Thoughts at the Moment

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.

My Week in Review

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...

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

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

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"

It's on! Awwwww yeeeeeaahh.

"The Simpsons" on Election '08

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.)

And Now for Something Different...

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.