A few minutes of my second-favorite favorite stand up comedian

Jeff Dunham always seems to make me laugh.
"Think about this ... they brought a bunch of deaf people to see the ventriloquist!"
(He is second only to good ol' Haywood Banks, in case you were wondering.)

Frank Cho is drawing She Hulk, but ...

... not in her own comic, which is still being canceled.
I completely missed this, but a three-issue arc in "Hulk" had two stories in each issue. One was drawn by Arthur Adams, and the other by Frank Cho. And, fortunately, the main character in the Cho-drawn story was She Hulk.
Both storylines in the three issues are mindless slug fests. Not being a regular reader, I picked up on what was going on quickly, mainly because one should expect mindless slug fests when reading stories about the Hulk.
But, that said, the art is both parts of the story is absolutely beautiful, as you can see from the Frank Cho cover variant here. Art Adams doesn't draw many comics these days, but the ones he does draw are always a joy. His sense for detail without sacrificing storytelling and clarity is amazing. And, although Cho has a completely different story than Adams, Cho's Alex Raymond-inspired art was up to is usual high standards.
I'll probably never get my wish to see Cho draw She-Hulk full time. (Marvel apparently doesn't want to actually sell lots and lots of She Hulk comics. If they just gave Cho the title to write and draw, I bet he could make Marvel lots and lots of money. Or, to be fair, maybe Cho doesn't want to do a monthly She-Hulk title.) But, at least I got three fun half-issues to enjoy.
(And, even better, I found them all at once after the issues had all come out, which means I got to read the whole thing in one piece without having to wait for it to get reprinted in a trade paperback!)

Usagi Yojimbo in DHP

Here's the latest issue of Dark Horse Presents on MySpace. I haven't posted links to these for a while, but with a Usagi story, I had to!
(The picture is from the current issue of Usagi, which came out yesterday. Go buy it.

Here's Wir Sind Helden again

I have no idea what they are singing about, but who cares?

Gekommen um zu bleiben

Another video from our favorite German group, Wir Sind Helden.

Another XTC video

I didn't know this video existed. Actually,it's not XTC per se. It's their psychedelic alter-egos The Dukes of Stratosphear.

Serial cereal blogging

These two things do not taste the same at all.

If MAD goes quarterly, will each issue be three times as funny?

Is it possible that my favorite publication, MAD Magazine, will be going from being published monthly to being published quarterly, or every three months? Say it ain't so! These guys, at Newsarama, said it is so!
Mark Evanier tells you here that he thinks the magazine is as funny as its ever been. I have to agree. I have been subscribing since 2001, and there is a lot of wonderfully funny satire in MAD.
I hope this doesn't mean MAD is in serious trouble of being canceled. There are few things in my mailbox that make me as happy as MAD.

An interview with Gary Burbank

Here's seven minutes of Gary from 2001. I wish I had one of those clocks behind him. That's pretty cool.

Was it just me or ...

... when Dick Cheney was wheeled around during the inauguration, did he look less like Darth Vader and more like Emperor Palpatine?

BPRD writer interviewed

Here's an interview with John Arcudi, who shares writing duties with Mike Mignola on "BPRD," one of my favorite comics right now. (And the artist, Guy Davis, is pretty doggone good, too.)

Top 50 sportscasters named; much argument to follow

The American Sportscasters Association recently named their top 50 sportscasters of all time. Here's the page where they announced their picks.
Feel free to post below and argue their picks. I'll not list them here; just click on the link.
I do, however, have a few comments:
* Bill Walton does not belong on the list. I'd replace him with Chris Collinsworth.
* Harry Kalas is way, way too low. He should probably be in the top 10, if not the top 5.
* Ronald Reagan was not on the list at all.
* I am happy Marty Brennaman made it.
* If I was picking the top five, it would be: 1. Ernie Harwell, 2. Vin Scully, 3. Dick Enberg, 4. Jim McKay and 5. Howard Cosell.
* If I were picking the next five, it would be: 6. Harry Kalas, 7. Keith Jackson, 8. Harry Caray, 9. Red Barber and 10. Joe Tait. (OK, so Tait reveals my Cleveland bias.)
* I am sad that Herb Score was not on the list.
* I am sad that neither was Joe Nuxhall.
* I am sad that Mike Patrick, who did all those Sunday Night Football broadcasts on ESPN, did not make the list.
* I am happy, however, that Joe Theismann, who did all those Sunday Night Football broadcasts on ESPN, did not make the list.
* I think Joe Gibbs was a pretty good studio analyst during his days on NBC.
* I think back when NBC covered all the AFC games, they had a truly wonderful crew of broadcasters calling the games, and you could not assemble as much talent between both Fox and CBS these days.
* I think, although Keith Jackson is known for his college football broadcasting, he is an outstanding baseball play-by-play man.
* When I was a teenager, I used to think Bob Trumpy was the stupidest man on the planet, but over the years I have completely changed my opinion of him and now look forward to the few times I get to hear him on the air.
* The worst sportscaster I ever heard was Paul Olden, who was a radio voice for the Cleveland Indians for a couple of years.
* Bruce Drennan is very funny, albeit often unintentionally.
* I would still be significantly more inclined to watch Monday Night Football if Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Mike Ditka were the hosts.

I'd love to see the rest of the dinner set!

Here's quite a story, from Yahoo! News:

KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepali police have recovered a mysterious consignment of parts of human skulls packed in bags in southeast Nepal near the border with India, police said on Wednesday.
The seizure of 168 pieces of skulls carved like bowls was made late on Tuesday at Kakarvitta, 275 km (172 miles) southeast of Kathmandu, on the border with India.

To me, the key phrase is "carved like bowls." Remember that dinner scene from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?" Chilled human brains, anyone?

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Rarely does one find a comic book that captures the magic of being a child all over again. This one does. Eric Shanower and Skott Young deserve more praise than I can possibly give them here for bringing this oft-told story to life in a new and really touching way.
So far, there have been two issues. There are to be a total of eight. Don't wait until it's collected in trade paperback. If we all buy them, they may make more.

Who's better: Donovan McNabb or Kurt Warner?

I was listening to Tony Mercurio this afternoon on the radio. He's a local Norfolk-area sports talk host. His contention was that Kurt Warner should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame ahead of Donovan McNabb.
My first reaction is that there's no way Warner, who is a very good quarterback, should be in the Hall of Fame. My thinking is that anybody who lost his job on three different teams can't possibly be a hall of famer.
My second thought is that almost any year during their careers, most fans would probably rather have had McNabb, simply because he's a better athlete. He can beat you with his arm, or his legs.
Speaking as a Cleveland Browns fan, I'd take McNabb on my team in a New York minute. (Why does time move faster in New York than other places? Do you have to re-set your watch when you leave?)
Warner has one advantage over McNabb: He's won a Super Bowl. Warner has the most passing yards in a single game in Super Bowl history. he also has the second-most. McNabb has played more often in the post-season, however. Both men have lost a Super Bowl.
One difference: Warner has played for three teams. McNabb has played for the Eagles his whole career. This season's benching notwithstanding, has never lost his job because of his play. Warner lost his job to Marc Bulger in St. Louis, Eli Manning in New York, and sort of lost and re-gained his job from Matt Leinart in Arizona. Maybe this resilience will be worth something to Hall of Fame voters eventually.
Both men are of exceptionally high character. It is well known that Warner is a Christian who came from humble beginnings in the Arena Football League and the grocery clerk conference to become an Pro-Bowl NFL player.
McNabb, I think, gets treated unfairly harshly by some members of the media at times. Even when Terrell Owens tried to stir up trouble, McNabb handled himself with maturity and grace.
As a player, he has had a wonderful career. Warner has, too.
McNabb has played exceptionally well since his benching earlier this year. He has been outstanding so far in the post season. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win.
I don't know if either of these quarterbacks are sure-fire, first ballot shoo-ins. I think Tom Brady and Payton Manning were significantly better quarterbacks during the same set of years and are the no-doubters from this era.
That said, after considering it carefully for the length of a drive home from work, Warner and McNabb both will be considered for the Hall. If McNabb wins the Super Bowl this year, I think he clearly pulls ahead of Warner as a candidate. If not, I'd still say McNabb has had a better career — so far.
I think it makes for an interesting discussion, though. Maybe this weekend's NFC Championship Game will shed some light on the subject.

Hug it, or kill it

Thanks to Paul and Storm for this bit of Internet fun. "Hug it or kill it." No kidding. That's what it's called. It's hosted by a sock.

So, you wanna read an issue of Fantastic Four online?

Here ya go!

Password protected

Mark Evanier posted a link to this, a list of the 500 worst passwords ever. At those of you who get the idea of using it as a checklist, I can only shake my head.

(Note: the list does contain some foul language. I imagine there are lots of people who use as passwords variations of that special four-letter word that rhymes with "pluck." This just proves it actually pretty hard to swear creatively.)

For all you Cleveland sports fans: I wonder how many people use "redright88," "the drive," or "the fumble?" I have considered ModdellSucks, but I never used it. Another good one would be "JoseMesaBlewIt."

Cool comic book moments link

This is a link from comicbookresources.com. One of their regular columnists is posting a "cool comic book moment" every day for all of 2009.
For the first day of the year, he selects what may be one of my favorite comic sequences ever, from "Amazing Spider-Man" issue 33. It's inspiring, in that it's about being a hero and going past what you ever dreamed you could do to save someone else's life. I think it's what all of us comic book nerds strive to do some day.
Taken here, you can see how it plays out, but best to read all of the three part "Master Planner" story that ran from issue #31-33.

Serial cereal blogging

Kinda new (new to me, anyway) is a variation of shredded wheat called "Frosted Mini-Wheats Blueberry Muffin."
I can heartily recommend them. They are not too sweet, and not too wheat. I may be the only person on earth who really likes the original blocks of "Shredded Wheat." I also like the original flavor of "Frosted Mini-Wheats," too.
The new variation adds a little more flavor to the original. Strange that it isn't just "blueberry." But, I'll be darned if it doesn't taste like blueberry muffins.
I wonder if they were going for blueberry and after one of the test batches someone said, "This tastes more like a blueberry muffin?"
Anyway, I like them. Maybe you will, too.

Boy, did that poll spark some interest ...

The "Will Eric Mangini be successful" poll got four votes in one day. I don't think I have ever gotten that many votes in one day.
And, boy, are you voters pessimistic!

Shows what I know

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
CLEVELAND --- The Browns have agreed to terms on a contract with Eric Mangini to be their next head coach, a league source said Wednesday.

Not particularly my favorite choice, but I guess we'll see what happens. Here we go with a Patriots-Ravens leadership team again, as the Browns are said to be targeting another Ravens front office guy to replace Phil Savage as general manager.

Mangini's record isn't really all that good. He's has one good season, one bad season, and one season that was half-good and half-bad. And if, as Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says you are, that adds up to mediocre.

I wonder why Randy Lerner didn't give Russ Grimm a look. The former Steelers assistant head coach under Bill Cowher seems to get mentioned a lot during coaching change season, but never gets a job. First of all, he's a Steeler product and would know how to run the ball and play tough defense. Second, he was a heckuva offensive lineman in his day with the Redskins and would bring a lot of credibility from having played in the NFL.

Well, there's probably a reason why I don't own or run an NFL team. There's probably a reason Lerner didn't try to hire Marty Schottenheimer or Grimm. I just don't really know what made Mangini a good choice.