's a lot of work to manage. Thus the built in S&H fee on so many comics.
*The comic is no longer worth that amount, but hit that selling point about seven years ago.
Monday, October 06, 2008
It seems redundant these days to announce that change is afoot at League HQ, but, yes, once again, it seems to be the case.
My professional life seems to have zagged and then zigged, but that's stuff I don't want to talk about until the dust settles, so pardon my silence on that for the time being.
Meanwhile, we're tearing up all the carpeting and linoleum on the first floor tomorrow, which means I'm sitting in the middle of an empty room on the floor. Local Leaguers will know the League HQ living rooms couches, coffee table, etc... all of that is in the garage.
Thanks to the power of dogs, we've made an executive decision to go stained concrete. And to paint.
Anyhow, by this time next week, I expect the place will look completely different, and no more will I look at the carpet and weep. Instead, I'll endlessly be sweeping up dog-fur clusters.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO KAREBEAR
Jamie and I had some scheduling difficulty today... so you want to know what kind of person KareBear, my mother, is?
She got up at 4:30 AM, hopped in the car and drove all the way to Austin and helped oversee the movers who were moving our junk into the garage. That, people, is insane. And for anyone who ever wonders who they should pick to have on their side when push comes to shove...? You pick who you're going to pick. I pick my mom.
I owe her so huge, I can't get my head around it.
Anyhow, I got up at a respectable hour today, so I'm tired and am cashing in my chips.
My professional life seems to have zagged and then zigged, but that's stuff I don't want to talk about until the dust settles, so pardon my silence on that for the time being.
Meanwhile, we're tearing up all the carpeting and linoleum on the first floor tomorrow, which means I'm sitting in the middle of an empty room on the floor. Local Leaguers will know the League HQ living rooms couches, coffee table, etc... all of that is in the garage.
Thanks to the power of dogs, we've made an executive decision to go stained concrete. And to paint.
Anyhow, by this time next week, I expect the place will look completely different, and no more will I look at the carpet and weep. Instead, I'll endlessly be sweeping up dog-fur clusters.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO KAREBEAR
Jamie and I had some scheduling difficulty today... so you want to know what kind of person KareBear, my mother, is?
She got up at 4:30 AM, hopped in the car and drove all the way to Austin and helped oversee the movers who were moving our junk into the garage. That, people, is insane. And for anyone who ever wonders who they should pick to have on their side when push comes to shove...? You pick who you're going to pick. I pick my mom.
I owe her so huge, I can't get my head around it.
Anyhow, I got up at a respectable hour today, so I'm tired and am cashing in my chips.
Art Spiegelman in Austin
Austin readers may be interested to know that Art Spiegelman, creator of the award-winning Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers (a stunning piece of work, whether you agree with Spiegelman's politik or not), will be appearing Tuesday at Book People.
He's got a new book out and he's there for a signing. I'm not expecting a reading because, you know... comics.*
7:00 PM at Book people on the 7th.
*I once narrated an entire issue of Superman to a co-worker via closed-circuit head-sets. The funny part was when I had mercy and stopped half-way through, there was this pause, and then she asked "...so then what happens?" So I finished the comic and describing the pictures therein. A terribly gratifying moment.
He's got a new book out and he's there for a signing. I'm not expecting a reading because, you know... comics.*
7:00 PM at Book people on the 7th.
*I once narrated an entire issue of Superman to a co-worker via closed-circuit head-sets. The funny part was when I had mercy and stopped half-way through, there was this pause, and then she asked "...so then what happens?" So I finished the comic and describing the pictures therein. A terribly gratifying moment.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Superman on the Church Organ
Steven sent this:
From the YouTube page:
There are some themes so well known, you just can't mess with them. Superman, Star Wars, Star Trek, Bond, Pink Panther... when you remake the movie, you better consider how you're going to fit the theme in.
Superman Returns re-used Williams' Superman score, as has Smallville to tremendous effect in the episodes featuring Christopher Reeve before his death. And while not everyone is a huge Superman nut... 30 years on and people still know that theme. And it warms the heart to see folks give it up for the organist and Williams' music.
Something for WB to consider.
I don't want to dismiss Mr. Jackson's work here. Wow! That's a lot of music to translate to the organ, and he did it with the right spirit.
I should mention: When Jamie, Steanso, Peabo, Randy and I met up with JimD in Beaumont for a screening of Superman at the Jefferson Theater, THEY had an organist who, I believe, also gave the Superman theme a whirl. We wound up talking to the guy for a while after the movie. Terrific gentleman.
Thanks, Steven!
From the YouTube page:
Organist Sean Jackson plays the theme from Superman on the organ at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City.
There are some themes so well known, you just can't mess with them. Superman, Star Wars, Star Trek, Bond, Pink Panther... when you remake the movie, you better consider how you're going to fit the theme in.
Superman Returns re-used Williams' Superman score, as has Smallville to tremendous effect in the episodes featuring Christopher Reeve before his death. And while not everyone is a huge Superman nut... 30 years on and people still know that theme. And it warms the heart to see folks give it up for the organist and Williams' music.
Something for WB to consider.
I don't want to dismiss Mr. Jackson's work here. Wow! That's a lot of music to translate to the organ, and he did it with the right spirit.
I should mention: When Jamie, Steanso, Peabo, Randy and I met up with JimD in Beaumont for a screening of Superman at the Jefferson Theater, THEY had an organist who, I believe, also gave the Superman theme a whirl. We wound up talking to the guy for a while after the movie. Terrific gentleman.
Thanks, Steven!
Four Super-Films For Super Cheap!
I was looking at something unrelated on Amazon and I stumbled across this.
You can order a 4-pack of the Chris Reeve Superman movies for $14.00. If you've got kids who haven't seen any Superman movies, or if you've just never bothered to add the Superman movies to your DVD library... this seems like a heck of a deal. (That's 492 minutes of Superman awesomeness... quite a bargain if you ask me.)
My guess is this is WB's way of clearing their warehouse full of Superman DVD's as Blu-Ray takes over, but why not let WB's overstocking be your super windfall?
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Legos
You know what I miss? Legos.
Technically, plural for Lego is still Lego, but in 33 years of my life, I think I've pulled that off, maybe, five times. So, we shall refer to lots of Lego as Legos.
The Admiral made a comment to me not too long ago that I played with Legos right up through high school, and I was all "oh, that's crazy, no I didn't."
But, everytime KareBear had kids in the house, she'd haul out my Legos, and I'd find myself sitting on the ground assembling Legos into space ships right through graduation.
I understand there are adult collectors of Legos who make magnificent Lego sculptures, but I find them sort of cost-prohibitive, and I threw in with Action Figures v. Legos long ago (I have shelves and shelves of Super Friends, for those of you who don't know). And moving Legos is a total pain. But I sort of miss sitting on the floor and trying to build an intergalactic star cruiser.
We never had Legos like some other families who would roll out these amazing piles of pieces, but we had a pretty good set up. I would make whatever the kit suggested once or twice, and then make my own stuff. That always seemed the point to me... to follow the basic instructions so you could understand how it fit together, and then go off and do your own thing with the parts.
With Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones Legos out there these days, I bet kids have a field day. Add in the standard moon-scapes, rockets ships, airports, etc... Well, it's a slippery slope before you're living in a house constructed on tiny pieces of plastic.
And some of the other options... I mean, look... Build the Taj Mahal from Lego. How cool is that? Or the Death Star?
This set called "Star Justice" is pretty close to the kind of stuff I liked as a kid. But, look how totally expensive that is... Man, I feel for you parents trying to properly outfit your kids with Legos. No wonder The Admiral and KareBear were always working so hard... to keep us knee deep in Legos, it seems.
Anyway, no Legos for me. I don't think Jamie wants a million plastic pieces scattered everywhere. But whenever I see ads in print or on TV, I do start thinking of what you could build with the pieces to the new sets...
Technically, plural for Lego is still Lego, but in 33 years of my life, I think I've pulled that off, maybe, five times. So, we shall refer to lots of Lego as Legos.
The Admiral made a comment to me not too long ago that I played with Legos right up through high school, and I was all "oh, that's crazy, no I didn't."
But, everytime KareBear had kids in the house, she'd haul out my Legos, and I'd find myself sitting on the ground assembling Legos into space ships right through graduation.
I understand there are adult collectors of Legos who make magnificent Lego sculptures, but I find them sort of cost-prohibitive, and I threw in with Action Figures v. Legos long ago (I have shelves and shelves of Super Friends, for those of you who don't know). And moving Legos is a total pain. But I sort of miss sitting on the floor and trying to build an intergalactic star cruiser.
We never had Legos like some other families who would roll out these amazing piles of pieces, but we had a pretty good set up. I would make whatever the kit suggested once or twice, and then make my own stuff. That always seemed the point to me... to follow the basic instructions so you could understand how it fit together, and then go off and do your own thing with the parts.
With Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones Legos out there these days, I bet kids have a field day. Add in the standard moon-scapes, rockets ships, airports, etc... Well, it's a slippery slope before you're living in a house constructed on tiny pieces of plastic.
And some of the other options... I mean, look... Build the Taj Mahal from Lego. How cool is that? Or the Death Star?
This set called "Star Justice" is pretty close to the kind of stuff I liked as a kid. But, look how totally expensive that is... Man, I feel for you parents trying to properly outfit your kids with Legos. No wonder The Admiral and KareBear were always working so hard... to keep us knee deep in Legos, it seems.
Anyway, no Legos for me. I don't think Jamie wants a million plastic pieces scattered everywhere. But whenever I see ads in print or on TV, I do start thinking of what you could build with the pieces to the new sets...
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Not Much to Report
Went down to Somnio's this evening to see the Mono E rock out. They sounded pretty darn good, and I was pleasantly surprised by the menu and food at Somnio's.
Aside from that, today was pretty busy with work-related stuff. Perhaps more on that next week.
I did not watch the VP debate. If you did, goody for you.
Anyhoo, it'll be Friday when you're reading this, and people always seem to disappear by end of week, so...
I dunno.
Aside from that, today was pretty busy with work-related stuff. Perhaps more on that next week.
I did not watch the VP debate. If you did, goody for you.
Anyhoo, it'll be Friday when you're reading this, and people always seem to disappear by end of week, so...
I dunno.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
This Week
This week has been exhausting.
This weekend will get worse. We have to basically move all the stuff out of the first floor and into the garage. We're re-doing the floors and that means... nothing on the first floor.
Thursday Night
Jason's band is playing at Somnio's at 1807 South First tomorrow, around dinner time.
I can't speak for the food, as I haven't tried it yet, but I can guarantee that you'll be happy enough just seeing Jason rock out. I promise you, if you show up, he will totally windmill Townsend style.
Tropic Thunder
As I haven't really been able to entertain Jamie properly in over a week, I acquiesced and took her to see "Tropic Thunder" at the Alamo.
It's a good renter or HBO movie. Reasonably funny, I guess. I could see how certain interests groups took umbrage, but I can also see, from a Hollywood point of view, what their point might have been. Unfortunately, the two met in a certain point where it could be taken either way.
The Departed and Cable
I finally watched "The Departed" last weekend. I can't tell you how much that was exactly my kind of movie.
We currently have some premium movie channels as well as Netflix, and it led to a discussion between Jamie, Jason and myself that Jamie always wants for me to cancel the channels, but I've seen about six movies in the past month that I've meant to watch and missed, one way or another.
Jamie was insisting that I should get the same out of Netflix, but Jason pointed out "when he has the movie channels, he doesn't need to overcome his cynicism regarding the movies that keeps him from putting them in his queue or committing." And there are bibles of truth to that statement. I've also just NOT watched a few movies I recorded, and I think I like that freedom.
I think subscription based pay-per-view could definitely be up my alley. They kind of have those services now, and my digital cable offers movies for $1.99. It's increasingly how I want to partake of my media.
But, yeah, I really enjoyed The Departed.
October is Here
Help Jason and I come up with some movies to watch this spooky holiday season! Send in your recommendations!
Appaloosa
I want to see the new movie. It's been a month or so since a movie piqued my interest, but this one has done it.
This week has been exhausting.
This weekend will get worse. We have to basically move all the stuff out of the first floor and into the garage. We're re-doing the floors and that means... nothing on the first floor.
Thursday Night
Jason's band is playing at Somnio's at 1807 South First tomorrow, around dinner time.
I can't speak for the food, as I haven't tried it yet, but I can guarantee that you'll be happy enough just seeing Jason rock out. I promise you, if you show up, he will totally windmill Townsend style.
Tropic Thunder
As I haven't really been able to entertain Jamie properly in over a week, I acquiesced and took her to see "Tropic Thunder" at the Alamo.
It's a good renter or HBO movie. Reasonably funny, I guess. I could see how certain interests groups took umbrage, but I can also see, from a Hollywood point of view, what their point might have been. Unfortunately, the two met in a certain point where it could be taken either way.
The Departed and Cable
I finally watched "The Departed" last weekend. I can't tell you how much that was exactly my kind of movie.
We currently have some premium movie channels as well as Netflix, and it led to a discussion between Jamie, Jason and myself that Jamie always wants for me to cancel the channels, but I've seen about six movies in the past month that I've meant to watch and missed, one way or another.
Jamie was insisting that I should get the same out of Netflix, but Jason pointed out "when he has the movie channels, he doesn't need to overcome his cynicism regarding the movies that keeps him from putting them in his queue or committing." And there are bibles of truth to that statement. I've also just NOT watched a few movies I recorded, and I think I like that freedom.
I think subscription based pay-per-view could definitely be up my alley. They kind of have those services now, and my digital cable offers movies for $1.99. It's increasingly how I want to partake of my media.
But, yeah, I really enjoyed The Departed.
October is Here
Help Jason and I come up with some movies to watch this spooky holiday season! Send in your recommendations!
Appaloosa
I want to see the new movie. It's been a month or so since a movie piqued my interest, but this one has done it.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Not Much to Report
Today was a, shall we say, surprisingly busy day.
Jamie, Jason and I met Nicole tonight for dinner down at Madam Mam's South. If you like Thai food and are in Austin, I recommend any of their locations. Just be ready for their erratic food delivery schedule. They're sorta known for bringing out dishes as they're ready, not when everyone at the table's dishes are ready. I think I got my food about twenty minutes before everyone else this evening. But you just end up eating, or your food really will get cold.
I can also report that if you love Krypto the Superdog, you should pick up Superman #680. Honestly, all of the Superman titles are a good read right now (well, Superman/ Batman is a little iffy), so if you're into the comics thing, I suggest picking up Action, Superman and Supergirl.
I'm off to bed.
Ya'll have a good one.
Jamie, Jason and I met Nicole tonight for dinner down at Madam Mam's South. If you like Thai food and are in Austin, I recommend any of their locations. Just be ready for their erratic food delivery schedule. They're sorta known for bringing out dishes as they're ready, not when everyone at the table's dishes are ready. I think I got my food about twenty minutes before everyone else this evening. But you just end up eating, or your food really will get cold.
I can also report that if you love Krypto the Superdog, you should pick up Superman #680. Honestly, all of the Superman titles are a good read right now (well, Superman/ Batman is a little iffy), so if you're into the comics thing, I suggest picking up Action, Superman and Supergirl.
I'm off to bed.
Ya'll have a good one.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Cracked and George Will
Many will be surprised to learn that I enjoy reading the columns of George Will in the back of Newsweek (I do not keep up with him in the Post, but probably should).
Will seems to me an unapologetic intellectual and elite in a country mad for "everyman" politicians (something the media tends to feed). Will is also an unapologetic conservative, but not a particularly social conservative... I'm not even sure what the term might be. Constitutional conservative? He seems to have a tremendous grasp of history, politics, the law, to a point where he seems endlessly put out that others are not as up on all of this stuff as he... but not in a snotty way. Just sort of in a way that charmingly informs the reader Will doesn't spend a lot of time drinking Bud Light at "Lefty's Bar & Grill".
For further evidence, up until recently, Will also thought it wasn't weird to wear a bow tie (which Tucker Carlson shamelessly tried to emulate with none of the panache).
Anyway, Will is a favorite of mine among conservative voices that I can read (or listen to on Sunday morning programs) who I feel is acutely interested in analysis on merit, not on sticking to talking points or bluster.
Anyway, I highly recommend checking out Will's recent column on the expectations of the public for the "common man" element in politics.
And this ALSO got me thinking about the other great voice of nuanced discussion, Cracked.com. Sometimes I think Cracked is having, perhaps, too much of a determining effect on both Randy and myself. But, anyway...
Cracked recently published a list of the six brainwashing techniques they're using on you EVEN NOW. Here's that article. Warning: The article is juvenile and strays into some territory our sensitive readers will find objectionable.
As the election cycle has been going on so long, I've been pondering how I've been absorbing the news, political messages, etc... The point about how headlines are written has especially hit home. I'm absolutely someone who skims newsfeeds and mostly picks out articles to read based on topic, and so I've become quite used to how news sources will frame their headlines. And, honestly, it kind of bugs me.
So why am I talking about George Will and Cracked in the same breath?
I know this is probably reaching levels of annoyance, but I think its important to take a look at not just what the politicians say and do, but how the press deals with the stories and frames them for us, both intentionally and otherwise. Will has taken the "common wisdom" perception of who we want in the White House to task of seeking just plain folks versus seeking the best and brightest (not that McCain or Obama aren't best and brightest, but its about perception), and I think challenges a single issue pretty convincingly.
But I think the Cracked list, goofy as it might be, is worth reading just once to compare against how we blindly accept ideas and how they seem to creep in to our subconscious. Sure, the article is a bit blue (this is Cracked.com, after all), and some of it is pretty obvious, but in our media-saturated world, where the election and bias are pushing both the parties and the press to find advantage anywhere, its always good to take a mo' to consider how your chain is being yanked.
None of this is probably new to the readers here, but why not take a break from the news cycle a bit and look at what your news source of choice is telling you, and what your candidate of choice is telling you about the opposition? And if they're willing to use ham-handed propaganda now, what are they going to do for 4-8 years running the free world?
Anyhoo... When you get to #1 (no, not the first #1, for which I can only apologize to our more sensitive readers), I think that's whats at the crux of the matter... I leave our less sensitive readers to read on.
Will seems to me an unapologetic intellectual and elite in a country mad for "everyman" politicians (something the media tends to feed). Will is also an unapologetic conservative, but not a particularly social conservative... I'm not even sure what the term might be. Constitutional conservative? He seems to have a tremendous grasp of history, politics, the law, to a point where he seems endlessly put out that others are not as up on all of this stuff as he... but not in a snotty way. Just sort of in a way that charmingly informs the reader Will doesn't spend a lot of time drinking Bud Light at "Lefty's Bar & Grill".
For further evidence, up until recently, Will also thought it wasn't weird to wear a bow tie (which Tucker Carlson shamelessly tried to emulate with none of the panache).
Anyway, Will is a favorite of mine among conservative voices that I can read (or listen to on Sunday morning programs) who I feel is acutely interested in analysis on merit, not on sticking to talking points or bluster.
Anyway, I highly recommend checking out Will's recent column on the expectations of the public for the "common man" element in politics.
And this ALSO got me thinking about the other great voice of nuanced discussion, Cracked.com. Sometimes I think Cracked is having, perhaps, too much of a determining effect on both Randy and myself. But, anyway...
Cracked recently published a list of the six brainwashing techniques they're using on you EVEN NOW. Here's that article. Warning: The article is juvenile and strays into some territory our sensitive readers will find objectionable.
As the election cycle has been going on so long, I've been pondering how I've been absorbing the news, political messages, etc... The point about how headlines are written has especially hit home. I'm absolutely someone who skims newsfeeds and mostly picks out articles to read based on topic, and so I've become quite used to how news sources will frame their headlines. And, honestly, it kind of bugs me.
So why am I talking about George Will and Cracked in the same breath?
I know this is probably reaching levels of annoyance, but I think its important to take a look at not just what the politicians say and do, but how the press deals with the stories and frames them for us, both intentionally and otherwise. Will has taken the "common wisdom" perception of who we want in the White House to task of seeking just plain folks versus seeking the best and brightest (not that McCain or Obama aren't best and brightest, but its about perception), and I think challenges a single issue pretty convincingly.
But I think the Cracked list, goofy as it might be, is worth reading just once to compare against how we blindly accept ideas and how they seem to creep in to our subconscious. Sure, the article is a bit blue (this is Cracked.com, after all), and some of it is pretty obvious, but in our media-saturated world, where the election and bias are pushing both the parties and the press to find advantage anywhere, its always good to take a mo' to consider how your chain is being yanked.
None of this is probably new to the readers here, but why not take a break from the news cycle a bit and look at what your news source of choice is telling you, and what your candidate of choice is telling you about the opposition? And if they're willing to use ham-handed propaganda now, what are they going to do for 4-8 years running the free world?
Anyhoo... When you get to #1 (no, not the first #1, for which I can only apologize to our more sensitive readers), I think that's whats at the crux of the matter... I leave our less sensitive readers to read on.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A very, very early announcement
So... Jamie wanted me to tell all of you...
We will NOT be having a Holiday Party in early December this year. LudiChristmas 2008 is canceled. Jamie and Nicole began conspiring, and came up with a new plan.
Instead, we will be ringing in 2009 at League HQ. So, plan on spending New Years Eve with (in no particular order) Jamie, Nicole, Matt (unless he has karate), Mel, Lucy, Jeff the Cat, and yours truly (The League. XOXOXOXO).
There will be frivolity, fun, games, prizes, pontificating, and a 3:00 AM appearance by Jeff Shoemaker, who really knows how to time his arrival for a party.
And you (yeah, you) are invited.
Nicole has also promised to, at midnight, kiss anyone who shows up without a date. Jason is just going to kiss everyone, anyway. With a mouth full of Funyuns.
So, December 31st... ring in the New Year at League HQ. And don't bring beer. We always end up with 2/3rd of everyone's beer, which Jamie then gives to middle schoolers.
We'll get all this sorted out.
We will NOT be having a Holiday Party in early December this year. LudiChristmas 2008 is canceled. Jamie and Nicole began conspiring, and came up with a new plan.
Instead, we will be ringing in 2009 at League HQ. So, plan on spending New Years Eve with (in no particular order) Jamie, Nicole, Matt (unless he has karate), Mel, Lucy, Jeff the Cat, and yours truly (The League. XOXOXOXO).
There will be frivolity, fun, games, prizes, pontificating, and a 3:00 AM appearance by Jeff Shoemaker, who really knows how to time his arrival for a party.
And you (yeah, you) are invited.
Nicole has also promised to, at midnight, kiss anyone who shows up without a date. Jason is just going to kiss everyone, anyway. With a mouth full of Funyuns.
So, December 31st... ring in the New Year at League HQ. And don't bring beer. We always end up with 2/3rd of everyone's beer, which Jamie then gives to middle schoolers.
We'll get all this sorted out.
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