Blog. By George

I'm Not Dead...

2011-03-30T13:37:00.002-04:00

Hi there. Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but just wanted to assure anyone out there interested that I'm not dead. I've just been around twitter lately. Check me out over there, and I'll try to remember that I have a blog of varying degrees of esteem.

Right then. Take care and have a good day.

The Office Recut

2010-10-10T08:05:00.000-04:00

Hi there. Haven't been doing a whole lot lately. Thinks've been fine, I suppose. Not great though. Trying to keep busy but've fallen behind on a few things. But enough about me. Here's a funny Office trailer-ish recut clip.

My Mood as Music

2010-08-21T20:08:00.003-04:00

Hi there. Sorry again for not having much to say lately. I'm hoping to have some interesting stuff to write about down the line, but since I'm busy on stuff that's not quite ready to post about and since my moods been down lately, I haven't got a whole lot to say. In lieu of that, here's a song that describes how I've been feeling lately. Hope you like it.

The F**k?

2010-08-01T08:30:00.000-04:00

Seriously. The f**k?

Apologies for the implied strong language, but this is too bizarre to actually be real.

Trailer Thoughts

2010-06-27T17:52:00.005-04:00

Hi there.

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but there've been a few movie trailers that really made me want to see the movie's advertised. Which seems obvious, since, really, isn't that the job of a trailer, to create interest. There were three trailers off the top of my head that were really great and made me really excited to see the movies, only to... ah, I was underwhelmed when I finally did get around to seeing them. Not to say they were all bad, but only one of the movies turned out to be that good. One was downright awful. I'll let you, dear reader, figure out which movie was the good one. Actually, if the trailer weren't so darn great the movie would probably seem better for me. By comparison however, it's not as great as the two and a half minute preview.

Enjoy.

Note: Sorry there's only two trailers. Guess it narrows down the process of figuring out which was the good movie, and which was dreck. I was going to include the Daredevil trailer here since I remembered it as being quite good, but... meh, aside from a decent final thirty second montage it isn't that great.

Note #2: Odd they're both Nicholas Cage movies. Even more pecular is that I was considering adding Matchstick Men, but I actually enjoyed that film more than the trailer (which was pretty decent).

Doesn't This Just Look Like the Worst Thing Ever?

2010-06-09T07:40:00.005-04:00

Doesn't this poster for The Killers just look awful? I don't even know what to say. The previews for this film didn't do much for me, but cripes... look at this poster? Katherine Heigl's holding a gun wrong. Hilarious. And look at Ashton Kutcher's reaction. Uh oh. He's exasperated. I honestly believe anyone who finds this amusing should be beaten with a pillow case full of rocks, I truly do. And yes, that's a bit of an extreme reaction, I admit. But really, this is just asinine.

In all fairness though I'm probably less angered by the overall lousiness of this poster than the fact that a bunch of folks thought this was clever promotion and paid to unleash this on the world. Cripes. This is so lousy it makes the poster for Old Dogs with it's creepy wax John Travolta look good.

I know -- looks pretty life-like right. You almost believe it's really John Travolta and not a creepy wax double.

...Sorry I'm being a snickerpuss today. Didn't sleep well. At least I'm picking on good targets.

My New Yorker Caption Entry...

2010-06-02T21:09:00.006-04:00

Hi there.

Sorry I haven't been around lately. A lot going on and not enough time to take care of it all. In the meantime, here's my entry for this week's New Yorker caption contest:

"Naturally, I blame you for this"

Hilarious right? I'll admit, it was hard coming up with something that wasn't blatently obvious or probably a rip-off of a gag they made on "Hee-Haw". Even then... meh, I'm not unimpressed with myself here, but I wouldn't brag about this one.

Ha. "Hee-Haw". That's a dated reference even for me.

Fun With Youtube IX

2010-05-05T23:30:00.005-04:00

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Been a little busy lately is all. To make up for the absence here's some random junk off Youtube. Enjoy.... ?

Wyoming is Terrific!

2010-04-12T12:07:00.004-04:00

According to Google Analytics I've yet to receive a single visitor from the great state of Wyoming, so to improve my stats in that area I just thought I'd share a word or two about Wyoming, home of the majestic mountain range and Yellowstone National Park. The birthplace of such notables as Matthew Fox, Larry Wilcox, and former Vice President Dick Cheney. And how about the Triceratops, Wyoming's state dinosaur, or it's state flower, the Plains Cottonwood?

You ask me the only thing that's square about Wyoming is it's shape on a map. So here's to Wyoming, "The Equality State"!

Updates? (again)

2010-04-10T08:19:00.005-04:00

Hi there. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Haven't a whole lot to say is all, I suppose. Things've been fine lately. Not the greatest, but I've been writing, or at least trying to, and I've started, for some reason or another, adapting my TDSA (The Teenaged Defending Squad of America) screenplay into a comic book, making use of my fairly unimpressive drawing skills. I'm hoping to get through the first act and go from there, and I'm already ten pages in, with another ten laid out and ready to go. I'll post pages at some point I'm sure. By the way, I assure you that TDSA is better than it sounds. I mean, it's as corny as you're thinking (probably), but it's not terrible. I promise.

Anyway, to make up for the absence, here's the trailer for the hilarious "thriller" Birdemic. Oh my god, this thing is hilarious. Ha. Ah... but seriously, it looks pretty awful.

Have a good day.

My Reaction to the 2010 Oscars

2010-03-08T08:03:00.001-05:00

Glad I won some cash betting on the winners with a friend. Surprised by how bland the bits with the presenters were. Still fail to grasp the appeal of Kristen Stewart. Thought it was hilarious that they played "I am Woman" when Kathryn Bigelow won her best director Oscar.

I mean, come on. That was just asinine. Ha.

Sorry Folks...

2010-02-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't been posting around much around here lately. Things just haven't been that great lately for me. My mood's been down so it's been hard to get things done and even with the anxiety support group I went to for a few weeks there I still find it hard to get around to things that've been sitting in my "to do" pile without feeling my panic levels rising or feeling massive amounts of guilt for having put them off for so long.

So yeah, it's not that I don't simply avoid blogging, but sometimes I feel like I've betrayed my "updated weekly" bit and it's just easier to not update rather than deal with that. Which is pretty rotten all around. Unless you don't care for my writing, in which case thanks for slogging through this whole thing.

Sorry to unload this here. I'll try to have the next one be a little more upbeat and irreverent. Maybe something about... ah... what's that weiner's name? The Situation?

Anyway, have a good day.

"Experimental Film"

2010-02-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

It's a Lion!

Retro Spider-Man Video Game Commercial

2010-02-06T10:24:00.004-05:00

Does the Green Goblin actually boast about having a "gang of Nazis", or have I just misheard that entirely?

Am I a Bad Person...

2010-01-22T19:38:00.003-05:00

Does not wanting to watch the "Hope for Haiti" telethons make me a bad person? I tried watching the "Canada for Haiti" telethon, but it was so dull I couldn't stand it. The band that came on was pretty lousy, although I admit that they were probably just not my thing and others may have enjoyed them. But the banter from the hosts was simply exhausting. I have no idea what Ben Mulroney was talking about at one point, but he'd have been better served piping down and letting Rachel McAdams speak up. And the less said about Brent Butt's pre-taped "comedy bit" the better. I figured by pledging I did my part though, and now I'm watching the Simpsons and Justice League with relatively little guilt. Barely more than I usually have hanging over me.

But still, does not watching it make me a bad person? Probably. I'm not though.

So... 2009, huh?

2009-12-31T20:49:00.007-05:00

Kind of a 'blah' year. Uneventful really. Not that I'm averse to things being uneventful -- better that than horribly, gut-wrenchingly, painful. But still, not really much of a year. Kind of like 1999, which was equally uneventful (if not more pleasant in some ways).

Thing that strikes me about 2009 is how fast it flew by. Seems like the other day it was October. And before that, spring. I didn't accomplish as much as I'd have liked to this year. Wrote a little, read a little. Saw some things I wanted to, did some things I'd been meaning to get around to. It wasn't a great year for me personally. I hit some pretty low ebbs. Felt awfully lonely at times. That might've contributed to the way the year felt, especially how fast things went by from the summer-on. Things got pretty crummy around June, and from there I got the swine flu, then my mood took a hit again, then I got the H1N1, and now my mood's not so great...

I did come to a few conclusions this past year. For one, I think I'm officially over Journey. Pop culture's killed "Don't Stop Believing", which is kind of weird since it's not really that great a song? I was already pretty sick of it, and then Glee comes along.

Also I figured out why Alicia Silverstone's body of work never quite clicked with me. Turns out she's just not a very good actress. Not sure how this occurred to me. I might've been thinking about Miss Match. Remember that show? I was a cute enough premise, but it didn't really do it for me. Turns out it was probably the person playing the title character that futzed the whole thing up. But I digress.

So, I suppose here's a tip of my hat to 2009. Here's hoping 2010 is a little brighter though. Or barring that, 2011.

Updates?

2009-12-08T23:03:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but things've been a little busy. I've been getting some good stuff accomplished though (even if there's still a list of things I've yet to get to) so it's good. All the same, I've been feeling kind of unfulfilled. I usually get this way around the holidays, so it's probably just all that.

Hoping I have something eventful happen worth sharing, or at least that time stops speeding by and I remember when a week's passed so I can update on time. Man alive, 2009 went by fast. If I didn't know for sure I was around for it, I'd swear there wasn't a summer this year.

Made-Up Words (and Other Randomly Useless Thoughts)

2009-11-29T21:00:00.003-05:00

Made-up words I don't mind (even if they're describing something I have no interest in or if it's kind of gross):

Blog
Bacne
Frolf

Made-up words that get on my nerves:

Tween
Cankles
Vlog
Shizzle
Videographer
Asshat

That's all that comes to mind at the moment. I think I'll reiterate my distaste for the word "tween" though. I mean, sure "pre-teen" is kind of lame, but what's wrong with calling a kid a "kid"?

...Sorry about this, but this is the kind of junk that's been circling around my head this weekend. I blame the flu. And that Swiss Chalet commercial with the dad who takes his seemingly estranged daughter out to dinner. I mean, what's going on there? Have they not seen each other for a while, because they seem awfully casual about it if that's the case. But then, you have the mild discomfort exhibited by the daughter, which would imply she hasn't seen him in a while, along with him referring to something he used to do when she was a kid -- the cranberry sauce on the nose -- another sign they've been apart. It's a vexing commercial. Granted, I may be trying to read into it too much, but then, wasn't the point of it to get me interested in the food and not the backstory of the fictional father and daughter?

Yup. That's the junk circling around my head this weekend. Charming, hm?

I'm Not Dead...

2009-11-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

I've just had to spend the last week in bed because of the H1N1 virus getting the better of me. And by better I mean making me sweat while I'm freezing cold and get such splitting headaches that if hurts to much to think to keep my eyes open.

Better now though. My temperature's down, not coughing up phlegm, and the only headaches I've gotten in the last little while can easily be attributed to the sedentary state of my brain after lying in bed watching NCIS and Reba reruns for a solid five-six days. I'm just kidding. I never watched Reba, and I only sat through NCIS because Charles Durning was guest starring in the episode and the man does good work.

But no, not dead. Slightly bowling ball-ish, but not dead. And sorry there wasn't an image to accompany this. I found an image of a skull inside a bowling ball that would've gone perfectly with the whole "bowling ball-ish" thing, but as an image alone, it's confusingly oblique at best.

Speaking of confusing, I'm surprised I got the H1N1 after my noted debacle with the swine flu from earlier in the year. I didn't think you could get the same flu twice in a year... I figured it was like how a husband and wife can't be tried for the same crime -- you know, you don't have to worry about it. Gah. My brain hurts. Gonna go.

Thoughts at the Moment...

2009-11-03T21:00:00.002-05:00

• The pilot episode of "V" was pretty good, but it might've been better as a mini-series or movie rather than a series with a five-year plan.

• Hammacher Schlemmer makes a nice catalogue.

• The Starbucks instant coffee is actually very good, especially for those of us who like coffee but are lazy.

• The Will Ferrell movie "Stranger than Fiction" was pretty good, and yet I have no strong desire to see it a second time.

• I think I prefer the Nestle brand water to other kinds of water, except possibly Evian, but even then it's twice the cost of Nestle, so there you go.

• I think I read too many comics. If I were a smarter man I'd stop reading so many of a monthly basis and start buying the collected editions. They're cheaper, take up less space, fit nicely on a bookshelf, and give you a whole story. Granted you have to wait at least two months after the story finishes to finally get to read it and there's a good handful of books that actually read better as single issues, but if I were a smarter man I'd make the switch for most of the books I read.

• I don't read like Pizza Pizza pizza. Specifically their pizzas with tomatoes, green olives, and black olives. Something about them... not that great. Their cheese and regular veggie pizzas are great though. But their olives taste funny.

• Heath Ledger's Joker was pretty good. Not that I want to see that become the standard of all other media versions of the character, but you could do worse borrowing some aspects of that take.

• Sometimes it hard coming up with good fodder for blog postings, so writing down a lot of random junk gets the job done on occasion.

• The other day I couldn't remember if I'd told a friend about something or dreamt I'd told him it. Or whether or not I'd actually done the thing I told my friend about. I now I can't remember what it was I may or may not have told my friend I may or may not have done. Ah well, I suppose.

Here's Something Pretty Neat

2009-10-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here's my all-time favorite Looney Tunes cartoon, "Scaredy Cat". It's a great Chuck Jones cartoon and really, surprisingly messed up for a cartoon made sixty years ago. There's some really twisted stuff in there, and -- if you know your Looney Tunes -- an absolutely perfect ending.

Enjoy!

Thoughts on a Saturday Morning

2009-10-12T19:15:00.001-04:00

I was up early this past Saturday and Sunday and I noticed two things while checking out cartoons both mornings.

1) Sunday mornings have better programming than Saturdays these days. Not that the Saturday morning really matters all that much these days when you have 24 hour cartoon networks and other specialty channels offering similar programming, but when did this all happen? Not only that, but only ABC and CBS air Saturday morning programming anymore, and even then it's either stuff aimed at the coveted 3 to 5 year old demographic or live action Disney Channel pap. What happened to FOX Kids (see above) or ABC's One Saturday Morning or NBC's live action bad sitcoms? X-Men and Spider-Man and Batman shouldn't be on Sundays. They should be on Saturdays, followed by Three Stooges reruns. And I'd like to think the fact I'm only half serious makes this more palatable than the other crackpots in their mid-twenties who waste time griping about Saturday morning cartoons.

2) I saw a Barbie commercial that featured Aqua's Barbie Girl song. As someone who remembers how Mattel tried suing Aqua over it, that is hilarious. I'd like to think there's someone at Mattel who can appreciate the irony that they're forking over cash to Aqua after all that business.

Declarative George Sez...

2009-09-30T18:30:00.000-04:00

Y'know... I Don't Really Care for "Glee"

2009-09-29T09:10:00.002-04:00

It's funny -- I meant to write about this a little while ago after watching the first and second episodes of "Glee", but I guess I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to get around to it. It's not surprising, I suppose. I mean, It's not like I thought "Glee", the "little show that could" du jour, was an awful show. For one thing, it has all the ingredients of a show that I'd enjoy: Musical numbers, a good cast, teenagers played by people that look like teenagers, quirky dialogue, the confidence to make it's characters look stupid and people rip on them for it, etc. And yet... it all feels very patchwork. Like it's trying too hard. It feels like the Disney Channel version of something that's actually entertaining.

Worst of all, the musical numbers aren't all that fun. Sure some of the songs are catchy and well-orchestrated, but instead of totally embracing what they're doing it all feels too safe, like they're trying not to offend their target demographic. The only thing worse than something that's just plain bad is something that's frustratingly close to being good. I wouldn't say "Glee" is necessarily just shy of being a good series (or downright awful for that matter), but it's certainly frustrating how it has all of the components of a good show but is content to proceed in mediocrity.

Things I Find Terribly Vexing This Month, Vol.1

2009-09-17T17:00:00.002-04:00

I'd completely forgotten about this until I heard a mention of Mr. Coffee on an episode of Seinfeld a a minute ago (the episode where Jerry dates the Miss America pageant contestant for anyone curious). There was a comic book that came out about the time the first Spider-Man film was released that, not surprisingly, featured a return of the Green Goblin. Following a heated battle between Spidey and the Goblin, the two were so winded that they had to rest against a wall; it was during this downtime that the Goblin told Spider-Man that before settling on the "Green Goblin" he'd briefly considered calling himself "Mr. Coffee", making the two laugh. But only the two of them. I thought it was a pretty lame joke, but at least I get why the characters would laugh.

So, seven years later I'm in a supermarket and I find a copy of this... how can I put this... "deluxe edition" comic book that had a few pages of new material, some remastered old issues from the 1960s all dolled up with modern coloring techniques, a couple of handbook profiles, and a history of the Green Goblin done with some text and images from older issues. Since I was catching the bus home and had a good half hour to kill, I started reading some of that back-matter, specifically the skippable the "Green Goblin Saga" history thing. (Just so we're clear, it's just the history thing that's pretty skippable. Not the handbook profiles -- I get a real kick of those. The "Saga" stuff leaves me cold.) But anyway, I'm reading this thing and it gets to the origin of the Green Goblin and mentions that Norman Osborn considered Mr. Coffee as a name before going with Green Goblin.

Now I'm normally big on obscure references and callbacks and archaic trivia and all that, but really now -- "Mr. Coffee" is canon? A lame joke is now an arguably key component of the Green Goblin's history?

Just so we're clear, I'm not angered or anything by how "Mr. Coffee" has seemingly become such an important part of the Green Goblin's back story. It might read that I'm full of rage, but I assure you I'm, if anything, relaxed to the point of distraction here (I've had to proofread this post several times already just to be sure it makes sense). Still, I find this terribly vexing. I mean, really -- Mr. Coffee? Yeesch.

More Songs I Can't Stand!

2009-09-09T09:00:00.001-04:00

I'm so, so, so very sorry to foist more melodic abominations upon you dear reader, but there's something strangely cathartic about realizing the awful music you were bombarded with as a kid is actually awful. I mean, sure you might've listened to it and acted like all was well, but the whole time you were thinking this is garbage. It's nice to get that kind of thing out there.

Not that I expect anyone else to really care about what kind of music I dislike, but hey, isn't the point of a blog to put your pointless opinion out there for an uninterested world to see? And even if you could care less about what I've got to say, at least you get some awful music out it, right?

The Problem with People Who Speak Their Minds...

2009-09-05T21:43:00.008-04:00

The only problem with people who speak their minds is unless they have a whole lot going on up there, most of what they say is probably going to be pretty awful.

And with that I direct you Megan Fox's latest bit of delightful incoherence where she equates Transformers director Michael Bay to Hitler. And then, possibly even more embarrassingly, a pre-pubescent thirteen year-old boy:

"He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he’s not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he’s so awkward, so hopelessly awkward. He has no social skills at all. And it’s endearing to watch him. He’s vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set he’s a tyrant. Shia and I almost die when we make a Transformers movie."

Oh Megan Fox. You never fail to disappoint, I'll give you that.

I also freely cop to the fact that in spite of that bizarre soundbite I'm not above ogling a picture of Ms. Fox in varying states of undress while appearing to make-out with herself. Not that being willing to admit this makes it any better, I suppose.

Via Entertainment Weekly (which has a whole lot of Megan Fox hilarity besides this latest bit).

Three Songs I Can't Stand

2009-08-27T09:49:00.006-04:00

Hope I don't offend anyone, but here are three songs that make me want to bash my head into a wall. For what it's worth, a few of my jackass friends really enjoy Depeche Mode. Not sure about their opinions on the other two though. Either way I'd rather eat a light bulb than listen to them another time.

And with that, enjoy!

Pretty bad, huh?

My Starbucks and iTunes D'oh

2009-08-19T12:27:00.005-04:00

I was in Chicago the other day and grabbed a couple of those Starbucks iTunes song redemption cards at a Starbucks in a Target. Which is pretty wild. I wish there were more Starbucks in places like that. Not that we have Targets in Canada, but most of them are in Chapters (Canada's equivalent to Borders and Barnes and Noble) with a handful of separate locations besides. And really, you can never have enough Starbucks. There's the tops.

But anyway, I tried to redeem one of the codes and it didn't work since it was designed for the US iTunes and not the Canadian one (yeah, there's a difference, and don't think I'm not cheesed off by that). It's for Yusuf, the artist known as Cat Stevens' "Welcome Home". The codes are 9W3NAXLFPYWK and KWYRYYW6AFAJ. If you use them, just let me know so I can check them off.

Chicago was nice, by the way. Did a bit of a driving tour of the downtown, went by Target for some cheap tube socks, Cherry Coke Zero and Pretzels, and caught "(500) Days of Summer" at an AMC by the theater. It was a nice little trip.

What the - - ?

2009-08-06T20:17:00.003-04:00

Now, I'm not an English professor, and on occasion I've even been known to mispronounce easy to say words like "crayon" and "thermometer", but can someone explain what this woman is trying to say. I heard a few familiar words there, but the order in which they're spoken vexes me.

Vexing. Definitely vexing.

Cripes.

2009-07-22T22:50:00.004-04:00

I think I have the swine flu. Which stinks. Not that it's that big a deal, I mean, it's just a new version of the flu that's considered risky because most folks immune systems aren't familiar with it, but darn if it doesn't sting all the same. Especially the name. I haven't told my friends about my suspicion yet because I'm not sure I want to give them an invitation to make pig jokes about me. I didn't even think I had it until I saw a list of symptoms at the local drug store -- until that point I'd figured my coughing was related to how dehydrated and sore my throat got at my grandmother's funeral (it was ridiculously hot and humid that day, and the heavy suit, a lack of air conditioning, and a 90 minute funeral service did a number on me), and that my stuffy nose was just my allergies acting up (as is the norm this time of year anyway). Still, I suppose I have been fatigued lately and have had a decrease in my usual appetite.

Hopefully it'll pass soon, especially since I've realized I might have it. It's been about a week and a half now since I've been coughing and all that, which is usually the amount of time a mild case lasts. Still, the fact I might have it really stinks. It's a real kick in the head.

My Almost Quandary (of Sorts)

2009-07-14T20:00:00.006-04:00

So, Ally McBeal is coming to DVD later this year and Fox, for some reason but arguably a welcome one, is releasing the first season and the complete series at the same time. Back in the day I watched Ally McBeal fervently -- it was probably the first "grown-up" series I really enjoyed and followed regularly. At least the first dramatic one, since I did, curiously, watch Murphy Brown for a good three to four pre-puberty years, and that was a pretty grown up show. Granted Ally McBeal wasn't a straight up drama, but it was more serious than most of the shows I'd been following to that point in my life. And it was pretty enjoyable. For the first two or three years at least. Then it got kind of... not good. But the first few years were good enough to buy the show 'viewer credit' with me, and I stuck through to the end with it.

And so my quandary lies with the DVD releases. I'm looking forward to revisiting the show, but, well, I'm concerned how it'll hold up. I have fond memories of the show and if it hasn't aged well, that'd be pretty disappointing. I'd really hate to find out it's as lame as my friends thought it was went I was watching it new, but since my initial viewership was part genuine enjoyment and part 'watching a prime time drama for the first time, all adult and such (and on a school night, no less!)', I have a feeling it might not hold up. I probably wouldn't even have these fears if I hadn't caught part of a first season episode when I went to Mexico a few years back (specifically the one where Ally humiliated a guy by making him walk around with pants around his ankles, and yes, it's a good as it sounds...), and part of me would rather leave it be as a show I enjoyed from my teen years than find out it stinks.

On the other hand, Peter McNicol's John Cage was the man, so that might be enough to make me buy the bloody thing, quality be damned. I mean, say what you will about the show, but John Cage was really awesome.

2009-07-07T07:30:00.002-04:00

My grandmother, Eleanor "Nana" Morrow passed away on the weekend. She hadn't been doing well for the past year and a half, a strange bit of immobilizing back pain leading to hospitalization and then to a nursing home. Last week she took a turn for the worse -- we weren't sure if it was due to an infection or if she had a stroke, but she couldn't move or speak very well, if at all. She went back to the hospital last Monday, briefly though, since the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her, and again on Thursday.

I saw her on Friday night for a good couple of hours. She still couldn't move or communicate, but when my brother took her hand she seemed to react facially and her grip tightened. She died the following morning. It still hasn't really sunk in, like I know she's gone, but I don't really think of her like that, like she's still around. I've been busy doing stuff to help out my dad, like rewriting his two page obituary into something that'll fit into the average obit space in our local paper, but it doesn't feel like I'm doing enough. I don't know. It's a weird feeling.

Anyway, I'll try to post something non-death related as soon as I come up with something. Little hard, is all though.

Cripes.

2009-06-25T19:10:00.002-04:00

Today Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. I was a generation too late for either to have the kind of impact they had on other folks, but it's still pretty shocking stuff. Besides being pretty big pop-cultural touchstones, they're both about the same ages as my parents, which freaks me out a little bit. I mean, neither was that old and they're gone. My brother Kerr, who's a bit of a Michael Jackson music enthusiast, seems pretty let down by the whole thing.

Cripes. Heck of a thing, huh.

Here's Where I Talk About Nachos

2009-06-23T21:53:00.000-04:00

I'm not dumb. Even with the tomato and lettuce and all that nachos can't be that great for you. But I do enjoy a good plate of nachos. I suppose I could make them at home, but I'm a lazy eater; when I'm hungry I'm all business, no frills, from the fridge to my plate. Getting from hunger to food with the shortest distance and all that. Not that I short-change meals or anything, but I eat as I'm cooking, usually going from one bit of food to the next. That sounds pretty bad, but it works. I start with rice or vegetables and prepare the more complicated course while I'm having that. So I usually have nachos at restaurants. But even then, that's infrequent, because, like I said I'm all business when it comes to meals.

When I go to a restaurant it's for something substantial. Not nachos which I'd probably have too much of and fill up on them, throwing the whole meal off. That said, there are times when I go to a restaurant specifically for nachos -- there's a great place a few minutes from home that has a great nacho platter that I enjoy every now and then. I still wish I could have nachos more often, but I guess if I had it with greater frequency it'd lose the punch when I do have them, and I'd probably feel more guilt about all that cheese and such.

And that's me talking about nachos. Don't worry, I promise the next post will be slightly more interesting. Unless you're a nacho enthusiast, in which case this must've been something else for you, huh.

Fun With Youtube VIII

2009-06-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here we go with the latest batch of interesting clips I've come across on Youtube, as always in lieu of actual content or insightful commentary. Enjoy.

(A warning for the easily offended out there -- some of the clips contain "language" that may shock the young and stun the elderly. I'm not going to say which ones though. Think of it as a game or something, I suppose. Although I probably could've pointed them out more clearly. But this whole post is designed to give me less work, so there you go. But just so I don't come across totally shiftless, you can probably tell which ones I'm talking about from their titles. I guess that kind of saves face for me.)

This Just In: Captain America: Not Dead.

2009-06-15T06:29:00.006-04:00

Which is kind of lame, especially since his "death" (and I say that with the possibility that it'll turn out he never died in the first place) gave the comic title a real shot in the arm and drew it a lot of outside attention. Heck, Stephen Colbert still has the shield he was given as per Cap's will hanging on the wall of his set.

Not that I ever expected them to keep Captain America dead for any great length of time, but bringing him back barely two years after they killed him off in the first place is... well, it's kind of a joke on how comic book characters keep coming back to life and is going to cheese off a lot of folks who were drawn in because of his death and the direction the book took, and folks like me who kind of like Bucky as Captain America.

Plus wouldn't something other than the totally expected "surprise announcement" have been fun? Seems like all of the build-up and hub-bub called for it. I wonder what this'll do to the value of the issue he died in. Not that I'm that kind of person, but I paid 15 bucks for the bloody thing.

News care of the New York Daily News.

Y'know What's Funny?

2009-06-10T21:34:00.000-04:00

I think I really enjoy Patrick Stewart in a way that has nothing to do with Star Trek. It's not that I've never seen an episode of it or that I didn't enjoy the show I suppose, but I don't think any of my fondness for the man has anything to do with that. Curiously I'm probably more indifferent than anything when it comes Star Trek (or rather Star Trek: The Next Generation -- figured I ought to be clear on that one since there's a half dozen different 'Treks out there). I say curiously since I can usually get into stuff like that with all of the mythology and continuity and all that, but when I see it's on TV I try to see what's going on, but I usually wind up flipping the channel within minutes. Might have something to do with the whole "reset button" they hit at the end of every show preventing change and development, might have something to do with the fact I already saw most of the episodes back when I was 10. Or alternately, maybe it just seems like I've seen every show.

Anyway, what was my point before I started ripping on Star Trek: The Next Generation? Yeah, so I caught a rerun of Extras the other day, and it was the episode with Patrick Stewart and the bit where he describes the script he'd written. Check out the clip to see what I'm talking about -- it was probably my favorite bit of the whole run of the show. Besides that, the man was the perfect Professor X (and he reprised the role in several X-Men video games, which is pretty neat too), and he's doing good work on American Dad, even if I enjoyed his guest shot on Family Guy with the Star Trek cast more than anything I've seen him do on that show. But probably better than either of those was his guest shot on the Simpsons back in the day, where he played the Stonecutters Number One. Just thinking of him saying stuff like "Let's all get drunk and play ping pong", "Settle down, Moe", and "The "paddling of the swollen ass"... with paddles", makes me chuckle.

So yeah, the man's likability with me curiously has nothing to do with the career defining role that put him on the map, but rather his other best know genre role and a series of animated voice-overs that've played off his distinguished nature and voice.

Hm. When I realized this would make adequate fodder for a blog post I guess I figured I'd have more to say about that, or at least that the little I would have to say would be slightly more interesting. At least the clips were funny, I guess.

Well This is a Kick in the Head

2009-05-29T17:47:00.004-04:00

First, I'd like to apologize for all of the nerd-heavy posts lately. On one hand I try to limit it to stuff that I'd hope folks might find interesting even if they're comic related. On the other it's easier writing about colorful funny book pamphlets than, you know, actually relevant stuff, so there you go.

That said, I read today that Dwayne McDuffie's been fired off the Justice League comic for discussing the editorial side of writing that book, specifically mandated tie-ins to other stories, characters being off-limits, writing a scene where a deceased character is mourned in a cemetary and then finding out they decided they weren't really dead after all (leaving the background tombstones curiously out of place), that kind of stuff.

But even being hamstrung as he was, I thought the book was doing pretty good. Not great, but there was still enough stuff in every issue to make it an entertaining read. And of course, I found out about this after finishing the latest issue, musing over the better bits as I checked out a few of my usual online haunts.

This is a real kick in the head. Really stinks.

The Adding Random Pictures to Songs from the 1980s to Make Them Look Profound and Kind of Sad Post, Vol. 1

2009-05-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

"Time After Time"
by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you

Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new
Flash back warm night, almost left behind
Suitcase of memories
Time after sometime you pictured me
I'm walking too far ahead
You're callin' to me
I can't hear what you've said
Then you said, "Go slow, I fall behind"
The second hand unwinds

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades
And darkness has turned to grey
Watching through windows
You're wondering if I'm OK
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time

You said, "Go slow, I fall behind"
The second hand unwinds

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time

Time after time

My "Best Of", Vol. 1

2009-05-20T18:00:00.000-04:00

So I was reading a few "best of" lists, and seeing a few things I've quite enjoyed over the years pop up got me thinking about a few of my own personal "best ofs". So, assuming my tastes are as valued by an anonymous reader as they are by myself, here's a list of comic books that were I stranded on the deserted island and not driven to madness through a lack of nourishment and exposure to the sun, I'd be content re-reading until being rescued at some later date.

Deadpool (volume three) #1-25, by Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, Walter McDaniel, and others

I'm thrilled that Marvel Comics has finally gotten around to collecting this run, since it's pretty much the gold standard of comic book serialized storytelling for me. Not only did writer Joe Kelly and artists Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, and Walter McDaniel define Deadpool so effectively that the character has remained a headlining title character since this series began back in late 1996, but they told a story that rivals the best of TV's long-form storytelling back before it was the norm for TV or comics. And the best thing is they did without the slightest hint that it was the plan all along, or without compromising Deadpool's character, a feat all the more impressive when you realize the story ended with Deadpool saving the world from an other-worldly "menace" (curious what I mean, then read the books). The upswing in Deadpool's popularity thanks to his well-received current series and appearance in the Wolverine film has given Marvel a perfect opportunity to get around to reprinting the entire run (preferably in their popular omnibus format), especially since the last collection ended just shy of the acclaimed and as-yet unprinted eleventh issue that "inserted" Deadpool into an old issue of Spider-Man. Either way, it's great that folks are checking out these old issues through the reprints or original issues, since it's worthy of the attention.

X-Force (volume one) #116-129, by Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, and others

I've written about the Milligan-Allred X-Force before so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but these issues are so subversively brilliant that I can say enough good things about them. Sold as a media satire told through superheroes with Peter Milligan's razor-sharp wit and the old-school style of Mike Allred, the brilliance of this run for me was how strongly I felt toward the characters by the final issue. As their layers were peeled back during the highly enjoyable run, the fact that the characters that seemed shallow and self-involved were as fully realized as any character I've ever seen elevated the series to a special place, and made me kick myself for not following the run more regularly as it was first coming out (I stopped four issues in, only coming back to the series after seeing the cast profiled in Marvel's Handbook series). The run continued for an additional twenty-five issues as X-Statix, but these first fourteen are the cream of the crop for me (admittedly because of the death of one of the leads at the end of this series, a character whose absence was so keenly felt that the first year of X-Statix devoted two issues to the character, as though to admit the creative team was as aware of the void as the readership was).

Well, that's the first part of my "Best Of". I'll add the rest of my ramblings soon.

Declarative Jack Sez...

2009-05-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

Y'know What I've Noticed...

2009-05-18T20:00:00.001-04:00

So there's this Archie Comics character Cheryl Blossom. You might not have heard of her since she's a relatively recent addition to the cast (from the early 1980s which is a good chunk of time ago, but about 40 years after most of the other characters debuted), but she's headlined her own title and appeared frequently in new stories and through reprints when she hasn't shown up for a while.

Thing is, Cheryl's 'character' is that... how can I put this... she's the promiscuous one. As much as she can be in an Archie Comic, that is. So while they can't even really imply she's... how can I put this... 'winding the crank on Archie's jalopy', she still parades around in skimpy clothing with plenty of skin and cleavage on display. Which is all well and good. I mean, if you're a kid that kind of stuff drives you wild.

So today while reading an article on pointless Archie Comics characters, I stumbled on a link to Cheryl's first appearance, and while it's pretty tame by most standards, by Archie standards it's awfully risqué stuff (as I'm sure you've noticed by the out of context 'topless beach' and 'sneaky beer drinking' bits sprinkled throughout this posting).

So reading it, I've noticed that it's not hard to see why it's been seldom (if ever) been reprinted, what with the underaged drinking and topless seventeen year-old. Kind of makes me wonder if Dan DeCarlo was responsible for those stories where Veronica lost her top while swimming, or the one where the Riverdale High heater was on the fritz and all of the kids stripped down to their underwear to deal with the heat. Not to necessarily say they were bad stories,
but pretty much the whole point was to show as much teenaged cartoon skin as possible, which, ah... I have mixed feelings about.

And by mixed feelings I don't mean to say that I find naked Archie characters titillating or anything, just that... well, you know, I mean... if you were on a beach and a girl took her top off... um, that... ah... I think I'm going to stop here.

I'm not a weirdo.

The Ending to Every 1980's Movie in Four Minutes (with bonus footnotes)

2009-05-13T04:13:00.000-04:00

80's Ending
It's funny, because I think I might actually have greater awareness of the clichés demonstrated in this clip because of videos like this one that rip on these clichés.* Not that I haven't seen my fair share of 80s teen comedies and the like ("Revenge of the Nerds", "Just One of the Guys"... ah... when did "If Looks Could Kill" come out?)**, but I was too young to see these movies when they were coming out, and by the time I was a teenager all I could see was the stuff they lampoon here.*** Now I'm actually a little scared at the thought that in ten years someone will dissect "American Pie", "Never Been Kissed", and "She's All That" and all of the teen comedies that came out in my formative years and point out how ridiculous they were, even if they tried to jump the gun on that sort of thing with that "(Fill in the Blank) Movie" spoof they did about a decade ago (which would probably be included in the dissection anyway).****

* Like South Park's "Asspen", which introduced me to the 'regular guy competing against arrogant jock and winning the heart of the dorky-but-hot-girl'.
** Just remembered "Say Anything" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", but they weren't that bad.
*** Being a teenager in the savvy and cynical late-90s, early-00s, as I was.
**** This film being a reflection of my generation's savviness and cynicism toward the genre, because, really we all knew how lousy these movies were as they were coming out but went to see them anyway.

At the Moment...

2009-05-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

I'm a too stuffed up at the moment to form much of a coherent thought for an update (my sinuses being as sensitive as they are).

Still, thought I'd stop by to say that I caught "Wolverine" on the weekend and thought it was pretty decent. Not a great film, but pretty enjoyable and fun all the same. Wish Deadpool was a little truer to the comics (at least during his appearance later in the film -- Ryan Reynolds nailed the part during the first bit), but it's a good enough set up for a spin-off film. Not really getting all of the bad press and feedback the movie's been getting, but to each their own I suppose. I'd recommend it.

Anyway, I'm feeling a little too bowling ball-ish to say much else, so I'm going to sign off. See you.

Random/Useless Thoughts of the Moment

2009-04-26T16:26:00.003-04:00

What's the appeal of Saved by the Bell? It wasn't a very good show, and yet it's been running continuously since it first aired twenty years ago. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person with an eye for quality television, and yet, if it's on, I'll watch it, even though I know it's not that great. Even when it was still airing new episodes, I knew it wasn't that great. I remember thinking as a ten year old that it "really went downhill once Screech's voice changed". It always bugged me too how every non-main cast member student was some sort of stereotype, and how all of the classes seemed to be held in that one room across the hall from Mr. Belding's office, and how 75% of all classes were taught by Mr. Tuttle or Mr. Dewey. And still, God help me, if I come across an episode, odds are I'll stay with it at least until the commercial break. Maybe they have some kind of hypnotic thing going on, like that episode where Zack put a hidden message in a song to get Bayside's female student body to fall for him during that Valentine's Day, heart-swapping thing.

Now I don't know what's worse. That I admitted to watching Saved by the Bell*, or that I made reference to an episode.

*I caution to add that that's infrequently, if ever. Just so we're clear.

Declarative George Sez...

2009-04-15T19:33:00.000-04:00

Things I Kind of Wish Were Still Around: Volume Three: Addendum

2009-04-12T11:15:00.001-04:00

Here're a few Stella shorts from the live stage show the Stella trio used to perform back in the day. I caution that the material in all of the shorts might not be exactly... family friendly, but they're funny as all get out.

(By the way, the first short, "Audition", is probably my favorite of the lot, and closest to the "Stella" TV show.)

Things I Kind of Wish Were Still Around: Volume Three

2009-04-11T08:56:00.001-04:00

Stella was one of those shows that was under (and badly) promoted and died before it had a chance to catch on. Which is a real shame, since it could've found a "Flight of the Conchords"-esque following if it had been given half a chance. A simple enough premise -- and curiously not unlike Conchords -- a trio of idiots living in New York and their various, outlandish misadventures. More 'out-there' than Conchords, it's easy to see why it didn't catch on. I have a friend who enjoyed Conchords and eagerly watched every new episode, but he couldn't handle more than half an episode of Stella. Thing is though, once you get past the uneven pilot episode, Stella gets really great. In fact I still eagerly bring out the DVD collection of the show at least once a year to re-watch (and it's worth noting here that if you are interested in checking out this 2006 DVD release that you're in for a bit of work there -- it was hard enough to find when it was new, and even then I think I had it special ordered).

The best episode of the ten episode run was probably "Meeting Girls", which has the three leads that make up comedy trio Stella, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, finding romance in a New York redneck bar after winning the respect of the bar's patrons with a Coyote Ugly style dance on the bar counter. I'm reluctant to go into greater deal to avoid revealing too much of the episode (and because my description sounds kind of lame and I'd hate to put anyone off from wanting to watch the show).

It's hard to write about Stella in such a way that'll draw people into the show, because it really is one of those things you have to see for yourself. If you have a good sense of humor, you'll probably enjoy the show. It was really cut off at the knees and given enough time could have found an audience, especially as the Apatow-style of comedy (which wasn't so far off from Stella) started to become popular a short time after the end of the show (in fact David Wain, one of the Stella trio and director of several episodes of the show, is probably better known now for his successful film "Role Models").

If you want to check out episodes of Stella you can find them at the Comedy Central page for the show (or the Comedy Network page for the show, if you're Canadian). Check it out. It's an all right show that I wish was still around.

Saturday Morning Flashback Fun With Youtube

2009-04-04T08:12:00.000-04:00

Am I the Only Person a Little Irked By This?

2009-04-01T12:53:00.004-04:00

Have you seen this, have you heard about this? Apparently "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto is being considered as the next Bond-girl in the upcoming 23rd James Bond film. Now it might just be me, and stop me if I've said this before, but is it so difficult to find an actress to play a Bond-girl opposite Daniel Craig who doesn't look like she's young enough to be his daughter? Now I'm not saying that Daniel Craig is an old guy or anything, and at age 40 he's pretty much as old as the other Bonds in their prime, but look at him:

The guy is craggy, man. And make no mistake, it works for the character. But when you're casting women in their early twenties, it really makes him look old and them look young. And personally, yeah, it's a little creepy for me. To say nothing of the fact that guys dating women nearly years younger than them in real life has never really sat well with me anyway.

It worked in "Casino Royale" because they had the time to build up the Bond relationship with Eva Green's Vesper Lynd to the point where I bought the fact that they might find some romance with each other, but that didn't stop me from making the lame joke about James Bond and his daughter (and Craig, twelve years older than Green, did look like her old man). Olga Kurylenko, who's only a year older than Green actually, looked more age-appropriate in "Quantum of Solace", but you still had the bit about Bond bagging Gemma Arterton's Agent Fields. And since Craig actually is old enough to be Arterton's father, well that... yeah, it didn't sit 100% with me.

Now as something of a Bond afficionado (I suppose beginning with 1991's James Bond Jr., I'm somewhat ashamed to admit), I'm aware this sort of thing is par for the course with the Bond films. In fact Roger Moore (who I'm not the least ashamed to admit was always my favorite James Bond), decided to step down after realizing he was older than the mother of his View to a Kill Bond-girl (I have mixed feelings about admitting "View to a Kill" being the first Bond film I saw, what with the pluses of Christopher Walken and Grace Jones). But still. Doesn't sit well with me. Just figured I ought to be the first guy to say that, even if everyone else seems fine with it.

Post-Script: I assured you that when I described Daniel Craig's appearance as "craggy", I was in no way attempting a joke or anything. I want to make it perfectly clear, dear reader, that I am not that lame. I just went with "craggy" because, at the time, it sounded better than "grizzled". I suppose it still does, which explains why I opted to add this after a read-through instead of simply changing it.

Oh, by the way, "Slumdog Millionaire" -- pretty good film. I see why it won the Oscar.

Right then.

My Update

2009-03-24T19:40:00.005-04:00

Caution: The following post was written while under the effect of alledgly "non-drowsy" allergy medication and may be subject to randomness, a rambling tone, and curious uses of the word "bowling ball".

I haven't had a chance to check in in a little bit, the primary reason being that I'm visiting my mom in BC and find myself depending on a ten year old Compaq Presario for internet access. The bright side is that I have the perspective that using a computer that would have seemed cutting edge when I was in high school really isn't all that great, and that, really, my computer back in Hamilton, for all it's problems, really isn't too bad. It can actually play videos, for one thing.

The other reason why I haven't been around lately is I've found myself unable to think clearly without regular doses of Sinutab and aspirin, and even then I'm still feeling pretty bowling bowl-ish. No idea why this is the case -- I don't experience sinus headaches when I get colds, but I've been getting those "cold sweats" and general feelings of disorientation for a few days now. I suspected it might have to do with the dust that collected in my old bedroom (which would be the only thing that could affect my allergies since it's been raining since I got here), but as it is, I'm at a loss and feeling pretty out of it.

The trip has been worth it though, since it's been nice seeing my mom and all my stuff, and I've been enjoying Teletoon Retro, which I still don't get back in Hamilton. It's been great fun watching all the Looney Tunes, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and other programs. I've even caught a few episodes of Superfriends, but gosh, is it ever a messed up show. The first episode had Superman fall through a black hole and travel back in time to Krypton before it exploded (now I'm no scientist, but even I know they don't work that way), and through the use of some deus ex machina, prevent Krypton's destruction. When he goes back through the black hole and into the present he learns that because he was never on earth the Legion of Doom successfully took over the world. So naturally, instead of doing something as simple as sending his own younger self to Earth, Superman removes his device and lets Krypton blow up. Which is really messed up, if you think about it. And I figure since Superman didn't bother thinking about it, one of us may as well.

The last segment in the episode which had Aquaman and Black Vulcan stop the Titanic (which, naturally, sprung to life and began attacking people), by sending into an iceberg in the same area it originally crashed was pretty messed up too, but I can't decide if it was more messed up because of the whole 'real-world' aspect. Either way, the guys who wrote for that show were all kinds of sick, man.

Anyway, I'll try to check in soon. Bye for now, then.

My (Almost) Frustration

2009-03-14T21:27:00.004-04:00

Last Friday I decided to get a copy of the first Scott Pilgrim book (Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life), having noticed some of the press surrounding the currently-filming, Edgar Wright-helmed production currently being shot in Toronto. And it was really terrifically well-done -- I burned through it in a few days. A really solid mix of video game surrealism and superbly honest and fully-realized characters.

On Thursday I got the second volume, which I finished today. Realizing how far along I was with the second volume (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), and not wanting to lose any of my reading-momentum, I got volumes three and four yesterday (Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness and Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together). Which was a wise decision because volume three picks up moments after the end of volume two. In fact, I can't even imagine having to read the volumes with the year-long gap folks had to put up with when the volumes were originally released.

That said, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a kick in the head that I've jumped on the Scott Pilgrim bandwagon at this particular moment. The fifth volume, (Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe), just came out and it'll likely be another year-plus until the sixth (and final) volume is released. And even then, it'll likely be timed to come out with the movie, which, as I've learned today, won't be out until the summer of 2010. And since I've been on a real Scott Pilgrim kick this past week, this is not that good. Still, the books are extremely well done and incredibly entertaining, so it's cool having all that to enjoy. And even if I still have a year to go I still have the fact that my friends have yet to realize how cool the whole thing is, so once they do finally hear about Scott Pilgrim I can act all cool and such because I was aware of it first. Not that I'll be a wiener about it or anything, but it's nice being ahead of the curve.

"Woman Calls 911 After McDonald's Runs Out Of Nuggets"

2009-03-06T18:19:00.006-05:00

Have you heard of this? Do you know about this?

Apparently the story doesn't live up to the headline -- I got as far as the first few paragraphs before realizing this -- which is a real shame since it honestly sounds like the best news story of the year. Not only is it utterly ridiculous, but it involves one of my favorite words: McNuggets. I think the world would be a much better place if people said "McNuggets" more. It really is a fun word.

Prior to this, my interesting/anecdotal/stupid news interest was drawn toward a story involving a local florist who was scammed out of $22,000 by "Reverend Benjamin Wallace" of Ghana's Christ the King Cathedral. Apparently the florist was contacted and asked to make 850 gift baskets and wreaths, and, failing to question why a church in Ghana would hire a small Canadian florist to handle this, was majorly ripped off.

""If I come out even - no further ahead, no further behind -- I'm happy with that," said Yeomans.

""And lesson learned.""

I suppose all you can do at times like that is laugh -- you've got to admire taking it in stride and all that. I can't help but be curious why a con-artist is interested in $22,000 worth of gift baskets and wreaths though.

Feeling Nice and Mellow Today

2009-02-28T15:11:00.005-05:00

Not much to say, but I'm enjoying the sun today, sitting back with some nice reading material, drinking some coffee, and leaving the TV on in the background with Saturday afternoon's constant stream of "Seinfeld", "Simpsons", "Family Guy", and "Daily Show".

Really, a perfect lazy Saturday. Nice and mellow.

Things I Kind of Wish Were Still Around: Volume Two

2009-02-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

An event I still find myself referring to occurred in June 1996 while I and my eighth grade classmates returned from our "senior" class trip to Montreal, Quebec. The surrounding details remain vague -- I can't remember if the event happened before or after I was given a garlic flavored mint by my friend John in retaliation for dosing him with itching powder we'd acquired on the trip, or which of the five or so films we watched on the bus ride was airing (we'd probably already seen "Waterworld" and "Beaches" by that point, so it's might be "Powder" -- curious choices in hindsight for an audience of 14 year olds), but I'll remember the moment clear as day for as long as I live.

There I was, standing in line at the McDonald's, ready to order an Arch Deluxe meal with a medium diet coke. While hungry for the Arch Deluxe and the coke, I admit I wasn't terribly interested in the fries that came with the combo but thought I may as well get them, what with the savings accompanying the combo purchase. It was then that I overheard a classmate, Andrea Burns, mention that she was hungry, but only a little, perhaps enough for some fries. And so I leapt forward, offering that we pool our resources and get the Arch Deluxe combo, keeping the burger and soft drink for myself and passing along the fries to Andrea, while we both basked in the savings as this development.

In the years to follow, I've found myself recalling this event, pleased at how I took the initiative and used the combo as an opportunity to enjoy the savings and the unique taste of the Arch Deluxe. It's seeing it in the print and going over the details at length that I begin to wonder if the whole thing was really worth... I don't want to say 'bragging' about... but maybe bringing up as often as I have. I only reasonable excuse could be that I did so as a joke at first and my 'funny boasting' developed into sincere braggadocio. Still, whatever the case is, I've yet to have someone tell me the whole thing is dumb in all the years and all the times I've brought it up. And all things considered, I am pleased about the whole thing. About 400s words proud.

But anyway, what was my point? Oh yeah, the Arch Deluxe. I really liked that thing. I was pretty let down when they discontinued it. I mean, they kept the McDonald's pizzas around longer than the Arch Deluxe, and those made no sense. Pizza at a burger place? I guess the crust was pretty good.

I suppose since I'm a vegetarian it doesn't really matter that the Arch Deluxe isn't around anymore, but I really enjoyed it back in the day. Yeah. It was all right.

Curious Synchronicity

2009-02-21T17:30:00.008-05:00

Not two days ago was I thinking about the murder of Chandra Levy and Congressman Gary Condit's alleged and undefined involvement. I was thinking that after all the hoopla about the whole thing a few years back it fell off the radar after 9-11, and I couldn't recall hearing a peep about the subsequent investigation, much less whether or not there was one.

Whoa. Synchronicity. There isn't a pie salesman out there, is there?

Things I Kind of Wish Were Still Around: Volume One

2009-02-17T11:47:00.006-05:00

I can't remember how or why this popped into my head just now, but the more I remember Marvel Comics' X-Force/X-Statix, the more I wish they were still around in some capacity.

Honestly though, there's an appeal to something that ends after a good sized run of stories over a handful of years. X-Force/X-Statix ran regularly for three years and forty issues from 2001 through 2004, with an additional five issues in 2006; not a bad run by any stretch, and not unlike the brief runs of other things I've enjoyed (The Office, Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, Justice League Unlimited). That's not to say I enjoyed the run as it was coming out, not entirely -- while I followed the early issues of X-Force based on the previews of Mike Allred's artwork, I stopped following the series with #119. Not because of the quality of the titles, but mostly because I started my first year of college and kept mostly to series I'd been following for more than four issues in lieu of ridiculous expenses. Over the next few years I kept up with the series through the odd issue discovered in dollar bins, finding about five or six that way.

It wasn't until the release of the 2006 five issue limited series X-Statix: Deadgirl and the various character profiles in the monthly Marvel Handbooks out at the time, that my fondness for the series was stirred full-on. I started with the second volume of X-Force, figuring that since I'd read all but one of the issues in the first volume I was fine (I should add for folks curious, that the whole run started with issue #116 of X-Force, ending with issue #129, and then relaunching with #1 of X-Statix for another 26 issues). Thankfully once I'd finally tracked down a copy of the out-of-print first volume I found a nice twist at the end of the missing issue. From there I started buying up X-Statix volumes, finding all but the third which introduced a Princess Diana analogue intended to have been the real-deal until Marvel got squeamish (and, if allegations are true, it was this bit of business that upset the X-Statix boat and lead to the end of the run).

The bright side though to a run being cut short like that in mid-stream is that it doesn't run the risk of growing stale or repetitive, and because it was contained to a few years it usually hasn't gone off in different directions and tangents with new characters (usually at the expense of older characters) and reads or watches more like a novel. And because the run was so short it's easier to review the whole thing in one go over a few days or a week, the long-form equivalent of a single-sitting, I suppose.

(It's at this point I pause to caution that, while reviewing this posting before hitting the "publish" button, I noticed a few spoilers below, so if you haven't read the series or if it's been long enough that some of the story bits aren't widely known, I advise against continuing, at least until the last image.)

Peter Milligan and Mike Allred crafted a remarkable series that was set in Marvel Comics Universe but fit into it's own little corner, only touching lightly on events or situations happening concurrently (while similarly being seldom referred to during to during said events or situations outside of the rare group-shot or handbook). Sure the "high-concept" take on the book was superheroes-as-celebrities, but the big appeal was in the characters. The four leads -- the Orphan, the Anarchist, U-Go Girl (who, despite having died at the end of the first major arc, continued to factor heavily into the series), and Doop, quite possibly Marvel Comics most ingenious creation: A mutant potato with it's own language and power on-par with the Mighty Thor. It's understandable that X-Force/X-Statix has been pretty much kept to the side of things when one of it's leads bears that kind of character description, but come on -- that's bloody brilliant. One of my favorite call-backs to the series in Marvel's similarly clever but more successful series Runaways is the Doop doll owned by one of the leads. I could give or take the X-Men story by Milligan that brought back Doop because of how oblique the whole thing was though.

Sadly the whole X-Force/X-Statix series is out of print. I really wish they'd revisit it down the line since the run stands as one of my favorites and, like myself, I'm sure Marvel would find new fans for the series who missed out the first time. It's really an example of comic book perfection for me. Not to say it doesn't falter or that the quality is consistently top-notch, but it's emensly enjoyable and ultimately satisfying -- even the Deadgirl series, which is a nice coda for the run, wrapped up in a engaging bit of story in it's own right. If you, dear reader, are lucky enough to find either the issues are collected editions, I heartily recommend snapping them up, since you're in for a treat.

And that's the story of something I kind of wish was still around (but it'd be fine that it isn't, so long as the books were still in print).

Fun with Youtube VI

2009-02-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

New Look in Progress

2009-02-16T06:36:00.005-05:00

Hi there.

In an effort to keep things lively around here, I've given the old blog a bit of a face-lift, rearranging things and tinkering with a new look. It's a work-in-progress and will likely continue to change slightly in the short term (for example, once I can find the image I used for my old banner, I'll probably dust it off and refit it for the new look -- the stick vampires are fine in the meantime though), but never let it be said I don't keep things shaking. At least on a tri-and-a-half-annual basis.

As I move forward though, here's a tip of the hat to the old look. Green and yellow dots never looked better.

I Hate Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T19:38:00.005-05:00

I don't mince words when it comes to Valentine's Day: I hate it. I hate the flowers, I hate the chocolates, I hate the reminders of all of the other Valentine's Days I've spent sad and alone, and I hate the fact that every bloody year I decide to go out for dinner alone to try to salvage the day and wind up feeling worse.

The one bright spot is the Charlie Brown Valentine's specials they rerun every year, and the fact that they make me feel a little less lonely.

Sorry for the depressing post. Hope it's tempered by the cartoon.

So, I Figured Out What's Wrong With My Back

2009-02-11T21:44:00.004-05:00

I took my x rays to my chiropractor and -- good news -- it turns out the problems aren't going to be long-term and aren't due to some degeneration of my spine. The bad news is I have an extra vertebrate in my spine and it's pinched against my sacrum and coccyx. Where the gaps between most vertebrates looks like a figure-eight from the side, mine looks like more of a squished lolly-pop.

So the bad news is... all of that stuff, and the discomfort and pain it causes, but on the brightside, it's not permanent and reversible with some work.

Personally I'm more concerned about that weird curve about mid-way down my spine (as shown above), but one thing at a time.

What I'm Up To

2009-02-10T01:08:00.003-05:00

I reread Final Crisis #7 a second time and... still didn't get the whole thing. Still, the artwork was nice, I suppose. Saw Tropic Thunder again the other day, and it was just as funny the second time.

Got an x ray on my back today. I'm not 100%, but I doubt a healthy spine should look like a Jenga tower about to tip over.

And on that note, here's a fun video including one of my favorite things -- spontaneous and random dancing:

"He's sort of like Captain Ahab and I'm the whale."

2009-01-29T12:39:00.005-05:00

I'm breaking my personal rule here and putting up a second post with a political bent (I don't like to get into politics too much because it's such a personal issue that you wind up offending or putting off someone), but I thought I'd repeat this quote by Karl Rove from The O'Reilly Factor, noting in all fairness that I'm doing so totally out of context and accompanying it with a picture of Karl Rove's humongous head.

For those curious, Ahab is Rep. John Conyers, while Rove is the aforementioned whale whose name I'm loathe to mention to avoid making a crude joke, thus losing my all-ages blog rating.

Thoughts at the Moment

2009-01-29T11:16:00.004-05:00

Well, I pre-ordered a copy of the third printing of the Spider-Man comic book with US President Obama on the cover. I already have a copy of the 2nd printing, so I'm not sure if springing for another version (even if the cover is slightly different) is okay or just kind of dumb. Still, in the event I win the contest I've entered for a copy of the first printing, I suppose it'll be good to have all three. I'm just hoping there isn't a fourth, since I'd probably wind up buying that too, because, as we've well established here, I'm a dope when it comes to these things.

On a semi-related topic, how neat was it for Obama to tell the Citibank folks to cram it with walnuts when they wanted to buy a 50 million dollar private jet. Good show. It hasn't completely sunk in that Bush is no longer the President of the United States, but it's starting to. And now that the US is finally in good hands I can start worrying/caring about my own domestic politics, something I've neglected while the global superpower forty minutes from where I live was going all bowling ball-ish.

On another semi-related topic, I read the seventh and final issue of DC Comics big crossover series Final Crisis last night. And I'll probably be reading it again soon since I have no idea what actually happened there.

This issue I understood better, and while it's contents are slighter and less all-encompassing than Final Crisis, I still enjoyed it a great deal since I quite like the featured villain, the Parasite. He's one of those B-level villains, that's too important to kill off for good, but not important enough to, you know, take over the world or cause any serious trouble. I have an affinity for those middle-of-the-road folks, and in this case it's coupled with a great visual. Nice that they did some work with his characterization as well, since he's often neglected in that area.

Declarative Jack Sez:

2009-01-26T21:19:00.001-05:00

Aw Cripes...

2009-01-17T23:40:00.004-05:00

They just brought back friggin' Ferecito on Saturday Night Live. I mean, the show started off fine, even with the somewhat dull political opening sketch (saved mainly by Darrell Hammond's terrific Dick Cheney and Kristen Wiig's general awesomeness), but any interest in seeing Rosario Dawson as the host was halted by seeing Fred Armisen trotting out that overused one-joke character I thought I'd seen the last of four years ago.

Meh. I'll still try to enjoy the show, but I don't get why they think that bit is still funny (or for that matter, why it ever was). And as I finish this, Armisen just showed up as a "hilarious" inner-city mailman. Cripes.

My Week in Review

2009-01-16T12:53:00.004-05:00

My week's been going all right so far. Saw the dentist, my therapist, got together with the guys a couple of times and went out for a couple of good meals. Didn't manage to get a copy of that Spider-Man comic book with Barack Obama on the cover, but I put the cash down for a copy of the second printing, which is just as good (since I'm not planning on reselling it or anything).

Still, I did find a copy of the latest issue of Final Crisis, the comic that would've been all over the news had the Obama Spider-Man not come out. It probably would've gotten more attention too, I suppose, had DC Comics not publicized Batman's "death" months earlier at the end of the Batman RIP storyline (spoiler: turns out he didn't die at the end of that story). It is curious though that the story actually featuring Batman's death got next to no publicity, but considering how underwhelming the whole thing was -- and really, it's not like he won't "get better" at some point down the line -- it's just as well.

Still, seeing Superman cradling Batman's emaciated corpse makes me a...

My New Year

2009-01-10T17:30:00.003-05:00

Although I'm only a week into the new year, I feel oddly like this year might be a good one. I find that particularly unusual as I'm not generally a "9" guy -- when it comes to years and months I have more success with "4"s, "5"s, and "8"s. But despite the severe back problems I've been afflicted with, I've already gotten a few outstanding items off my personal checklist and, in the process of improving a few things for the betterment of my back, have improved my overall quality of life. For instance, instead of using a converted side-table as a desk as I have for the last while, I found a desk at Ikea that is nicely economical size-wise and only cost me thirty bucks. Not only that but I have the old side table as a clutter-solver in place of the old desk chair I was piling stuff on. All things considered I'm feeling positive about the direction this year is headed in. Here's hoping that isn't a sign something horrible is going to happen to me in the not-to-distant future, and that my twisted lower vertebrates compensate for any dreadful eventualities.

Reflective Thoughts on 2008

2008-12-31T21:50:00.006-05:00

As I look back at the past year and the experiences that have shaped my life and current direction, my mind focuses on a select few I thought I'd share as 2008 comes to a close.

Although several of my favorite television programs were canceled this past year, I'm still pleased that Chuck hasn't been axed yet.

I've finally lived up to one of my perpetual resolutions and got out to the movies quite a bit this past year. Looking back, I suspect that had more to do with the number of interesting movies released more than a general desire to get out to the show, however.

As I wear my new pair of glasses with my updated prescription lenses, I begin to realize how much I must've been squinting when watching TV or movies with my old pair.

I've updated my list of fake names to include "Funky Buckwald" and "Dr. Quincy R. Mason", putting my total at five fake names to hold onto when the situation calls for it.

I still haven't gotten sick of Coke Zero, egg salad sandwiches, four cheese Bistro Crustinis, and fruit and yogurt bowls, despite the frequency with which I enjoy those food items.

I've unexpectedly found myself attracted to my barber, a comely young woman with a fondness for dyeing her hair and tattooing her hips. I think, more than all of the other indications offered throughout the year, that the fact I considered asking her out a sign that my troubles with depression are improving. And thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to discover she's (sadly) currently attached, sparing me the embarrassment of asking her out and making things awkward, especially since she's 'almost' got my haircut right. If only that technology were around when I was in high school.

And then the obligatory ten ten list...

My favorite comic books of the past year (in no particular order):

True Believers (five issues, Marvel Comics)
Green Arrow/Black Canary (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Justice League of America (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Amazing Spider-Girl (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Captain America (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Avengers: The Initiative (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Shadowpact (five issues, DC Comics)
Captain Britain and MI13 (eight issues, Marvel Comics)
Ghost Rider (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Blue Beetle (twelve issues, DC Comics)

Hard to say which is my favorite of the lot, but there they are. Not to say I haven't also enjoyed X-Force, the Flash, Vixen, I Hate Gallant Girl, Manhunter, or any of the other series I regularly followed, but those are the ten that spring to mind when I'm thinking of titles I particularly enjoyed or put at the top of my reading pile.

And with that I conclude my personal year-in-review. Are there other things worth noting? Perhaps. An exciting story there, the fact I might be a published author under one of my fake names, the numerous games of online scrabble and wordscraper, the comfort and affordability of the Klobo... but what's the fun in boring you, humble reader, with minutia (however nice the Klobo's turned out to be). Here's to a decent year and the hope that the next will be better yet, and the fact I can finally get around to using two of my favorite seasonal jokes -- saying "wait 'til next year" on January 1st, and toasting to "peace on earth" just as an attractive woman walks by and saying "piece of that fine ass". Slightly crude, true, but amusing to me, no matter how often I pull that old chestnut out.

See you for now, and have a happy new year.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-26T08:53:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you may celebrate.

And now for your boxing day pleasure: cats boxing.

Sorry for the Extended Absence...

2008-12-23T14:58:00.008-05:00

Unfortunately I've been grappling with a rather annoying computer virus of late. I seem to have it under control, but my computer was running ridiculously slow and my Internet was shut down because, as it turned out, the virus was sending spam out. Of course, now that it's running fine again (after I explained what had happened to my local cable/Internet provider), I have the problem of not being able to see anything further than a foot away since my glasses broke a week and a half ago while I was cleaning them. I have another pair on it's way, and used the opportunity to get my lens prescription updated since my friends have noted that I tend to squint at the television even when wearing my regular glasses. The bright side of things running fine though is that my back's been giving me problems lately and feels much better when I'm sitting. Apparently one of my lower vertebrates is twisted, which explains why it feels like I'm being poked with pins in my lower back. My chiropractor checked things out and it's been feeling better since I saw him, so hopefully it subsides.

Despite all of these annoying and painful bits going on, other things have been all right. I got down to Niagara Falls last week and won a Marvin the Martian plush toy at a midway. I was thinking of giving it away as a present, but I might hold onto it. Not that I'm into plush dolls or anything, but I like the character and I can brag about having won it to all of my jackass friends (I'm just kidding, they're great).

I got my copy of the Batman Animated Series soundtrack in the mail the other day. I missed the chance to get an autographed copy, but I'm still glad I snagged one before they sold out. The music is great, and the distributor did a great job with the insert booklet, offering all kinds of trivia and commentary by the composers and crew from the show. I was actually surprised by some of the music -- I knew the more familiar cues, but there was a lot of stuff I barely noticed with all of the visuals and sound effects and dialogue that sounds unbelievably fantastic. I'm thrilled they finally put out what hopefully will be the first of many releases, since it deserves this kind of treatment.

I finished my Christmas shopping. Got a few things for my brother and friends, sent some cards and stuff out to my mom, got espresso beans for my dad. I still need to make sure I get something to my grandmother, but even if I don't have the opportunity to get her a more personal card, I still have a few smaller cards from a multi-pack I can give her. But for all intents and purposes, I'm done and I'm glad I didn't wait to the last minute or half-ass it like I have in past years. I think I was actually at the 24 hour Walmart last December 25th at 2:00am. While I'm not saying it wouldn't be fun to go to Walmart in the middle of the night, it's nice knowing I won't have to worry about last minute shopping this year.

That's about all the interesting stuff I've been up to since my last post. Hopefully I'll get back soon to make up for the infrequent posting lately. I'd hate to disappoint my loyal audience, because, yes that's right, I actually have someone following my blog. And just in case this post didn't come across terribly thrilling, here's something to make up for that:

Thoughts at the Moment

2008-12-08T08:43:00.006-05:00

I saw the latest James Bond film a week back and enjoyed it quite a bit. Not the timeliest thing to be blogging about I suppose -- two weeks in release is a lifetime in blog years to finally get around to mentioning it -- but there you go. Curiously I thought of mentioning it after reading a brief review of the film with wrote of it negatively, the criticism having being due to the portrayal of James Bond in the film. Granted I didn't have a problem with it, and actually enjoyed Daniel Craig as Bond quite a bit.

To be honest though, my favorite bits probably had to do with the Quantum group, which seems to be the latest Bond iteration of Spectre, albeit renamed due to rights issues surrounding that name and the Blofeld character. While, as a Bond aficionado (since TBS' 1995 "13 Days of 007", timed to the release of Goldeneye), I'd have preferred Spectre named as the group, Quantum is perfectly serviceable, and world's better than "Octopus", the fill-in name used in the "From Russia With Love" video game, and "SCUM", from James Bond Jr. (which, fittingly, I adored when I was 9 year old and had all of the action figures and vehicles for). Additionally, I find it awfully neat that there's a recurring bad guy in Mr. White, who, if wikipedia is to be trusted, was to have been killed in an alternate ending for the film which was unused to give the filmmakers flexibility for the next film, should they choose not to continue the Quantum storyline.

Anyway...

I put up the Christmas decorations the other day. I always hate having to get the trees out of storage since they're in the far part of the laundry room, tucked way down under one of the shelves. And last year, for some reason, I thought it a good idea to put the trees (yes I have two of them, since my dad wanted to have a second tree because he's a dope) in garbage bags, since the boxes they'd been kept in were falling to pieces. I've resolved to buy plastic bins to keep the trees and ornaments in when it's time to put them away this time, because, naturally, it's going to fall on me to have to deal with all that bloody mess in January.

So, terribly sorry I didn't get back sooner with these scintillating thoughts and anecdotes. I'd hate to think I've let down the folks who've stumbled on my blog, especially since I've shot myself in the foot with that pledge of new content weekly and I'm too lazy to change it. Meh.

Y'anyway.... here's some youtube stuff. Enjoy.

Aw rats...

2008-11-19T11:31:00.005-05:00

She-Hulk's been canceled too. Which is another kick in the head. I've never understood why She-Hulk didn't catch on -- I mean, it's everything you like about regular Hulk, but with breasts!

In any event it's a shame, since the writing and artwork have been really clicking lately. At least it made it to it's fiftieth issue (the final one being #38, combined with the previous volume of twelve issues that immediately preceded this run).

Why, all these comic book cancellations have made me...

Cancellation Blues

2008-11-14T18:31:00.020-05:00

Today I found out one of my favorite television programs and one of my favorite comic titles have been canceled. Pushing Daisies appears to have halted production with it's thirteenth episode, and Blue Beetle will probably be ending in a few months.

Aside from being a kick in the head, this comes after several other kicks in the head as no less than seven other comic titles I've been following are ending over the next four months, and another show, King of the Hill, has been axed as well. And on top of all that, two other comics I've enjoyed a great deal, Justice League Unlimited and Checkmate, have ended over the past few months as well.

To be fair, a few of the titles ending are being relaunched in some form or another -- Birds of Prey, the Flash, Nightwing, Robin as Gotham Girls, Flash: Rebirth, Red Robin, and Batman and Robin -- but it's not the same. Kick in the head is what it all is I tell you.

One Last Election '08 Bit to Get Out of my System...

2008-11-05T00:55:00.003-05:00

The Obama-Lantern. The face stencil care of the Associated Press, but the "HOPE" is care of an exacto-knife and my steady hand.

However Momentarily, My Faith in Humanity Has Been Restored

2008-11-04T23:21:00.002-05:00

That's all. What a night, huh.

Edited to add: Best quote of the evening, from Mark Evanier:

"Obama Wins Ohio. It's not over. McCain could still carry all the houses he owns."

Here's President Obama's victory speech. I don't mind saying that as the music swelled near the end I started to tear up.

"Yes We Can" vs. "Crumping We Can Believe In"

2008-11-04T18:28:00.002-05:00

It's on! Awwwww yeeeeeaahh.

Election '08 Is Finally Upon Us

2008-11-04T10:35:00.004-05:00

The US election is finally here, so with this momentous day finally upon us I can think of no better way to reflect on the days that brought us here, the long months of debate, and the future that lay ahead, than with a video of the Transformers getting drunk.

Good luck, and God bless.

Three Reasons....

2008-11-02T13:44:00.004-05:00

Here's three reasons why "The Kids in the Hall" should be better recognized than it is. I mean, after I went to their live show a few months back (which you keeners may recall me mentioning previously), the waitress at the restaurant we went to afterward asked if they were some kind of a band or something. You ask me, their show should be on more often. And not just on MTV 2, because really now, who actually watches that?

As far as I'm concerned here's what folks should be referring to when they say "Canadian humor". Hope you like them as much as I do.

My Favorite Song, and a Few Observations

2008-10-23T17:27:00.015-04:00

Here's a couple of youtube clips featuring my absolutely favorite song, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". My favorite version is by the Shirelles, but some of the other versions --particularly the one by Dusty Springfield (who, for years, I'd assumed was a man) -- are pretty good. But before we get to that, here are the aforementioned observations.

I voted in the election held a short time ago. For anyone outside Canada, you vote for your local MP (Member of Parliament) and the party with the most MPs has it's leader elected Prime Minister. Needless to say, this is the fifth election I've voted in, and since my candidate didn't win, my success rate is 1-4.

I've been thinking about throwing a US election night party, but there are two things holding me back from going forward with it: 1) I doubt I'd be able to keep my friends focused on the election coverage and we'd just wind up playing Mario Kart and NFL 09 like we do every other time we get together, and 2) if McCain wins I am going to be awfully cheesed off, which won't be fun for anyone. Still, it could be fun I suppose.

The price of Marvel Comics in Canada went up 50 cents last week, and DC is likely to follow suit soon too. My local comic shop has already raised the price of DC titles to match Marvel because they're losing too much at the current prices. A bit of a kick in the head, but it's not too bad since I get a pretty good discount as a regular customer. And since four of the titles I follow have been cancelled (Amazing Spider-Girl, Checkmate, The Flash, and Manhunter), the timing works out. Unfortunately though, since I really like Spider-Girl, the Flash, and Manhunter. Checkmate I was probably going to drop anyway. I shudder to think what it's going to be if Marvel raises the prices in the US. I'd really come to believe that a $4.25 comic was a thing of the past.

Anyway, onto the music:

The Shirelles:

Amy Winehouse:

Carole King:

Elton John:

Dusty Springfield:

Brenda Lee:

The Bee Gees:

Cilla Black:

Rainbow:

Things I Should Probably Know By Now But Am Too Lazy To Find Out For Certain

2008-10-15T15:44:00.010-04:00

How long does it take to hard boil and egg?

How often should you water a plant?

How long should you lather shampoo before rinsing it out?

How long should an oven pre-heat before putting something in?

What exactly is Twitter?

Why do some TV shows run for seven-eight years, while others barely manage two or three?

Proof There's Hope For Me Yet

2008-10-09T18:50:00.003-04:00

Today my train of thought somehow drifted toward Star Wars, specifically the creature names Bantha and Wampa. And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out which of those was that ostrich-kind of wooly thing that Luke Skywalker rode on in the second Star Wars film. To be honest, I'm not even sure if Wampa is actually a Star Wars name or something I thought of that sounds enough like a Star Wars name that I start to believe it is.

But still, the fact I can't tell which is the name at least proves I'm not so consumed by my nerdish leanings. Right? I suppose the fact I was randomly thinking about Star Wars sort of cancels that out though.

"The Simpsons" on Election '08

2008-10-06T16:15:00.004-04:00

Funny, but wouldn't Homer have voted for McCain. Come on, an easily impressed "Joe-Sixpack" with conservative values who once bought several copies of an album because he was warned if he didn't "Al Qaeda would win"? This is from the upcoming Halloween special though, so you can chalk it up to the fact things are generally askew in those episodes.

On another note, despite my (some would say fervent) interest in the 2008 US election, I'm pleased to say that I've arguably spent more time following my own national election than I have before. Not enough to bother blogging about it or anything, but more than I've spent the last few times I've voted. Why I even watched a few minutes of one of our debates before tuning out because it was in french.

(And don't get mad for the Joe-sixpack bit -- I borrowed it from Sarah Palin.)

The Useless Thought Wading Through My Head At This Moment...

2008-10-06T11:01:00.002-04:00

The Sarah Palin Quote Generator

2008-09-29T14:06:00.005-04:00

Here's a sampling:

"It's very important when you consider even the leadership qualities of the evil in the world."

"Some decisions that have been made poorly, with his warnings proving that he can work both sides of the aisle."

"With his warnings two years ago about being the beacon of light the road that America may find itself on."

"What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at with his warnings and I would hope that's the case."

"It is for no more politics as usual and that is what America needs today has to be considered also."

"We can't afford to lose the dealings with Freddie and Fannie, not as competitive, scary thing, but one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today."

Check it out for yourself. It's the next best thing to having an awkward, confusing interview with the real Sarah Palin.

Inquiring Minds Ask: "Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?"

2008-09-29T13:54:00.005-04:00

Now you can question the validity and necessity of such a question in times such as these when things are unquestionably tumultuous around the world, both politically and economically, especially when the subject in question refers to a couple of comic book panels from a story published 30 years ago. But if I did that it'd make me a hypocrite for all of the nonsense I've wasted time debating over the years. Besides -- it's pretty obvious he did. But to lessen the blow (no pun intended -- whoops, there goes the 'G' rating), she was in the middle of a messy separation and when the ball-and-chain confronted good ol' Spidey, he roughed him up some.

Even Spider-Man deserves "a good break" every "now and then" too, right? A tip of the hat to the fellow who added "Peter should be happy that the caption said two hours later and not ‘an awkward, unfulfilling 15 minutes later’". That tickled me.

Images Care of Comics Should Be Good: Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?

Just a thought...

2008-09-20T14:27:00.006-04:00

But when do you think movie studios are going to stop having to put those warnings on DVD boxes because people have realized that the black bars on the top and bottom of the picture are normal. Seems like folks would've realized it's normal by now, what with widescreen TVs and all. Just a thought.

Been Feeling a Little Bowling Ball-ish

2008-09-19T12:08:00.004-04:00

I was hoping to pop in here the other day, but found myself feeling unexpectedly run-down and lethargic on Wednesday. After sleeping more than usual, I woke up Thursday feeling a little congested. I note that, unless I've mentioned it before, I have really bad allergies. Like the kind that, when I get hit pretty hard, it's the equivalent of having the worst kind of flu bug. I'm allergic to pollen, ragweed, dander, cut grass, cats, dairy products, and am particularly sensitive to flowers, perfumes and colognes, and cheap cigarettes.

So yesterday, while seeing my dietitian, I started getting so congested it was like I'd been hit upside the head by a bowling ball and stuck in a fog. On the way home I swung by the comic shop to get my books and without realizing it forgot to get a few titles (in my haze I can't recall if I just somehow missed them or if they'd sold out by that point). After trying to keep productive while tilting my head back so I wasn't sniffling every five seconds, I passed out, waking up long enough during the night to catch the Daily Show, before waking up this morning. Feeling much better now, even if that cloudy numbness hasn't subsided. At least I can actually breathe now.

The Most Perfect Minute of Television...

2008-09-09T10:27:00.003-04:00

It starts part-way through The Simpsons episode "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie" with the scene of Bart and Homer eating popsicles outside the house while Homer explains how he avoided jury duty ("The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races"), and ends with Marge asking if Homer wants Bart to "become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a sleazy male stripper?". To which he replies, "can't he be both, like the late Earl Warren?".

Probably the most perfect minute of television you're going to find.

Four Things About the Sub-Mariner...

2008-08-29T22:10:00.008-04:00

1. I'm glad he's started appearing more often in the black pants with black open shirt outfit (pictured above), as opposed to the green trunks (see #3).

2. The pronunciation of 'Sub-Mariner' as 'Sub-Mareener' in that awful Captain America movie gets on my nerves, something awful.

3. I'm surprised Marvel's never tried to give him a boy sidekick named "Subby". Seems a natural.

4. I passed by that guy dressed as the Sub-Mariner at the Toronto Fan Expo last weekend, and I don't know if it shows in the photos, but those shorts were really tight.

Re: Teen Titans #62

2008-08-29T21:52:00.004-04:00

Through some odd twist of fate I happened to avoid the hoopla that briefly erupted online and read Teen Titans #62 before seeing the reaction to it's contents. Contrary to the image pictured above, the otherwise gentle story of the friendly trio of Wonderdog, Wendy and Marvin pictured above comes to a shocking end halfway through the issue when *spoiler* Wonderdog mauls Marvin to death and appears to eat Wendy.

A shocking twist, all things considered? Sure. It caught me totally off guard and the suspense building was handled remarkably well. That said, is it really the best idea for DC to put out a Teen Titans comic where this kind of thing happens? Some folks were concerned a parent would see the issue and pick it up based on the name recognition of the property (the Teen Titans cartoon isn't that old, and even reaired on the CW this summer) and the all-ages-ness of the cover. Not to mention that it's another notch on DC's ever-growing list of dead teenagers, and yet another example of the unnecessary bleak stories DC's been putting out for far too long.

Would I recommend this issue? Maybe to a friend who doesn't follow the Teen Titans comic to catch them off-guard. But to regular readers who are sick of DC's output of stories focusing on death, rape, and destruction, it's more of the same, and the tonal shift mid-way through might be enough to put them off DC altogether.

My Long Weekend

2008-08-27T22:01:00.004-04:00

Went to the Toronto Fan Expo this past weekend, and was awfully sore the next day. Most of that had to do with the four and a half hours I spent in various lines at the show (my feet and back were killing me), but my hands and left shoulder were also aching from lugging stuff around. Still, I got a few nice things including an Aquaman maquette for 25 bucks, a hardcover collecting the first Ennis/Dillon Punisher run for 15, and the Essential Godzilla for 5. Not to mention the stuff I got signed that almost makes up for time I spent in line to get them.

I also noticed that there was an almost surprising number of attractive women at the show. Granted from what I could tell they were either there for the Japanese anime stuff, with their boyfriends, or working, but curious nonetheless. After the fact I realized that both times I passed a woman in a skimpy metal bikini top handing out copies of a book titled "Looking for Group" (whatever that means), I unabashedly stared at her chest, but I can't say I feel too bad about that since, really, she wouldn't have worn that if she didn't want the attention. Still, in hindsight I could've been a little more discreet about the whole thing.

After a relatively unproductive Sunday spent soaking the tub for several hours, I wound up feeling pretty stuffed up for the first time this summer -- for all the discomfort caused by the moisture and humidity this summer, it's been nice actually being able to breath -- and slept through most of Tuesday doped up on Sinutab.

Finally here's a funny video I came across. Granted I'm not the biggest Danny Bonaduce fan (what's the deal with this guy anyway? Is he only known for the Partridge Family or did I miss something along the way) but it's kind of nice seeing him throw around that guy from Survivor.

You know...

2008-08-20T23:20:00.004-04:00

...I was just thinking about the Tangent: Superman's Reign comic book (issue 6 on sale now), and I'd probably buy a "Brave and the Bold" style title by Dan Jurgens and Jamal Igle. Don't know if Igle's going to stick with the title once his run on Supergirl starts up or if they've ever worked together before this title, but they're really gelling as a team and I'm really enjoying their takes on Green Lantern and the Flash (John Stewart and Wally West, specifically).

...I tried watching "Gossip Girl" Monday night, but couldn't make it more than ten minutes into the episode. Not that it seemed to be a bad show or anything, and not to say I don't enjoy the prime time teen soap (I watched a lot of the first season of "The O.C."), but I really couldn't get past the fact that the teenagers on the show looked older than I am. Is it really too hard to find actors to play teens that actually look like teens or are *gasp* teenagers themselves?

...Salt and vinegar Pringles aren't that great, especially after having the salt and vinegar Lay's Stax chips. Those are pretty good. The Pringles... not so much.

...The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are in reruns at the moment, which is a kick in the head, but on the bright side they seem to have picked up on this so there's fewer reruns these days than in years past. I'd still prefer they not just rerun the prior weeks episodes during a repeat week though. But I still watch it all the same, so who am I to complain?

McCain: Dazed and Confused

2008-08-10T15:37:00.003-04:00

Warning: May cause discomfort to his supporters and/or people with elderly relatives of negligible awareness.

Declarative Jack Sez...

2008-08-08T19:54:00.002-04:00

Thoughts on "Flash: Rebirth" (warning: nerd alert)

2008-07-28T20:21:00.006-04:00

You'd almost think DC Comics had totally given up on the idea of moving their stories and characters forward with the announcement that they're giving recently resurrected Flash, Barry Allen, his own "Rebirth" title by the same creative team that relaunched similarly deceased and boring silver age character Hal Jordan as "the greatest Green Lantern of them all" (notwithstanding the fact that the other four major Green Lanterns have more character in their worst stories that Hal Jordan's had in any of his his, excluding the time he went nuts and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, a wealth of material for character development of stories down the line that got wiped away because DC decided they didn't like it).

I didn't have a problem with DC bringing Barry Allen back in their Final Crisis series (and preferably only for the duration of the Final Crisis series, I add), but I take issue with making him their star of the Flash comic. 'Current' Flash, Wally West, is a great character and very undeserving of the expected shuffle aside that then-current GL Kyle Rayner got when Jordan returned, and even if the book with Allen is great and exceeds all expectations, it all begs the question that if DC was capable of doing this great relaunch, why didn't they do it in the first place with Wally West?

Despite what DC might say, this is likely the end of the line for Wally West as the main Flash, and as someone who grew up with the character and has really come to like him over the years, it's a real kick in the head. And I assure you, I'm not adverse to change -- I followed the Flash title when it looked like Wally was out of the picture and replaced by his former sidekick, Kid Flash. But this isn't change, not really. It's turning the clock back twenty-three years to bring back a character aging writers and editors liked way back when instead of actually moving the stories and characters forward along with the audiences. You think a new reader knows who Hal Jordan is? Not when they've been exposed to Green Lantern John Stewart in the Justice League tv show and video games (not to mention his inclusion in the on-again, off-again Justice League movie). Similarly, Wally West is the Flash of this generation and my generation before it. That's two generations going on three who know this character as THE Flash, and as recognition for our love of the character we're seeing him shunted aside so a character who's been better handled after he died nearly a quarter of a century ago can appear in some books for reasons I can only think of as being short-sighted.

Again, don't have a problem with DC doing something with Barry Allen. I liked him in JLA: Year One (coincidentally the only place I've ever liked Hal Jordan), I like the stuff they did with him in the Flash title from a few years ago. But I think it's an awful idea to have him come back as DC's main Flash.

I think Graeme Burke commented on this very nicely, over at the Comics Should Be Good blog:

"I loved the Barry Allen Flash. One of my favourite superheroes. And I am against this series for every reason you just said and more. I’m tired of comics being written to an agenda of bringing things back they loved when they were kids. It’s not 1971 anymore. Stop it."

Well said.

Probably My Favorite Thing About Entertainment Weekly's Website

2008-07-21T13:11:00.004-04:00

Once again I find myself wasting time reading the amusingly clever lists they seem to have in no short supply at the Entertainment Weekly website. Here's the latest to consume my attention for another ten minutes. In case you're wondering, the image is from number 19.

And Now for Something Different...

2008-07-21T06:16:00.007-04:00

Here's five news stories I'm tired of seeing, seemingly every night:

1) Young attractive starlet/pseudo celebrity is "up to it again"

Is this news? Does anyone actually enjoy hearing about what Britney Spears or Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan or that "Hannah Montana" kid is up to today? I understand there's an interest the lives of the celebrities and all that, but the other night I caught a story about Britney Spears's custody situation with her ex-husband (who for reasons I cannot explain but amuse me nonetheless I'll refer to as K-Fed) and it really felt like enough was enough. It's gone from news to being an invasion of privacy and is becoming unsettling to see.

2) Barack Obama is "up to it again"

Instead of continuing to either stir the pot and call Obama on every gaffe or incorrect statement he's made, or continue to further the idea that he's anti-American, a Muslim, or 'the-rumor-of-the-moment', how about focusing on the man's policy ideas? I mean, he's only running for President of the United States, and, let's face it, he's probably going to win. Isn't it a good idea to start discussing this stuff without having the conversation slide into sixth grade gossip fits?

3) Local county fairs

Enough with sending reporters to your county fairs or outside festivals or the like. The interviews with the local participants or organizers are always really awkward and offer the same talking points over and over again. It's nice you're letting us know what's going on, but, honestly, I think we all have a pretty good idea that there's going to be snacks, live concerts, and face painting, so you don't really need to spend fives minutes reminding us of this.

4) Local high school sports news

I didn't follow high school sports while I was in high school, why would I want to see footage of a bunch of tenth graders playing basketball when there are professional athletes out there? I understand that high school sports, particularly football, are important in some areas, but cover them during the morning or late night news and save the prime news time for... I don't want to say real news stories, but you get the idea.

5) Pets

There's a time and a place for pets on the news. You have your SPCA folks on the noon news hour, and your amazing pet story for the end of the nightly news to counter the dozen or so depressing stories that preceded it. Any altering of this delicate balance is subject to my ire.

As I started writing this I hadn't planned on being so negative, but I guess the thought of news stories that get on my nerves got me going.

Food For Thought

2008-07-16T05:02:00.004-04:00

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
- John F. Kennedy

"“Success and failure are both difficult to endure. Along with success come drugs, divorce, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, medication, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure.”
- Joseph Heller

"Well yeah, and I'm sad, but at the same time I'm really happy that something could make me feel that sad. It's like, it makes me feel alive, you know? It makes me feel human. And the only way I could feel this sad now is if I felt somethin' really good before. So I have to take the bad with the good, so I guess what I'm feelin' is like a beautiful sadness."
- Butters Stotch