Monday, October 20, 2008

Started, Merchandising, Baby Bug

Started

New job started today. Looks like its going to be really interesting. Anyway, expect short posts this week until I get my feet under me and am no longer adjusting to getting up a bit earlier.

My office is a curious shade of green. It's sort of like the same green as Jamie's home office, but a smidge brighter. I also have huge windows that open onto... a long, white hallway. Luckily, I also have mini-blinds which I will never open. My office is in the basement level of a huge, windowless building (UT people will remember the PCL as a large, cement block).

I have need of going up two flights (long flights, if you recall PCL) ona frequent basis, so I will try to use the stairs and see if I cannot become slightly more healthy.

Also, my bosses seem cool. Smart, smart guys and they've got a plan I can get behind. The guys I'm sharing space with in the basement are both pretty cool so far, too.

Help Me Update the LoM Store

I haven't really updated the League of Melbotis shop at Cafe Press in a long, long time. Mostly because I don't remember anyone actually buying anything from the shop.

But I'm going to mess with the store again here fairly soon. After all, who doesn't want to think of League of Melbotis as a lifestyle product?

When you think "League of Melbotis", what is the first thing that pops into your head? What might look good on the side of a coffee cup? What might be good on a t-shirt?

In short... help me make a mint off your ideas.

Erica (Bug) Foster has a kid

KOHS alumni and the Trinity crew will be interested to know Erica Sevigny (formerly Foster) and her husband, Scott, have welcomed a new lil' gangsta into the world.

From the e-mail: Isaac arrived October 20th at 12:08 p.m. weighing in at 6 pounds and 13 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long

I hope Erica still found time for a good lunch.

Bug will make a good mom. Plus, next week is her birthday. So happy B-day to 2/3rds of the Sevigny's.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Ends, Starts, Football and Hollywood Glamour

End and Start

So Friday was my final day as a contractor with Enspire Learning, my employment home, more or less, of the past year and a halfish. I'll miss the scrappy little elearning company that could, and I wish the company, its leadership, and my friends who I leave behind the best of luck. May you continue to give learners better product than they're expecting.

Monday I start with a new venture, but I'll save that for later when I can speak more intelligently about the folks I'm working with. What I can say is that I am lucky to have found the position as it matches pretty much exactly what I was thinking I might like to try as a career path should I eject from the world of eLearning (although I'm staying in education).

I am considering how I can approach this new position without becoming an overbearing freak for my supervisors to deal with, but I am honestly so excited, I am looking forward to really digging in and making the absolute most of the opportunity.

Lunching with the Hollywood Elite

So I've been friends with Ms. Shauna Cross since I was about 14 and we shared Mr. White's Geography class at Westwood. At this point, that means I've known the lady for something along the lines of two decades, which makes me feel insanely old.

Anyhoo, Shauna's script "Whip It!" was produced this summer with Drew Barrymore directing and Kristen Wiig and Ellen Page co-starring. I guess there's a phrase she's been using or has been used in Hollywood (I missed wre it originated), but "after eight years of working she's an overnight success". The message being, of course, she's been working her butt off to get to this point, and now she's seeing he fruits of her labor.

She was in town this weekend for the Austin Film Fest where I guess she was on panels and whatnot. I was to meet her at the Driskill on 6th and Brazos, but I got a call while en route to swing by and pick she and a friend up on South Congress and race them back as the friend was supposed to be on a panel in a few minutes.

Turns out the friend was a/ the screenwriter of "Legally Blonde". Go figure.

I was also excited to meet Shauna's kid, Roscoe, who I think is 6 months (you people keep having babies, and I can't keep track anymore. You're lucky I remember their names). Roscoe was really very good. I also met Shauna's Significant Other, Fred, who does work for a music label. Very cool guy (which is good. You always hope that your friends are not married to/ getting serious about some twit).

It was fun to catch up and hear about Shauna's past year with everything going on, and also her next project (which isn't listed on IMDB, so I'll remain mum as I don't wish to jinx anything).

So, anyhoo... go see "Whip It!" when it comes out.


UT Plays like the #1 Team

Sadly, I had to ditch team Cross to meet up with Jeff, Keora and Patrick for a pre-game slice of pizza and a beer before we hoofed it over to DKR Memorial stadium. Patrick lives much closer to DKR than my previous parking spot, so from now on Pat is getting all my spare tickets.

I don't know if you watched the game, but... if there was any doubt about who should be at the top of the Big 12 (at least this week), UT played like it was the Rose Bowl. Mizzo, sadly, didn't show up until the second half, when they proceeded to disassemble our secondary and put 4 touchdowns on the board.


cough... Heisman... cough...

The crowd was going CRAZY, and I don't think I've ever high-fived people that much in my life. Also, my voice is kind of shot today from the 3 hours of straight yelling. (I think when I yell "Go Horns!" repeatedly, or "Go TEXAS!!!!", it really influences their play.)

I am now looking forward to OSU and Tech, where I'd sort of dreaded those games before. We have the opportunity for a legendary season with UT Football. So here's to Colt, Jordan, Ogbonnaya, Muckleroy, McGee and the rest staying healthy.

GO HORNS!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Well, I have no choice now...

Well, pretty clearly Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have both been after my vote all year long. But how did Mr. Obama seal it up today?

From this article:

Said Obama: "Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the planet Earth," a reference to Superman.




Really, it's like McCain hasn't even been trying to appeal to me as a geek. Where's invocation of The Force? His reference to his Spidey Sense? Oh, wait...

I believe McCain served on the USS Enterprise.

Well played, sir. Well played.

Politiks for 2Day

I did not watch the debate. Instead, Jason and I got swept up in a rousing meal at "Chinese Super Buffet" and then some Sci-Fi Channel. I think Jason knows my tolerance for the presidential debates is pretty low thanks to crippling ADD.

We did, however, watch Post-Game on CNN, MSNBC and Fox.

The most hilarious moment was not the punchiness of the CNN assembled reporters and analysts (who obviously all need a week off), but Fox declaring John McCain a winner by 89% of its viewership and trying to get Geraldine Ferraro to put some stock in the Fox viewership Text vote as a telling sign. I'm not saying CNN or MSNBC don't have bias, but sometimes I wonder what its like to work in a place dedicated to and serving a particular constituency where you constantly are trying to angle for Your Guy.

It DOES certainly make me wonder about the scientific basis for polls on CNN and elsewhere. But I assume CNN, etc... have a stake in working with 3rd party polling in order to maintain credibility. It would also be interesting to see a breakdown of how the news organizations manage the different candidates, and what would happen if they gave ALL of the candidates equal time in the debates. There are, like, seven candidates on the sample ballot I looked at online for Austin/ Travis Co.

I'm never really sure why we tend to consider anyone running in a party other than Dem or Republican to be insane. But we sure do. And that's too bad. It sort of reminds me of what they call "conversation enders", such as describing an idea to be "a no brainer", as if questioning the idea is simply beyond logic. Is what these 3rd, 4th and 5th party candidates have to say really any more less legitimate than the highly compromised platforms and big-tent appealing ideals of the big 2?

It just doesn't seem like its a good way to do much but fight to reinforce the attitudes of a constituency rather than driving new thinking.

I'm not 100% on board with any party these days, and I'm not particularly convinced My Guy is a prince in need of a coronation. If you can't question your own candidate in a democracy, and THEN hold them to the highest of standards when in office, it seems to sort of miss the point of having elected leaders.

I'm also in a weird position where I'm tired of the election coverage (the primaries made this election extra-long, it seems), but I also am curious to follow election coverage on a daily basis, hoping to hear something new that isn't just mud-slinging. I'm mostly curious to hear more on how each candidate is planning to deal with the economy at this point (my other major issues: international relations, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and healthcare have been covered pretty well). And, I want to hear from people with experience how those models could play out. However, guessing from how well anyone dealt with financial models the past few years, my guess is: they don't really know.

Here's some helpful reading material on economic plans:

McCain - lookout, this section has audio that kicks in
Obama - lookout, this is some logical but dull web design

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Not Exactly a Crisis on Multiple Worlds



So one of the things that makes DC Comics a bit tough to get used to is the fact that the stories of DC Comics don't take place on just one plane of reality. In Flash #123, it was revealed that there was a parallel world to Flash's own where time was running slower. This enabled Barry Allen to team up with the original Flash (Jay Garrick).

Later, it was revealed that there were an INFINITE number of other earths that Superman, Flash and Co. could visit. One Earth might be a place where Superman and Co. are evil villains. Another might be a world where everyone is a cute, talking animal. Another might be a world where the Nazis won. Pretty typical sci-fi boilerplate by today's standards, I think...

That idea was kicked to the curb for about twenty years, but recently made something of a comeback as, really , hopping between dimensions and discovering evil images of yourself, (a la Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror") is an idea comics just love coming back to, as well as just throwing our heroes into worlds where things are a bit off from the everyday.

Anyhow, I bring this up because any time Jamie is out of town for more than a day, I am sort of left wondering "what if"? What if, for some reason, I were left to my own devices?

At this point, I've now been with Jamie my entire adult life. We started dating 13 years ago this month. At 33, that's officially more than 1/3rd of my life. So I really have no perspective on what life would have been like had Jamie and never started dating.*

So, what is Ryan of Earth 2 like?

Would I be living in Austin? Would I have followed my current career path (such as it's been the last year)? I can say that I made a decision to stay in Austin when graduating college rather than heading to NYC or LA (with film degree in hand) based partially on a sudden disinterest in film (I had visions of historical documentary and wanted to try for grad programs), and partially because Jamie and I were making long-term sorts of plans.

So unless you can peer into the crystal ball, it's impossible to know what would have become of me. Obviously when Jamie goes away for a few days, she's still coming home again (I hope) and, tellingly, we call each other multiple times each day when we're apart. So I don't think about some imaginary lady or something who would be around if Jamie were not (but I think it's safe assume I would now be Mr. Lynda Carter).

Left with no Jamie or Lynda Carter, what would Ryan do with his time?


Mrs. League of Earth 2?

Even that is difficult to determine. After all, I've got our joint dogs and a cat to contend with who are especially needy when Jamie isn't around to dole out an endless stream of attention and hugs. The TV I watch when she's around or not is pretty much the same as Jamie DVR's anything she thinks I might not be interested in (ie: Project Runway).

I think, were Jamie not around, I'd be a lot grouchier. Jason was always happy to comment on my surliness through my teen and early college years, and I think Jamie puts me in a much better place. I know Jamie has made me a better person in many, many ways. She's given me something to focus on outside of myself, and shown me what real strength can be in the face of incredible challenges, all while never becoming bitter. That's no mean feat.

But as I say, there is no Ryan of the past 13 years without Jamie. So who knows... Ryan of Earth 2 could easily have been a hobo drifter, a Dell tech support rep, a frustrated gaffer working on the latest Hilary Duff movie... Possibly a pirate. I've always been interested in starting a piracy (see: Mirror, Mirror). But we're pretty pleased with how things turned out on Earth 1.

This time around while Jamie's out of town, I actually have a pretty busy schedule. Mini-golf tomorrow. Then possibly catching up with a friend in town for a festival Saturday afternoon and the game Saturday night. My time to get the house back in order is a bit minimal.

*A quick qualifier: Jason will bring this up, because he can never leave well enough alone... It is true that I had been dating a great girl just prior to starting to date Jamie. It is most likely that was about to end for various reasons had Jamie entered the picture or not.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Things That Make Me Sad

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

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...

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.

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.

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
.

This Moment in History - Financial Armageddon



At least nobody is panicking

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Superman on the Church Organ

Steven sent this:



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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some Stuff for your Monday Amusement

I want to dance with somebody..!

Nathan noted to me that American Psycho is becoming a stage musical. If only THIS were the play they were doing in "High School Musical 3", I might go see the movie.

I kind of wish they'd quit trying to make everything a @#$%ing Broadway Musical. I am sure Brett Easton Ellis is equal parts horrified and delighted with the absurd idea of bringing the book to stage. Plus, you know, the sack of money they're giving him for a book he wrote when I was still in high school is probably easing the pain.

I'm sure the box office success of Sweeney Todd had some part in this show getting funding. But... I don't see this being a big sell to the tourists if they stay true to the book. (Hope they put the Bono scene back in, though...)

The Mighty Marvel Manner

Randy and Simon each sent me this strip. Not everyone is going to get it, but I assure you, its funny.

Cat Fancy

Stole this from Lauren's Blog.

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

ACL Fest 2008 - Day 3

Today had, in my opinion, a better line-up.

We started off with Gillian Welch at the AMD stage (a stage that will need re-tooling next year, as sound bleed from the BMI and Dell stages caused all sorts of havoc). Welch played some of my favorite tunes, and got Allison Krause on stage to sing "Go to Sleep" from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. Honestly, it was my favorite set of my ACL experience, but I also have a few of her albums and am biased.

We then headed over to the AT&T Blue Room stage to see "Stars", who I thought were pretty darn good. I think I'd heard them before, or even saw them last year, but I was impressed. Decent set.

We regrouped at the Crack Flag back at the AMD stage for the Neko Case set, which was decent. I'm not sure I'll ever be into Neko Case the way other folks are, but her set (what I saw) was pretty decent. I think, had I not just seen Gillian Welch do more with just she, David Rawlings, and two guitars... perhaps I'd have been more impressed.

We (Julia P., Jason, Greg J. and others) cut down to the Austin Ventures stage to see Heartless Bastards. Honestly, I was a little disappointed, but I'd also built their set up into something pretty big in my head, so, there you have it. They didn't play "Into the Open", which made me sad. And, bands, if you have a 45 minute set at a festival where you're playing before the Raconteurs and Gnarls Barkley, DO NOT PLAY YOUR SLOW STUFF. Not if you want to not be overpowered by nearby stages and more rockin' sets.

Sound bleed seemed to be a far, far greater problem this year. I'm not sure if bands were turned up louder, if they scheduled quieter acts against louder acts, if the air pressure was different... but I noticed dit this year, and I never noticed it last year.

We returned to the Crack Flag positioned at the AMD stage for Raconteurs. I have something more than a passing interest in Jack White and his two main acts, and honestly wish I spent more time getting to know white Stripes and Raconteurs better. And, after the set this evening, I most certainly will be revisiting their stuff.

I basically flipped a coin on Gnarls Barkley/ Raconteurs, who both played at the same time. And, so, yeah... Raconteurs won out, and I felt like I saw a great show. Would love to see them in a real musical venue some time.

I skipped Band of Horses and left, so I could get home and not crawl into bed, exhausted, again as I have to be at work tomorrow.

I, technically, also skipped Foo Fighters, but here's the thing:

I don't like Foo Fighters. I never have. And there were all these rumors going around, like "it may be Foo Fighters final show... EVER."

Which, if I liked them, I might care. But I sort of feel the same about them as I do about Goo Goo Dolls, Blink 182, Maroon 5... All bands for which I have no antipathy, but that I just don't care about. So when you tell me its their FINAL show... well... okay. Enjoy.

Anyhow, that was my ACL.

I will post a few pictures this week.
So when I was walking out of ACL, I overheard a young lady sharing the following with some friends:

God. Austin. This totally reminds me of a joke.
Okay. Okay.
How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?
(pause)
What, you don't know?


Ouch.

ACL Fest 2008 - Day 2

Well, I didn't make Day 1. Which kills me, because the guy who is probably in my top 3 musicians, David Byrne, played yesterday. But work blew up, and so what are you going to do?

Depending on my source of livelihood this time next year, I'm going to maybe not buy a three day pass, if I go next year.

Today I saw:

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - who I fully recommend.

Erykah Badu - who played a really nice set of stuff I didn't really know. I had a brief flirtation with the music of Badu about ten years ago, and then lost her debut CD somewhere in my moves since. Anyway, I thought she put on a great live show.

I was going to see MGMT, but I couldn't get close enough without spillover from other stages, so I went to see:

Electric Touch - who claimed to be a local act, despite some sort of UK accent. They were good, and I plan to see if they are as local as they claim.

The Natchito Herrera All-Stars, who played Cuban-style jazz and were a lot of fun.

I wandered over to watch the end of Spiritualized, but wasn't too crazy about what I saw and heard.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band played, and I didn't like the first part of his set at all, and actually wandered off for a burger, came back, and dug the remainder of the show, including a good cover of "Kodachrome".

Iron & Wine played next, and I kind of got stuck guarding the Crack flag area as everyone else ran off to go hear Iron & Wine across the field. (The lesson, if anyone asks you what you're about to do, always insist you're about to leave). So I kind of missed Iron & Wine, who I wanted to see.

And, Beck closed out the night, playing pretty much his hits, if he has such a thing.

I am tired as heck and am going to bed.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

RIP Paul Newman



Paul Newman has merged with the infinite.

We've lost him at the age of 83.


I've only seen a fraction of Newman's work, but, hell... what red-blooded American made it through college without watching "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?

For the Ladies: I also have a firm memory of taking a class on "relationships" at UT, and talking about ideals for men and women, and the cacophony that hit the 400 person auditorium when Mr. Newman's image was presented as the ladies went a bit nuts. Well done, Mr. Newman.

There's no question we've lost one of the best who will ever grace the screen. Few actors have been smart enough to follow Newman's lead either in choice of roles or in his example for how he lived his life off the screen (the food line has been able to give $200 million to charity).

You'll be missed, Mr. Newman.

Friday, September 26, 2008

To Infinity, and Beyond...!

Sweeeeeet.

Sure, financial news is dire... but just as the Depression brought us aerial circuses and barn stormers, so should be turn our eyes to the fellow who just strapped a kerosene powered jet-wing to his back and crossed the English Channel.

Here's the article.

This Moment in History - Watching the Financial Crisis

It's always odd to live through a moment in the news that you realize is becoming a moment in history. I've been around the block long enough to recognize them when they crop up, I think (and getting the history degree doesn't hurt, especially once you see how these things cook up when using primary source documents in research). And, Leaguers, this story is picking up enough steam to maybe be one of those events.

And while the events of the current financial collapse won't be recognized in the same manner as, say, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, etc... it could be recognized in much the same way as Black Thursday. And you know what the big difference is between those events (aside from loss of life and the road to war)? The mistakes made along the way are amazingly clear in hindsight.

I am unsure what to make of the bailout. We're getting a plea from a government that has made a lot of claims over the years insisting that the public rush to get behind them, but its a governments whose credibility has been tragically diminished thanks to requests for blind faith (and this isn't just opinion here. I'm going off well known polls, Sunday morning show consensus, etc...) and then finding their goodwill has been taken advantage of.

Add in the idea that the government hasn't ever really reacted this way before to financial crisis, and the American public surely isn't too excited about finding themselves holding the bag (taxwise) for what's seen as nothing less than an act of hubris by people who would as soon step on them as speak to them.

The American public seems to have a feeling in their gut that the bailout plan is the wrong way to go, and you can't blame them. After all, where's the bailout for the people losing their homes? Why are CEO's for failing companies regularly receiving "golden parachutes" after driving their companies into the ground and losing their jobs? Why were the financial policies of the past few years ever allowed if anyone was aware of the potential risk? And whys hould we be expected to pay for their risk? When so many people have already lost so much thanks to participating in their risky behaviors? And it seems hopelessly mired in the notion that the financial well being of the country should be based in propping up the wealthy (and wealthy institutions) to support the trickle down effect theory of economics.

That's not to say I believe that $700 Billion should be set aside for people who took loans they couldn't afford, but I don't see the value in putting your $700 billion in fewer baskets over spreading the wealth when the institutions seem to lack the discipline to handle the money they have/ had. (Either way seems to be a dud. I wonder how historians and economists of the future will see the economic stimulus checks we got this summer. FYI: Mine was spent in Costa Rica. Viva America!)

Economists will be studying the past six years for the next fifty. And, I assure you, we'll do it all over again in my lifetime when another generation is running things, doesn't know their history and believes the people in their same jobs of a few decades back were merely fools who couldn't handle things the way THEY can.

In a way, we sort of know what will happen if the bailout doesn't happen. We have a major financial crisis and have to hit the reset button. And while it will surely hurt many, many people, its something that may serve to force our economy into a natural equilibrium. Joe Average on the street has no faith in the companies who have failed in the first place, so why would we give them $700 Billion again (whether that's how the administration looks at it or not, it's our dough...)? In short, if we think we're about to bottom out, anyway, why go further into national debt throwing good money after bad?

Frankly, I'm a bit stunned that this plan came from the White House. But if I were an outgoing President, I wouldn't be too keen on letting the end result of eight years of my economic policy being financial collapse of the US, either, I guess. So I'd be looking for some stopgap to try to keep that from happening. Nobody wants to be remembered as going down in flames in the same manner as Hoover.

Whether right or wrong on this bailout request, unfortunately the current administration has burned through its goodwill and claims of wise leadership (I guess they call it political capital). Which is another lesson in government to you future leaders of America. Sooner or later you might actually need for people to get behind you on something, so you better not waste and/ or drop the ball on the first two or three requests.

Part of me wonders if Bush did more harm than good in going begging to the public for their support instead of leaving the idea of the bailout as more of an abstraction without a face.

Part of why I'm writing this post is that LoM might be your daily bit of goofiness, but it's also got a multi-year archive at this point. So it seems a shame to not mark some of this stuff for posterity for myself. Especially if I suspect that events as they unfold will be part of our national narrative. So I can see if I was right or wrong in my predictions, and see how what I was thinking about the news as it unfolded.

So, yes, perhaps a bit selfish, but I hope it'll have some value for me in the future.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Back from New York

Things I learned:

1) In New York, every two blocks, you are in a new town. We stayed in Great Neck, but worked in Manhasset, two miles away. This is all left over from the great days when, I guess, these were smaller towns run by people in tri-corner hats. But its weird to someone who grew up in the wild, wild west where we call areas of that size "a neighborhood". But people are dead serious about those being whole different towns.

2) Morgan Spurlock, or a guy who looks just like him, is taller than you'd expect. I think he was on the plane with me from New York to Austin.

3) Break it down with your team regarding polite amounts to spend vis-a-vis the costs of items on the menu when the client is paying. Nothing so sinking as seeing someone ordered the @#$% lobster.

4) I am too old and tired to go into the city to rock out with the rest of the team. But not old enough to care if they get lost/ arrested/ whatever... when they go off to the big city.

5) The reason the older airlines are failing is because JetBlue provides better service to the plebes like myself who fly coach, as they have nothing but coach seating. They've given everyone more legroom (noticeably more than American, I'd say), and don't spend their time reminding all of us in coach that we are not Platinum, Elite, or whatever else special group. They don't charge for the first bag. Or a drink. Or a bag of (good) chips. AND, there are little TV's in seatbacks with satellite TV. Which leads me to -

6) You can watch Animal Planet with the sound off and still get the basic idea. Also, baby walruses are very cute.

7) There is nothing better for airplane zoning out than This American Life on your iPod.

8) There is no such thing as a New York accent that is too over the top. I need to return to New York on a regular basis so that when I think characters on shows taking place in New York are acting a little wacky... it is as real as the big-haired Texas lady with the ridiculous drawl.

9) Nothing is more awesome than a 20-something hustler cab driver trying to make it in a tough, tough town. He was wearing a suit. To drive a beat-to-hell cab. We all LOVED that guy. And, you know what, he's going to make it. But I am not joining his pyramid scheme operation as the Texas branch.

10) I learned how to use my phone as an alarm clock for the first time. My hotel had this iPod Charger/ clock radio thing that seemed just too complicated for my blood.

11) Sometimes you get off the plane, and Kevin Bankston is just hanging out in the airport waiting for his ladyfriend.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Blogging from Great Neck, New York

Hi Leaguers.

I am tired as heck. After Jamie's day Monday, traveling and corraling my crew yesterday, having an intense but (and I'm not just saying this) highly, highly productive day today with my team and our client/ partner team, I am bushed. And it's 8:30 central time.

I'm really impressed with this area. I could never afford to live here, but it's really lovely. Sort of like an overpopulated small town with a whole lot of name brand shopping, nice homes, nice storefronts, and some seriously pricey cars.

I feel a bit out of my element, but have had two great dinners in a row (both fish, while I can take advantage. I love fish.), and had NY pizza for lunch.

I think I actually eat more sensibly when I travel. If I lived on the road, I'd be in much better shape.

One interesting thing I'd forgotten about NYC, is that you forget living in Texas that not all women are blond. I'm not sure how natural all of the hair color I see actually is, but not everyone is blond.

Obviously I don't dislike blond (note: the wife), so its just an observation after living in Texas and Arizona.

But people are also a lot thinner here. I'm a whale in Great Neck. I miss my fatties in Texas.

I miss Jamie. And the pets (in no particular order). And I'm looking forward to getting home.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

This Week

This week is going to be pretty nuts, so if posting dries up, I'm going to ask you bear with me.

As you might have read at Jamie's site, she's undergoing some testing tomorrow. So... Monday is going to be highly unpredictable.

Then, Tuesday - Thursday, I'm traveling for work. So, I'm going to be pretty seriously out of pocket and busy with clients and co-workers.

Sorry about this. Posting is possible, but by and large... its going to be pretty quiet at LoM.

I was planning to actually post tonight, but I'm pretty tired, and I didn't have much to say, anyway. I'm sure you saw the Texas and Cowboys scores.

So, I'm off to get some rest.

In the meantime, it's election season, so here's Charlie helping Dennis run his campaign for Comptroller on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".

Friday, September 19, 2008

Things That Bug Me

-Yahoo, etc... knowing I am a male, and so my computer seems half-filled with ads for off-brand dating sites with video loops of 19 year old girls "flirting" with the camera. I'm good, thanks.

-Seeing 17 year old kids walking down the street, heading away from the high school at 9:45 in the morning, who obviously just ducked out of going to school.

-When the cat pees on me when I take him to the vet

-When the government has to bail out financial institutions who behaved obviously recklessly for years to even a nimrod like myself, putting us even further into crippling debt, in order to keep us from having some sort of 1929-style financial collapse.

-The lack of a proper Hawkman title from DC

-Dolls that can swim. And the inferred message to impressionable kids that maybe babies can swim.

-When your trusted robot goes crazy and tries to kill you.

-Daytime TV ads reminding me I'd probably have a full-time job if I DID just sign up for a trade and technical school...

(edit) - I am also deeply irritated that whenever I turn on my cable TV, it tunes to channel 1, which runs nothing but an ad for the three services (cable, internet, phone) provided by Time Warner Cable. Which I already have. Time Warner, please quit selling me (badly and constantly) that which I already have.

Of course, the only way you can actually see the ad is if you already have digital cable, thus eliminating at least one of the three items they're hard selling.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Nothing Tonight

My thoughts are with the folks in Houston and the Gulf Coast.

Kid Invents New Solar Cell

This kid William Yuan, has invented an all-new solar cell. Something PhD's and eggheads are no doubt working on.

Read the article here.


What I was doing at 12:

-raiding Peabo's Mom's cabinet for Dr. Pepper and Teddy Grahams
-Reading Batman and X-Men
-Sitting second chair tuba (in a section of 2)
-worrying about if Sophia Chiang "liked" me
-Growing twice as fast as the other kids (6'3" by 8th grade, suckahs!)
-Working on my free throws
-watching "Aliens" for, literally, the 23rd time
-getting lectured by The Admiral about my most recent infraction
-getting a black eye at the bus stop from Steanso laying me out with a single punch
-Social Studies homework
-Getting a "C" in Talented and Gifted math and getting booted down to plain 'ol "honors" math because of a ScanTron mishap

I was not:
-revolutionizing energy collection

UT Tickets up for Grabs for September 27th

Hi everybuddy.

Both my folks and myself won't be available for use of the tickets for the Arkansas/ UT game on September 27th. There are 4 tickets available.

If anyone is interested in obtaining the tickets, please let me know.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"Sunny" returns tomorrow

Hey, just a heads-up that League-favorite program "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" returns tomorrow on the FX network.


Official Link
, which, I believe, shoots loud, loud music at you. So be careful.

"Sunny" is definitely not to everyone's taste, but, by gosh, it is to mine. Just, uh... clear the kids out of the room before watching.

I confess to a special fondness for Kaitlin Olson's character, "Sweet Dee". The character seems to channel Jamie at times, particularly when exasperated or trying to prove the rest of the cast wrong, which occurs just about every episode, just as it occurs just about every day at League HQ.


Leaguers will be shocked to learn I like scrappy blondes

Due to the nature of many of Sweet Dee's better moments (the welfare episode is still a gem), Jamie will, no doubt, be horrified that I've made the comparison. But there you have it.

Superman Auctions Raise Goal (the rest is gravy)

Look, it's been a lousy week, news-wise. I don't even feel like talking about it. But here's a ray of hope:

The Siegel house exterior renovations can begin. Already.

There are still several huge auctions left, and they've already raised the $50,000 wanted to fix the exterior of the house. The balance will go toward re-doing the inside. Read the article here.

If you're filthy rich and want to bid on stuff, go here.

If that's a little rich for your blood, you can still donate a sack of money here.

I want to remind readers that Meltzer's new charity isn't just for the Siegel and Shuster Society. It's to remind people that Ordinary People Change the World.

Texas will be digging itself out from under the destruction of Hurricane Ike for a long, long time.

If you can, please think about giving to:

The Red Cross


The Austin Capital Area Food Bank

or other charitable organizations helping out evacuees

Comic Fodder Post

New post:

Superheroes should have super friends wherein I make an argument for a strong supporting cast and maybe a little less action.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Obama y Unicorn

Shoemaker mentioned the first picture to me, so I looked it up using search words "Obama Unicorn". This is what I found.


If you don't click on this for the full size, you are missing out


From the JibJab website.


I have no idea.


I like that I know who the "we" is now.


And this one is... interesting, but the "adult" end of the spectrum (sensitive eyes should not click).

Make of all of this what you will. I will find it awesome.


I told you this was going to get dumber before it got better.

Ike (and: I am right. Occasionally. About the weather)

Ike in my High School Hood

Some of you (Meredith) have been to my folks' neighborhood. Here's some Admiral-approved photos of damage in Cypresswood.

No idea how your old house held up, Mere. The Admiral mostly stuck to that end of the neighborhood where he lives, back by Mirror Lake.





This is actually a somewhat familiar site from my childhood. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. It's bizarre anyone lives in Houston, let alone its now the 4th largest city in the US.

September weather change

I always say "we get our first break in the heat around September 15th". And, sure enough, Austinites... when did we first see a dip in the warm air that had hung over Austin since July?

September 15th.

This week is in the 80's. Fall has begun to fall. Yes, as everyone tries to tell me, it will probably heat up again for a while in October. And, yeah, sometimes the cool front comes earlier. Sometimes later. But, as a rule of thumb, we get the first days when you can comfortably wear jeans outside and the air is in the 60's at night around September 15th.

yes, sometimes its hot as hell on Halloween. And sometimes it has literally hit freezing on Halloween (1993), but in general...

I'm just saying. September 15th.

Last night I got Jason to put out his Halloween jack-o-lanterns. And that is just awesome.

West St. Paul

This has been stuck in my head for two or three days. Now it can stuck in your head, too.

A musical tribute to West St. Paul, Minnesota.



no thanks to Steven and Lauren for bringing this into my life and creating the endless loop in my head.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Me v. Twitter

I've been discussing (via e-mail) with Lauren the merits of internet social tool Twitter. I don't intend to bag on Twitter, but it IS an odd social phenomena. Just as blogging is an absurdly ego-driven push of one's opinions out to the world (as I am doing here), Twitter takes the possibilities of public navel gazing to a whole new level.

By it's 140 character format, clearly no thought can be articulated beyond a spartan, simple expression. We have not yet begun to see the trickle-down effect of the phenomena, but as sure as 14 year olds believe text-speak is okay for other forms of communication, it won't be too long before we're being told that we aren't hip (and are, in fact, dinosaurs) if we can't think and communicate in micro-bursts that somehow encapsulate entire arguments in 140 characters or less. It will be something out of a Stephenson novel.

I suspect that Twittering is in its early stages now. Just as the first years of blogging tools were a mess of yokels like myself with no real direction, but how in a few short years blogs have found that structure equals readership and blogs have been turned into a business/ marketing tool... so, too, I guess, Twitter shall develop. Or must develop.

It's already started, but its a blunt instrument at the moment (which reminds me of Blogger in clunkier, more adorable days).

But until it is refined, it's still a lot of people sort of blogging in microbursts. And, as I said about maintaining a blog such as this... it takes a certain amount of ego. What's tough about Twitter is that there's a tendency to do it often by some, less by others. And at that 140 character limit, and with such a friendly user interface, Twitter becomes a magnet not for observation, but for reporting of minutia.

Which leaves me in the awkward position, that I've been discussing with Lauren, that I feel somewhat obligated to be on Twitter, but I am failing to see the value. And I feel like I'm missing something others find obvious. And I strongly suspect my disinterest in the goings-on of others says nothing good about myself.

But I also suspect that this isn't the last stop for how Twitter is used. And, Lauren had suggestions. Use it to keep up with news, etc... use it for the messaging. Use it to learn new things about people you're following, or to keep up how you feel is appropriate.

My nightmare, as I shared, is that anyone is ASSUMING I am keeping up with them in Twitter. I am sorry to say, if you think I am keeping up with you on Twitter, my readership is pretty spotty. But that's the ego thing, too. I learned long ago not to expect anyone I know is actually reading LoM. And for the ease of Twitter, I suspect many aren't aware of the indifference toward their efforts by friends and loved ones. So... yeah. There it is.

But I am also someone who doesn't relish the idea of iPhone because I don't treasure the idea of everyone I know being able to find me any time via phone, e-mail, IM, etc... all in one box. While I appreciate the technology and business application in particular, I consider myself separate from the technology that I use. It is a tool, it is not a necessity.

Some folks feel the necessity not just to own the iPhone, but to play on it constantly. I sometimes go for days without realizing my phone has been off. The idea of picking up a Blackberry or some other device when my contract is renewed in December runs cold fear down my spine. I have flashbacks to doing work at a Diamondbacks game in Phoenix when they saddled me with a device.

I'm still a control freak. I'm just a control freak about whether my life belongs to me, or to a piece of silicon and plastic in my pocket. And I don't know if that same constant need for communication isn't part of the difference between myself and folks who are jumping headfirst into Twitter.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Follow The Leaguer

If you look over on the left hand menu bar, there's a new feature where you can list yourself as a Leaguer. I think you have to have a Google account to make it work, but it's easy to do otherwise. Listing youself wil put your icon in the box, and then.... SHAZAM!

Not only will you be publicly listed as a Leaguer, but you'll be on several NSA watch lists.

A Dry, Clear Sunday

Today I woke up late after condemning Jamie to wake up and feed the dogs.

We cleaned up the house a bit more to accommodate my dad, who was driving in from Ike-damaged Spring, TX to take part in our electricity and air conditioning. His office in Houston apparently has power, but water is still iffy. The house I lived in back in high school has water, but no power. And no power for the foreseeable future. So I'm discouraging him from going home, but The Admiral is not one who believes in the creature comforts. He's been using a kerosene lamp for his light.

We met up off 2222 and headed out to Steiner Ranch to go see the progress on Rancho Relaxo, my folks' soon-to-be house. I have to say, if you're going to build a house for my folks, Rancho Relaxo really fits the bill. Lot of space for them to spread out, big windows, a lovely (unobstructed) view of a preserve. And The Admiral has included a workshop area, which he has, unfortunately, dubbed "Daddy's Playhouse", which was deemed creepy by all.

I am a bit at a loss as to what I should be doing, as per helping out in the wake of Ike. With Katrina, I was pretty far away, and so I sent money. Well, with my recent employment status, I am not exactly Rich Uncle Pennybags, and I'm pretty close to Houston... so after The Admiral leaves and I'm done putting my my token evacuee... I need to figure out some way in which I can help.

I've been pondering Austin's identity as the go-to destination for evacuees.

Austin is 1/5th the size of Houston. It raises a lot of questions about the assumed ability of the city to absorb and support over a sustained period (Houston could be without power for up to two weeks, provided it DOESN'T get hit with any more hurricanes). Hospitals, etc... get stretched to their limit during these emergencies... and one wonders what can be done to make these resources more expandable. (I heard a story of someone being turned away from receiving medical help at the ER because Ike evacuees meant that the ER was beyond capacity. Understandable, but... where do you go when the ER is full and you need help?)

All of that said, I hope we Austinites CAN be the sort of people we hope we are, and that we can continue to be the default place for evacuations in years to come.

We might need to rethink some our practices to make it work. We're using schools as shelters can't mean disruption of school... looks like we got that one figured out by Monday this time. Other resources, like the Austin Food pantry, are being quickly drained to serve the evacuees, rather than serving its normal purpose. Which is a great resource, but what happens when the evacuees go home and the pantry is bare?

There are a million little things that will, no doubt, be brought up in the wake of Ike. But I give credit to the Red Cross for their response, Austin, San Antonio, etc... for opening their doors. FEMA has responded much, much better than during Katrina and Rita. And it seems whatever plans were put into place since Katrina are working to the extent that people will follow instructions and leave when told "you will otherwise die".

Do evacuees have anywhere to return to? What will happen in the weeks and months ahead? Can the evacuation destination cities sustain themselves as evacuation destinations?

I do not envy Chertoff or whomever replaced Brownie as head of FEMA. Because I have no idea how to answer these questions without coming to some uncomfortable conclusions.