MisterCellaneous

"New 52" after a month: What did I like?

2011-10-07T13:27:00.007-04:00

So, which issues of DC Comics “New 52” did I get, and what did I think?
I didn’t get all 52. That would have cost more than $150, and I would have wound up with a bunch of comics I didn’t want, anyway. So I used the little promotional comic they made with preview pages to guide me.
My guiding principles for picking:
* No Batman, no Superman. I am sick of Batman, having read various Bat-titles for, well, most of my life. For Superman, I didn’t like the new costumes. Even George Perez couldn’t lead me that direction.
* Nothing by creators I don’t like, anyway. Meaning, “Hawk and Dove,” drawn by Rob Liefield was out. So were a few other comics.
* I am generally tired of the same old super-hero comics, so I was looking for things that went off in a different direction. AS a result, I wound up getting a lot of comics with female leads, which I seem to have ben doing for the past year or so anyway.
* Good art always is a winner.
* Solidly entertaining is good enough, and better than a half-baked attempt to be mind-blowing.

Bottom Line Up Front (as the Army likes to say): The titles I liked best were "Voodoo," and "Catwoman."

Here’s what I got (In roughly the order they came out):
Justice League: I got the kickoff comic because it seemed like the right thing to do. I am not a big Jim Lee fan. Everything he draws used to look posed and so still as to be statuesque. Now, everything has more movement, and looks as if the statues are being thrown around a little. Geoff Johns is a popular writer, but it seems like all he did was take the Green Lantern-Batman relationship from Lee and Frank Miller’s “All-Star Batman and Robin,” and insert it into a half-baked (see above) Justice-League-meets-for-the-first-time story. The comic sorely lacked the punch of many of the other “New 52.” And, to top it off, there will be something like six weeks between issues. Issue two is a fight between Superman and Batman. Yawn. Miller did that in “The Dark Knight Returns” in 1986 or so. I may get it, but only because this time around, the Batman statue will be thrown around with the Superman statue and maybe they’ll both shatter into a million pieces.
Batgirl: I was buying the old Batgirl comic because of the beautiful covers and sometimes interiors by Dustin Nugyen. So, my comic store automatically pulled the new one for me, even though I didn't ask. I would have looked at it anyway for two reasons: Barbara Gordon is Batgirl again (yay!), and it’s written by Gail Simone. Opinion: Not mind-blowing, but good enough to get issue two.
Batwoman: (I said no Batman, but nothing about the rest of the Bat-titles.) Anything J.H. Williams II draws, I am in for. I didn’t think this issue was a great start story-wise, but the art is so riveting I couldn’t not get it. I’ll be back for more.
Catwoman: I got this because the art by Guillem March looked good. Judd Winick was doing a great job on “Power Girl,” too, so why not? I really enjoyed it. They gave Catwoman a lot of personality, told a good adventure story and what a shock ending! (Hallie read this one, and thought it was OK, but a little confusing as the story jumped from scene to scene.) I’ll keep getting it until the creative team quits or gets boring.
Wonder Woman: This was a no-brainer because I have become a huge fan of Cliff Chiang’s art. I was going to buy this title no matter what. Making it more appealing, I also enjoyed writer Brian Azarello’s “100 Bullets.” So, it was hard to say no. As with a lot of Azarello’s writing, he challenges you to keep up with him, and, thankfully, this was a comic you could read multiple times and see something different each time. You also could get crazy and do a lot of research into mythology to figure out where he is going with the story. I liked it because it makes you work! (Hallie read this one, too, and had about the same reaction to it as she did to “Catwoman.”)
All-Star Western: I have never really been a Jonah Hex fan, but because of the way Jimmy Palmiotti talked about the comic at the Baltimore Comicon, and the fact that he write “Power Girl” so brilliantly before turning it over to Winick, I thought I’d give it a try. Here’s the plot: Jonah Hex is in an 1880‘s Gotham City hunting for a Jack the Ripper type killer. I have to say this: it was well-written, and I think lots of people would enjoy it. I am sick of exploring Gotham City in general, and I think comics have done enough Jack the Ripper take-offs than we don’t need any more (once Alan Moore did “From Hell,” why bother?). In the same vein, Moritat is an artist I should like, but something about his really-stylized drawing just doesn’t resonate with me. I would never say anything negative about it, but I just can't really get into it.
Justice League Dark: I got this because I had been reading “Zatanna,” and the character carried over to this mystical super-hero title. Peter Milligan is not one of my favorite writers, but is well-regarded among the comics community for being innovative. I’ll stay with this, but it’s on a short leash.
Voodoo: At the Baltimore Comicon, writer Ron Marz talked about how DC was letting him "break all the rules" with this title, so I was interested. To that end, almost all of the first issue takes place in a strip club. Old “Power Girl” artist Sami Basri is drawing it, and his art keeps getting better and better. This was my favorite of all the “New 52” comics I read. It had a surprise ending, especially for someone like me who had not ever seen Voodoo before. (Hallie read “Voodoo,” and really liked it. She may keep reading it.)
Swamp Thing: I missed it when it first came out, so I got a second printing of the first issue along with the second issue this week. The only reason I got this was because writer Scott Snyder talked so passionately about it at the Baltimore Comicon. When I opened up the book to look at the insides, Yanick Paquette just blew my eyes out of their sockets. It’s just so beautifully, perfectly ugly in places. His storytelling and pages layout borrows a lot from J. H. Williams and his characters had wonderful Kevin Nowlan-esque scowls.
OMAC: I did the same thing with “OMAC” that I did with “Swamp Thing.” I like Keith Giffen’s art. I really do. I am a huge fan of all his “Ambush Bug” comics. However, in OMAC, Giffen was aping Jack Kirby, and I am sick of people aping Kirby. Brice Timm, Steve Rude and John Byrne all do it pretty well. Giffen, despite the solid underpinnings to his layout and anatomy, just looks like another mid-1970s Marvel artist who was told to draw like Kirby. His heads and faces often looked skewed to one side. All that said, it was a fun action comic. I haven’t decided if I’ll be back for issue three or not.

(P.S. If any of the others start generating a big buzz, I may check out the trade paperback so I get the whole story in one lump.)

Back, with some redesigns ...

2011-10-07T13:19:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Facebook, I have not been using this blog very much.
I think If I have some longer-form things to post I'll put them here and link to them from Facebook.
Let me know what you think of the redesign!
When I started, I just wanted to post whatever I was thinking about at the moment, hence "serial cereal blogging."
I think I am pretty much tapped out on that theme. Plus its a lot easier to post something on Facebook like, " I just ate 20 strips of bacon for breakfast," or something like that.
I think now, what I really need to do is come up with a plan to focus on mainly something. At the moment, the best bet looks like it would focus on comics.

Great unknown characters of children's television

2011-03-08T20:22:00.001-05:00

Sal the Sanitation Bear (He's the one in the orange vest.) shows up in various interstitial bits on "Nick Junior."
We don't really learn much about him except that he is heavily into recycling. He also drives a garbage truck, but somehow stays remarkably clean.
We also know he has a full collection of "Gnomes on Ice" commemorative glasses, which he completed when he convinced Moose A. Moose not to throw away the last glass missing from his set. Moose was going to recycle his old glass because he didn't want it anymore, but Sal convinced him to re-use it, instead.
(Do you suppose Sal used Moose's generosity to make a killing selling the whole set on eBay? He doesn't seem the sort, but you never know.)
What does Sal teach us about life?
Well, he shows us we should sort our recyclables correctly.
He also shows us that some people collect strange things. Like, say, comic books.

Google is celebrating Will Eisner's birthday!

2011-03-06T07:31:00.004-05:00

I opened up Google this morning to see they had replaced their "Google" logo," with a design based on Will Eisner's "Spirit" comics, including using twisted buildings and the Spirit's head as the logo. Eisner, of course, used to find all kind of creative ways to use objects to spell out 'The Spirit" on is splash pages.
Go enjoy!

Post script:
I just found out here the logo was designed by comic artist Scott McCloud.

Novelists give comics their Zombies and Widows (or comics about women, part three)

2011-03-04T16:00:00.007-05:00

How interesting that this article should come out on Comic Book Resources just as I am finishing up my brief (and wholly incomplete) tour of comics with good female lead characters. It’s coincidental, because “iZombie” was one of the comics I was going to talk about.
“iZombie” is written by Chris Roberson, who also writes “Cinderella,” which I mentioned here. Roberson, who also writes science fiction novels, is fast becoming one of my favorite comics writers.
Here’s how the CBR article explains the comic:

In actuality, the plot of "iZombie" is fairly simple: a girl named Gwen died and woke up a zombie. She has to eat a brain every month, "because if she doesn't, she goes all George Romero 'Night of the Living Dead,' shambling, mindless zombie-thing," said Roberson.

In the article, Roberson, conveniently, talks about writing female characters:

"It's actually easier for me to write strong female characters than it is for me to write kick-ass, macho guys, because kick-ass, macho guys I can't relate to at all," said Roberson. Citing his mother, sisters, wife and seven-year old daughter as inspiration Roberson continued, "Strong female characters, I don't even have to pause to think about what would interest or motivate them, because I see it around me all the time."

“iZombie” is drawn by the incomparable Mike Allred, of “Madman,” “Atomics,” and “X-Force” fame.
I have bought almost everything Allred has ever done. (For some reason I didn’t make it through his “Red Rocket 7” series of a few years ago, but that’s the exception and not the rule.) His skill just keeps increasing. His art is clean, and simple, yet unique and instantly recognizable. If he isn’t one of the best artists in comics, he’s close.
The first “iZombie” trade paperback is coming out soon, and I’d recommend it with one caveat: While the concept is great, I thought the story started kind of slow because Roberson and Allred had a lot of pieces to introduce and then put in motion. I stuck with it because I trust Roberson and Allred to pull it all together in the end.
It’s also possible “iZombie” will read better in larger chunks when compiled in a trade paperback. I have found a few other series to be like that, including “100 Bullets,” and “Fables,” and I am considering dropping monthly issues of “House of Mystery” in favor of the trades.
For “iZombie,” though, the pace is picking up because the cauldron of characters are beginning to swirl and bubble together. It’s really getting fun, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
The last comic I wanted to touch on during this much-longer-than-I thought-it-would-be-when-I-started series, is “Black Widow,” which I have not even read. Here are some preview pages.

Why on earth would I want to discuss something I have not even read?
Well, like “iZombie,” the first five issues of the latest incarnation of “Black Window” is written by a novelist, Marjorie Liu. Wikipedia tells us she writes, “Paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels.”
She is also the only female comics writer of this bunch I have discussed.
I don’t know how many female novelists have been tapped to write comics, but I suspect the number isn’t all that high. There are probably a few, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
I didn’t come upon this fact until the fourth of her five issues came out, and I have not been able to get them all in one chunk. Rather than piecing the story together, I have been patiently waiting for a trade paperback or a comic store that has all of them. The preview pages do look great, though, don’t they?
Liu left after only five issues, stating in her blog that she writes three or four novels a year as well as two other comics and didn’t have time to do any more.
In an interview over on the Comic Vine Web site, Liu had this to say about female comics creators:

The industry itself, I think, is pretty warm toward female creators -- at least at Marvel. But we do seem to be a bit invisible, sometimes, as far as comic book readers go. There's a misconception from the public that there are no women whatsoever in comics -- besides the busty ladies on the covers -- and there's a sense, too, that the female comic book reader doesn't exist. Oh, that elusive creature!

One day I’ll read all five issues in their entirety, and report back. I promise.
I’d like to end this back were I started three days and four blog posts ago: There are a lot of really great comics out there with female leads.
There are more yet than I have covered in this brief survey. I stopped with these seven, only because they are the titles I am following (Or, in one case, not following, and in another case waiting to follow.).
I think this a trend worth watching as comics readership continues to shrink and is increasingly dominated by 40-year-old men like me who have been reading conics forever and can’t bring themselves to stop.
Are female characters and/or creators a way to draw new readers into comics, or do they just provide a different window into the genre for those of us who have been here a while?
I guess we’ll see.

One thing I might like, one thing I like sometimes (Or: Female leads in comics part two)

2011-03-03T18:45:00.003-05:00

What made me think about this whole female comic book character thing I have been writing about?
Well, it was this little preview on comicbookresources.com for a comic called “Lorna: Relic Wrangler.”
It has yet to debut, but it sure looks cool. The artist, Loston Wallace, is an alumnus from “Batman: The Animated Series,” and as such draws in the wonderfully simple yet expressive style of the great Bruce Timm.
Let us note Timm’s Batman show and the companion Superman show always has great female supporting characters, from Batgirl, to Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn on Batman to Lois Lane and Supergirl in the Superman show.
Often Timm is joined with writer Paul Dini to tell his stories, and perhaps one of the greatest comics of the last 20 years is “Batman: Mad Love,” By Dini and Timm. Which is another great story featuring a rather twisted, but memorable, female lead, Harley Quinn.
But, I digress.
I like the Timm style a lot. Sadly, Timm hasn’t drawn a whole lot of comics. Many of his imitators have, though, to varying degrees of success. Perhaps the best of the bunch are Darwyn Cooke, Aluir Amancio, Mike Manley and Rick Burchett.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand: Wallace’s preview pages look as though he is one of the better artists to pick up and use that style.
I think I am in for “Lorna.” I’ll have to check it out when it appears at the comic store, though.
Now, what else am I currently buying? After all I did promise to mention four more great comics with female leads.
Well, since I was talking about Dini, I shall easily transition to “Zatanna.” Zatanna, the magician who says her spells backwards, has long been a member of the DC universe, but has usually been lumped in with al the other characters in the Justice League of America. I remember reading numerous issues of JLA in which she had a bit part, but never had a leading role.
I thought it was cool DC decided to take an old character and give her new life with her own book. When it started with the creative team of Dini and artist Stephane Roux, I was convinced this would be a comic worth watching.
And it was, for the first few issues.
You see, I cannot entirely recommend it carte blanche for a couple of reasons:
1. Too many guest writers and
2. Too many guest artists.
“Zatanna” started out strong under its original creative team. Then Roux left. Then Dini left. Then Dini came back. Roux is supposed to be back for an issue in a couple of months.
DC got a really great three-issue fill-in job from Cliff Chiang, one of the younger comics artists whose work I really, really enjoy, much like Shawn MacManus on Cinderella. Chiang reminds me a little bit of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez at times, but his finished work is a little rougher and more spontaneous. His sense of layout and storytelling is original, but still simple and easy to follow, like MacManus. Frankly, I like Chiang better than Roux, but they are both really good.

Other than Chiang’s issues, the fill-in stories have not been memorable.
So, “Zatanna,” at its best is a very welcome, very well-written and drawn vehicle for an old character to shine. At its worst, it’s pretty mediocre.
I hope the comic stays at its best for a while, because if not, I’d suspect it’s in danger of being cancelled.
Speaking of cancelled, I think I shall end here for now. I went on too long about Bruce Timm and why you should and shouldn’t check out Zatanna to fit in the other stuff.
I know I still owe you a few more female-led comics, which I promise to deliver next time.

Serial cereal blogging

2011-03-02T19:50:00.002-05:00

I like Raisin Bran. I have been eating it for two days now.
Did you ever notice that the bran without the raisins and the raisins without the bran are not so good? The whole is greater then the sum of the parts.
Especially with a little sugar on top.

Why I am reading "Power Girl," Batgirl" and "Cinderella" (And, maybe you should, too!)

2011-03-01T20:50:00.006-05:00

(Before I start, forgive me for not writing about comics for a while. I promise to do better.)
I don’t know if anyone has noticed besides me, but there are a lot of really great comics being published with female lead characters.
My posts about She-Hulk always seem to stay at the top of my most popular lists (I am going to leave Jennifer Walters’ alter-ego out of this discussion.).
“Power Girl,” when it was written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and drawn by Amanda Conner, was one of my favorites. When I came home with a new week’d worth of comics, that was always the one to which I was most looking forward.
I think what really hooked me was Conner’s art. Everything she draws has such personality and energy!
I think she could draw a story about a hospital waiting room and make it look exciting.
Sadly, all three left the book with issue 12. I was pretty well convinced that it would not be any good afterward.
What actually happened, however, was that after a few issues of the new creative team, I still really look forward to “Power Girl.”
The new writer, Judd Winick, has an entirely different sensibility than Palmoitti and Gray, but he has managed to keep the characters “feeling” the same. The book isn’t quite as in-your-face raucous as it was, it’s quieter, but it’s still in tune with what came before.
Sami Basri’s art took some getting used to. It’s a kind of a Manga-influenced style that depends heavily on the colorist to fill in the open spaces. His sense of anatomy is a little bit odd as well.
I said I wasn’t gonna talk about “She Hulk,” but, this was not unlike the artistic transition when Peter David started writing “She Hulk,” after writer Dan Slott and artist Rick Burchett left and the art chores were turned over to a team of fellows whose names I don’t remember and who drew an awful lot like Basri. For me, “She Hulk quickly thereafter plummeted into boring irrelevance.
That experience made me wary of what was to come for “Power Girl,” but I decided to be patient.
As a few issues passed (the series is on issue 21 now) I have gotten used to Basri’s art, and I have even started to appreciate the subtle expressions and body language he captures.
So, “Power Girl” is good. What else?
“Batgirl,” no kidding, is not the Batgirl of my youth, but a new character who fights criminals when she isn’t busy with her in high school drama. The stories are largely self-contained which is a big plus for me. I am getting so sick of cosmic stories wheer the entire universe is about to be destroyed. It’s fun to read smaller scale suoer hero stories that have a human side.
Dustin Guyen started drawing the book a couple of months ago, and he brings solid drawing and good storytelling to the interior pages and gorgeous subtly-colored watercolor-looking covers to the outside. If I had a vote as to best cover artist, I think I’d vote for him.
Another good comic with a female lead is “Cinderella.” This is a spin-off of “Fables,” but stands well in it’s own right, even if you have never read the original. (I have been buying the original series in trade paperback for, so I get the story in big lumps, but I have not gotten any of the other spin-off “Jack of Fables.”) The title character, the original Cinderella now living in our world, is a James Bond-ish spy for the Fabletown characters of the original title.
The second series just got underway, and the first was on the top of my reading list by the time it ended.
Why? For one, writer Chris Roberson is fast becoming one of my favorite comics writers. Roberson comes up with great plots, but also populates the pages with clever, witty characters using some of the fable characters we don’t get to see in the main book.
Shawn MacManus’ art has enough personality that it’s easy on the eyes, but is simple and classic enough that it doesn’t get in the way to telling a story.
The other artist who defines the series, Chrissie Zullo, draws absolutely perfect covers. Her style is very different that MacManus’ on the interiors, but they work together to produce a visual look that makes the book eye candy every month.
School Library Journal (via Amazon.com) tells about the series better than I just did:
In this spin-off of Bill Willingham's "Fables" series (Vertigo), Cinderella is a covert agent: her cover is a shoe store called The Glass Slipper. In her latest assignment, "Cindy" must work with handsome but infuriating Aladdin to find out who is sneaking weapons between Fableland and the outside world. Could it be Cinderella's fairy godmother? Roberson effectively integrates fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters into a complex, action-packed spy caper worthy of Alias or James Bond.
That’s three of the comics I wanted to talk about. I think I have four more I’ll post something about next time.

Beethoven by Beaker

2011-02-28T18:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry for all the Muppet posts lately, but I found this and it stopped the whole house. It may be the most entertaining 1:41 I ever spent on the Internet.
Trust me, you won't regret watching it.

Manamana (Do-do-do-dooo-do)

2011-02-27T12:36:00.002-05:00

This is very popular in my house now.

For those of you who are worried about higher gasoline prices ...

2011-02-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a story I wrote almost 10 years ago on this subject.
The key lines:

Gas prices dropped recently because supply is catching up to demand, according to officials from the petroleum industry.
In late May, gasoline prices rose to nearly $2 a gallon, but in the past week, prices have fallen below $1.30.

Rather quaint, isn't it?

What did she think of Miss Piggy?

2011-02-25T19:59:00.002-05:00

While watching re-runs of "The Muppet Show," Izzy, 3, saw a scene where Miss Piggy karate chopped Kermit the Frog. What did Izzy say?
"I don't like that piggy. She's a mean piggy."

One morning at breakfast

2011-02-21T17:46:00.005-05:00

INTRO: The family is nearing the end of breakfast.
MARY, 1, has eaten all her food and thrown her plate on the floor.
HALLIE, the mommy, is picking up the plate and telling IZZY, 3, to finish eating.
JEFF, the daddy, is loading silverware, plates and juice bottles into the dish washer.

HALLIE: (Looks up and sees a pile of eggs still on IZZY'S plate) Izzy, eat your eggies!
IZZY: (Bites into a strawberry) Huh?
HALLIE: (Standing up, definitely annoyed) Hurry up and eat! You haven’t touched anything and you need to eat!
IZZY: Huh?
HALLIE: (Getting a little louder and more forceful) You heard me! You know exactly what I said! Don’t pretend you can’t hear me!
(Pause)
HALLIE: (Turns to Jeff who is still loading dishes) Daddy! Tell Izzy to eat her eggs! She she can’t eat just strawberries and yogurt for breakfast!
JEFF: (Looks up from the dishes) Huh?

Play Dough with teeth?

2011-02-19T07:45:00.006-05:00

The best bad dream ever:
Izzy, 3, came crying into our bedroom this morning at about 5 a.m.
When Hallie picked her up and asked what was wrong, she said, "I had a bad dream!"
Naturally, Hallie asked her what he dream was about.
"I dreamed I was playing with my Play-Dough and it grew teeth and tried to bite me!" she said, crying.
Hallie took Izzy back to bed, and she fell back asleep with no more dreams of masticating Play Dough.
What caused this dream? Yesterday, I watched the following video, with the Sweedish Chef making some dough.
I am not sure if Izzy watched it over my shoulder or not.
Could her dream have been just a coincidence?

Only the Cleveland Indians

2011-02-13T14:02:00.004-05:00

Only the Cleveland Indians would sign a two-time gold-glove winning shortstop, Orlando Cabrera, and announce they are going to play him at second base.
It's even worse when you consider the incumbent at short, Asdrubal Cabrera (no relation), is considered to be better at second than at short.
So, you want to make your middle infield defense better? Flip-flop two players so that both are playing at their weakest position. Makes perfect sense to me.
Somewhere, Gabe Paul is probably smiling.

They Might Be Giants Might Have a Newer Video

2011-02-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite newer TMBG songs. I had to buy a DVD to watch the video. How times have changed!

They Might Be Giants - What Is a Shooting Star? from They Might Be Giants on Vimeo.

They Might Be Giants Might Have a Pretty Old Video

2011-02-12T13:19:00.002-05:00

This is the first TMBG video I ever saw, probably really late at night on MTV's "120 Minutes."
If I am not mistaken, MTV gave up showing videos some time ago.
Does this say more about the quality of the music videos of recent vintage, or more about how audiences tastes have changed?
Are there any 15-year-olds out there who would have crush on Martha Quinn?
Are there any who would watch this?

They Might Be Giants - Don't Let's Start from They Might Be Giants on Vimeo.

Serial cereal blogging

2011-02-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

My lovely and talented wife purchased for me a few weeks ago two boxes of "Berry Berry Kix." Now, longtime readers of this blog (yes, all two of you) may remember that this was my favorite cereal, but after moving to Virginia, I could no longer find it.
Well, apparently, Super Wal-Mart, where we rarely shop for cereal, in this area carries it.
To this point, I have eaten one box, and put the second on hold whilst I cleanse my palate with some "Frosted Mini Wheats."
My review?
Well, first of all, they have changed "Berry Berry Kix" somewhat since I last encountered them. They used to be regular "Kix," which are kind of bland, with little round, purple "berries."
Now, they are not so distinctly colored, ranging in tone from yellow to almost purple.
At first, I thought they tasted a little different than I remembered, maybe not quite as sweet and berry-y, but after eating a whole box, i think they taste pretty much the same.
I shall report back upon the completion of the second box, but in gnereal, I'd say they are still very good, but I may prefer the blueberry "Frosted Mini-Wheats." You can never go wrong with "Fruity Pebbles," either, as far as I'm concerned.
Side note:
The people who make "Trix," have changed the shape and color over the years, too. I wonder if they do it when sales slump, or if the good idea fairy strikes cereal developers, too?
"Hey, let's take this classic cereal that everybody has eaten for years and change it!"
Another side note:
On the General Mills Web site, there is an entry for "Kix," but not for the berry berry version. I wonder if this means anything?

My Super Bowl prediction

2011-02-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

I predict that one team will win, and the other team will lose. beyond that,I have no idea.

Part Two of "La Jetee"

2011-01-30T11:37:00.002-05:00

I just thought I'd follow up with the second part of the movie I wrote so much about yesterday.

Mr. Hitchocock, meet Mr. Dick, Mr. Burns, Mr. Eisner and, oh, yes, Mr. Gilliam, who brought us all together

2011-01-29T13:47:00.011-05:00

I happened to be awake early Friday morning, 3 a.m. early. What was running on TV but one of my favorite movies, “12 Monkeys?”
I have not seen it all the way through since I saw it in1995 at the Cla-Zel Theater in downtown Bowling Green, Ohio. So stunning was the film’s effect on me, I had deliberately avoided seeing it in pieces because I wanted to watch it whole if I was to watch it. Since I had never happened upon it as it was starting, I never had seen it again.
Friday morning, however, about a half-hour of the movie had passed, and I decided to watch the rest, anyway. In the early morning hours, sometimes you change your mind about things.
As before, I started watching and was swept along, completely trapped by the movie, until it was over. As before, I was captivated by the skilled and unique storytelling of director Terry Gilliam.
In watching “12 Monkeys,” I was almost trapped by the movie. I wasn’t guessing along with it to see what happened. I was a passive observer, reacting to what I saw on the screen. Perhaps this is the greatest compliment that can be paid to a filmmaker.
The future world in which James Cole lives looks like a weird, run-down version of our own, which is perfectly sensible for storytelling, since, in the story, the human race nearly died out from a plague virus released in 1997. Everything the survivors had was derivative of what they had when they fled underground a few years earlier.
(The Cla-Zel was the perfect setting to watch the movie, because it was a building that had once been a beautiful place to see a movie, but by 1995 needed major restoration work. This was as close to a merger of fantasy and reality as I have ever experienced in a movie theater.)
Gilliam uses camera angles differently than any other film director, favoring bird’s-eye and worm’s eye views as well as tipped horizon shots where everything is slanted and angled. The only other common example of this technique is the “Batman” TV show in which the villains’ lairs were always shot at this skewed tilt.
Gilliam also favors the use of extremely wide-angle lenses, which produces a depth of field so clear the viewer can always see everything in the background.
These two techniques give a certain weirdness to the look of his movies, as the camera angles are so different than what the normal human eye sees. The wide angle sometimes distorts the edges of the screen, stretching them out as the action moves through.
The movie’s stunning visuals enhanced the screenwriting, by David and Janet Peoples, which tells a story that’s part science fiction, part myth, part psychological thriller and part action film. Alfred Hitchcock meets Philip K. Dick in a rotting Victorian Catholic Church, if you will.
But, you ask, “Why do I care about “12 Monkeys” now and why are you telling me this in your ever-purple prose on your silly blog 15 years later?”
In addition to yet another opportunity to extend my list of never having written anything substantial without a typo in it, I said all that to preface the following video link for the movie “La Jetee.”
Huh? What’s some French film got to do with anything?
In 1995 when I saw the “12 Monkeys,” I knew it was inspired by “La Jetee.” It says so in the opening credits.
In 1995, the Internet was rather undeveloped, and we did not have YouTube.
I never was able to see “La Jetee” to dig deeper into the origins of my favorite movies.
This time, however, a day or so after watching "12 Monkeys," YouTube smiled upon me. I even had several choices of how to see the 1962 original: in the original French; with an English narrator; or with English subtitles.
After a viewing the few different options, I decided the English subtitled version was the best You Tube could offer.
I generally like subtitles better than dubbing anyway. I find it less distracting, and you get the sense of what the movie was supposed to sound like.
So, what do I say to compare the films?
The basic plot is the same in structure, but different in execution. I see no reason to go into detail here. If you have not seen either film, I’d just as soon not spoil either by telling you what happens in the end.
“La Jetee” is short. It’s only 28 minutes. It’s a series of black-and-white still photos with a narrator telling the viewer what’s going on. It’s a still photographer artistic stream-of-consciousness dream.
It is as visually unique and compelling as “12 Monkeys,” but in a totally different way.
To compare, think about a somber, chiaroscuro Ken Burns documentary with the camera panning across photos. Or, perhaps, a black-and-white Will Eisner “Spirit” comic book, images with no movement, with a somber narrator and plodding Russian music playing in the background.
I am talking too much here. If you are still reading this, thanks. I am not even still reading this, and I am writing it. If you went right to the link, you are probably viewing something at this very moment far more interesting than what I am writing about it.

I just watched this on TV ...

2011-01-29T06:44:00.003-05:00

Amazing the entertaining things you see on children's TV! I wish I could rhyme this cleverly.

NFL Playoff Picks (Weak Three)

2011-01-20T19:42:00.004-05:00

After raising my record to an illustrious 2-4 last week, and knocking out one of my Super Bowl teams (Atlanta) in the process, I shall try this thing again, just to see what happens. The worst I can do is drop my record to 2-6. The best I can do is break even.

Jets at Steelers: I'll take the Steelers, because they are at home, and Troy Polamalu is playing. I think the Jets are a worthy opponent, however, and they have a good chance to win. I imagine it will be a close game.

Packers at Bears: This is a really tough pick, because both teams are pretty good. Aaron Rogers is proving to be way better than Jay Cutler, but the Packers don't run the ball all that well (one playoff game excepted). The Bears have a great defense. The Packers lost to the Bears early in the year, then beat them the last week of the season. I am meandering all about, because I want to pick the Bears, but I think the Packers will win. So, I'll go with the Packers, I guess.
So that would make for a Super Bowl with the Steelers and Packers.

One more thing about Wendy's

2011-01-18T20:04:00.002-05:00

I asked some of my co-workers about whether or not Wendy's has seemed to go downhill lately.
Most of them said they hadn't eaten at a Wendy's enough to make a judgement.
That says a lot right there.

What's happening at Wendy's?

2011-01-17T20:32:00.007-05:00

Have my taste buds changed, or are Wendy's restaurants getting worse?
In the past, I always regarded Wendy's as one of the best fast food chains.
Lately, however, every time I have eaten ay Wendy's, the food has been mediocre in a way that Wendy's never used to be. Mind you, it has not been bad, It just has not been all that good.
This downward trend set in slowly. I only really noticed in the last few months, but as I thought about it, I didn't remember really enjoying a meal at Wendy's in a couple of years.
I have eaten at lots of them the last year or so in various places, including several exits along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a few in the Hampton Roads, Va., area and a few other places like Indianapolis and Columbus, Ind., San Antonio, Texas and Atlanta, Ga.
Sadly, there has ben much mediocrity.
The burgers have less flavor. The buns are not as soft and fresh. The fries don't taste as good, and this pre-dates the new sea salt fries they have been advertising. I think the sea salt fries are bland and uninteresting.
Apparently, I am not the only one, as you can see here or here.
(I have a theory about the "new" Wendy's fries that is completely unsubstantiated, but they look an awful lot like Arby's "Homestyle" fries. Since the same company owns both franchises, I wonder if someone decided to buy only one type of fries for both. So, maybe what you are eating at Wendy's now is actually just a variation of what they are serving at Arby's.)
Other chains, especially Five Guys or Steak and Shake, are serving better versions of the same kind of food.
Five Guys food always seems fresher, their fries really are wonderful (I would eat them here or there, I would eat them anywhere.).
I had Steak and Shake last summer for the first time in a few years, and I think if there was one close to where I live, I'd probably eat there every week or so.
As for Wendy's, the last time I ate at one was about a week ago. It was less that I wanted their food, and more to try one last time at a different location to see if I got another mediocre meal. And, I did.
For what it's worth, I think I am done with Wendy's for a while.

Brady Quinn: Too much muscle?

2011-01-16T20:20:00.004-05:00

Maybe I missed something, but I never heard anyone say the following about Brady Quinn when he was with the Browns. If it's true, it might explain his lack of success in Cleveland or his subsequent stops.

From today's Plain Dealer, by Tony Grossi:

Hey, Tony: If the Browns are going to go with the West Coast offense, don't you think that Brady Quinn would have been a better fit than Colt McCoy? Quinn is bigger and has a better arm for Cleveland weather. He can throw long, proven in the Detroit game. Who made the decision to trade Quinn? Holmgren or Mangini? -- Ernie, Columbus, Ohio
Hey, Ernie: I don't agree at all. McCoy is a better fit than Quinn in the West Coast offense -- or any system. To me, Quinn was too obsessed with body building and appeared too tight to make all the throws. It was strictly Holmgren's call to trade Quinn.

Peter Seeger sings us a song about bells

2011-01-16T20:08:00.000-05:00

I have always really liked Seeger's version of this song.

Pete Seeger sings us a little song about school

2011-01-15T20:04:00.001-05:00

And, what do I think about the Browns new head coach?

2011-01-14T20:14:00.007-05:00

I am sure glad it wasn't Marty Mornhinweng.

I think maybe the Fox TV station in Philadelphia wishes the Browns had hired him. Isn't that a strange headline?

NFL Playoff Picks (Weak Two)

2011-01-14T19:40:00.002-05:00

Because of my spectacular failure last week, I am going with the favorites in all the games this week.
I am not even sure who they are, but if I pick the favorites I can't go 0-4 again. Or can I?
Seriously, here's my best guess:
Pittsburgh over Baltimore, just because I think the Steelers are a little teeny bit better on offense and defense.
New England over the Jets, just because I don't think the Jets are that good in the first place. And, just because the Pats already beat them 45-3 barely more than a month ago.
Atlanta over Green Bay, just because I think Atlanta went 13-3 and Green Bay didn't.
Chicago over Seattle, just because Seattle can't keep winning. Or can they? Also just because Chicago keeps winning even though everyone seems to think they aren't that good. Who's to say they are gonna stop now?

Serial cereal blogging

2011-01-10T20:31:00.002-05:00

Today, I had blueberry yogurt. I think I like blueberry flavored "Frosted Mini Wheats" better.

There are reasons I am not a professional NFL prognosticator

2011-01-09T20:59:00.004-05:00

The main one is that I am almost always wrong. I went 0-4 this weekend. I was wrong abut every single game. I even picked the Saints to beat the Seahawks like everyone else in the free world, and I got that one wrong.
Well, to all of you who want a really hot tip -- next week bet against all my picks. You'll sweep then.
Unless I decide to deliberately pick against what i think will happen. Then, of course, because I picked differently, the teams I really thought would win, will win.
Maybe you better not use my picks for anything. Except maybe a good laugh after the games are over.

How could they do this to She Hulk?

2011-01-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Since the most popular posts on this blog seem to be about She Hulk, I ought to address the latest comic starring the large, green version of attorney Jennifer Walters.
Boy, what an awful comic book.
"She Hulk" is poorly written poorly drawn and ill conceived.
It is a far, far cry from the past series full of personality by people who seemed to care about making Jen interesting, like John Byrne and the team of Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo.
Bleah.
That's all I have to say about that.

Serial cereal blogging

2011-01-06T20:25:00.000-05:00

Golden Grahams get kind of gross when they are in milk too long.
They get really slimy, and their taste dramatically changes.
So, that's as good an excuse as any to eat them really, really, fast.

NFL Playoff Picks (weak one)

2011-01-06T19:47:00.003-05:00

Just for fun, here are my NFL playoff picks:

1. Kansas City over Baltimore. Why? KC is at home in Arrowhead Stadium, which is one of the most hostile environments to visiting teams in the NFL. I think Baltimore has better players on defense, better receivers and a better quarterback. But, KC has better coaching, a good running game and home field. I bet it will be close, but I say KC will break its six-game playoff losing skid, dating back to when Marty Schottenheimer was the coach. If there's to be an upset, I think this may be the one.

2. Indianapolis over the New York Jets. Why? I didn't the Jets were all that good last year when they went to the AFC championship game and for beat by the Colts. i think the Jets and Browns could easily have had each other's records if a few breaks went the other way. The jets barely bear the Browns and Lions in back-to-back weeks. Their running game hasn't been as good. Consequently, their quarterback hasn't been as good. The team has been surrounded by controversy all year. They took an absolute drubbing from the Patriots late in the year. Payton Manning has all he needs to carve up a weakened team.

3. Philadelphia over Green Bay. Why? Green Bay has too many injuries, and no running game. Aaron Rogers could lift them above their shortcomings, but I think Michael Vick is playing better right now and has a better supporting cast.

4. New Orleans over Seattle. Why? Because I will be rooting for Seattle.

Two former Cleveland Indians go to the Hall of Fame

2011-01-05T19:50:00.007-05:00

Roberto Alomar was going to get in eventually. He was just too good not to.
I don't have much to say about him other than he was probably the best second baseman of his era, and an absolute joy to watch on defense, especially when paired with Omar Vizquel from 1999-2001.
I doubt he'll go into the Hall as an Indian, though. He'll probably go as a Blue Jay, where he won two world champeenships. He did get to play with his brother Sandy during his time in Cleveland, and was generally well received by the fans.
I highly doubt Bert Blyleven will go in as an Indian, either. Regardless, he should have been in a long time ago. He didn't quite get to 300 wins, finishing with 287, and I'd guess that was probably what held him back.
But, Blyleven belongs in the Hall if only because of his 3,701 strikeouts. When he retired, that was good for third on the all time list. Now, it's fifth, but anybody who ranks in the top five of any major category like that should be in the Hall.
And, anyway, if not for a few years when he battled injuries, and the awful records of the some of the teams he played on, he would have won 300 games. He was pretty durable, but he did miss enough time that he could have earned another 13 wins easily. He only made 12 starts in 1976, four in 1982, and missed the entire 1991 season. He also missed some time in 1976 and 1983. In the strike year of 1981, he made 20.
In 1984, when I was a wee lad of 14, he went 19-7 with the Indians, who were a 79-87 team. I am not doing the math, but when Blyleven didn't pitch, the team was just awful. But, the Dutchman was downright great every time he pitched. I remember really, really hoping, he'd win 20, but he just missed. I didn't get to see a 20-game winer in Cleveland until Cliff Lee in 2008.
Blyleven aged well, too, winning a World Series with the Twins in 1987, and then at age 38, going 17-5 with the 1989 California Angels.
Here are the players he was most similar to, according to Similarity Scores at Baseball-Referece.com:
Don Sutton (914) *
Gaylord Perry (909) *
Fergie Jenkins (890) *
Tommy John (889)
Robin Roberts (876) *
Tom Seaver (864) *
Jim Kaat (854)
Early Wynn (844) *
Phil Niekro (844) *
Steve Carlton (840) *
Everybody on this list except John and Kaat are in the Hall of Fame.
Which leads nicely to my little I told you so: Here's the case I made for Blyleven back in 2007.
From the list I made then, I think John may eventually get in and so might Jack Morris.
Kaat may deserve it, but I don't think there's been much movement toward getting him elected. He has only four fewer wins than Blyleven and five fewer than John.
It looks, sadly, like Mel Harder will never get in. With the death of Bob Feller, Harder lost one of his most vocal supporters. I think the argument could be made that Harder deserves to be in the HOF if only as a pitching coach. And, he was a pretty good pitcher, too.

Under the heading of more statistics than we really need, here's what the Indians sent out in an e-mail on the subject of today's announcement:
Right-hander Bert Blyleven and Second baseman Roberto Alomar, both of whom spent portions of their careers with the Indians, were elected to the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, garnering 79.7% and 90% of the vote, respectively, with 75% required for election.
Bert Blyleven, who pitched for the Indians from 1981-85, notched 287 career wins, 27th on the all-time list, and is fifth in career strikeouts with 3,701. Blyleven went 19-7 with a 2.87 ERA with the Tribe in 1984, finishing third in the Cy Young voting.
A switch-hitter, Alomar amassed 2,724 hits, 210 homers, 1,134 RBIs and 474 steals playing for seven teams. From 1999-2001 with the Indians, the 10-time Gold Glove winner batted .323 with a .405 on-base percentage, 63 home runs, 309 RBIs, 362 runs scored and 106 stolen bases.

My pick for Cleveland Browns head coach ...

2011-01-04T19:59:00.007-05:00

... would still be Marty Schottenheimer (NOT the above Marty Mornhinweng but that part comes later.). But, since there's no chance in heck of that happening, I'll rank my top five of the rumored candidates, assuming it's not Holmgren himself, who would probably be number one on the list. I'll also give you the one guy I would not pick. (Hint: He used to wear a blue shirt.)

1. John Gruden would be my first choice. He is from nearby Sandusky, he has coached two teams to Super Bowls and won one. He is from the West Coast Offense style of play that is favored by team President Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert. He has been away from coaching for a couple of years, and maybe has gained some perspective from the TV booth. He is probably the biggest name out there, though, and that will make him popular with other teams and also expensive.
2. Bill Cowher. Ha-ha. That's a good one. I am so funny. Funny me. Like they are going to hire Bill Cowher. But, just think, wouldn't that make Steeler week even better? Maybe he'd give the Browns some of the smash-mouth in your face swagger that would allow them to not get beat three times in one year, or by scores of 41-0, or 34-7, or 31-0, or 41-9.
3. Mike Mularkey used to be Cowher's offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. I have said for a long time the Browns should play just like the Steelers. If they hired one of their former coaches, even if it wasn't Cowher, maybe he would understand what it takes to win in the AFC North. However, Mularkey's record in two years as Buffalo Bills head coach was 14-18. (Which, by the way, is better than 5-27, but that's also the part that comes later.)
4. I am intrigued by Pat Shurmur, but it's easy to be intrigued by someone who has never coached in the NFL. It's an interesting tie to Holmgren because Shurmur's dad was Holmgren's longtime defensive coordinator. But, he has a good resume of coaching quarterbacks, including San Bradford and Donovan McNabb. Would he be able to do the same with Colt McCoy? (First time NFL coaches sometimes struggle a lot. But, that's the part I'll get to later.)
5. John Fox is just a good all around coach who has been to the Super Bowl.

I really hope, however, the Browns don't hire the other Marty, Marty Mornhinweg. (This is the part I said I was getting to. Later is now.) He was awful with the Lions in 2001-2002, going 5-27. I have never seen a more clueless looking fellow on the sidelines of a professional NFL game, except maybe Rich Kotite. (Kotite, at least, had a few good years. Here are his win totals with Philadelphia and the Jets. Note they drop like a stone: 10, 11, 8, 7, 3, 1.) I don't care how well Michael Vick has played under Mornhinweg's tutelage, 5-27, even with a bad organization like the Lions, is still 5-27. Why should anyone think he is suddenly going to be good with another team that is, well, about as bad as the Lions?

That said, I offer my prediction: In a few weeks, the Browns will announce Marty Mornhinweng as their new head coach. I just have that feeling in my bones. A 5-27 record (or something like it) later, they will be looking for another coach. Some guys are meant to be coordinators. Some teams are meant to conduct coaching searches.

Guys who aren't said to be candidates, but wouldn't it be fun if they were: Marty Schottenheimer, Brian Billick (I have long felt the Browns blew it when they let him go to Baltimore), Marty Schottenheimer, Urban Meyer, Marty Schottenheimer, Jim Tressel, Marty Schottenheimer, bring Chris Palmer back and give him a real chance this time, Marty Schottenheimer, Dick Vermeil, Mike Ditka, Steve Mariucci, run-and-shoot offense specialist Mouse Davis or maybe even Marty Schottenheimer. Hey, I can dream, right?

Serial cereal blogging

2010-12-30T00:44:00.001-05:00

I have not eaten cereal for breakfast in about a week. Frozen waffles, CoCo Wheats and IHOP have been my breakfasts of choice.

Statement from the Feller Family (from the Indians' Web site)

2010-12-30T00:40:00.002-05:00

This may be of interest, especially since I have put so much Feller stuff up here since his death. Today I received this in an e-mail from Indians.com:

The Feller family would like to thank everyone for their warm wishes in the wake of Bob's passing. In addition to being a national baseball icon, Bob Feller was a husband, father, and grandfather. He will be remembered for his intelligence and charm, grit and seemingly limitless memory - and we all yearn to hear just one more of his larger than life tales. Baseball was his deepest love, and kept him remarkably active right to the end. As a father, he lovingly taught the game to his three sons. Most recently, he returned to the mound and threw his grandson batting practice at age ninety.

Bob's family was larger than us though, extending to Cleveland and well beyond. He loved the city and its people. We know we are not alone in our sadness, and look forward to celebrating his illustrious life with you in the coming months.

Lastly we would like to thank Cleveland Clinic and Hospice of the Western Reserve, for the care they afforded our entire family, and the members of the Cleveland media for respecting the family's privacy. Most importantly, we are indebted to the Cleveland Indians for supporting Bob and his family throughout the years.

Sincerely,
The Feller Family

Indians.com also has a Feller tribute page here.

Yo! M.C. turtle raps (on Jack's Big Music Show)

2010-12-27T09:22:00.007-05:00

Easily my favorite bit of children's programming (since I have to watch hour after hour of it) is "Jack's Big Music Show." If this clip fails to amuse you, you don't deserve amusement.

MisterCelleneous Miscellany

2010-12-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

Looking at the most popular blog posts, what does it say that my popular blog post is a post from two years ago about "She Hulk" being cancelled?
Does this mean if I did nothing but blog about She Hulk, my blog would be top-rated?
Maybe I ought to just add "She Hulk" into every blog title for a while, and see what happens.
Or maybe change the blog's name to MisterSheHulkCellaneous.
Or something.

Serial cereal blogging

2010-12-24T08:33:00.002-05:00

Fruity Pebbles are always good. No matter where, no mater when.

NFL playoff scribbles

2010-12-24T08:01:00.006-05:00

1. If the Cleveland Browns had scored 37 more points in their close games, they'd have seven more wins. That means, they have lost seven games by an average of less than a touchdown, but more than a field goal. That would make them 12-2, with losses only to Pittsburgh and Atlanta. (I know a loss is a loss, but I'm just sayin'.) If they even split those games 4-3, they'd be 9-5 and somewhere on the fringes of the AFC playoff conversation.
2. If the San Francisco 49ers make the playoffs with a record of 7-9, becoming the first NFL team to win a division with a losing record, I am going to root for them to win the Super Bowl.
3. If asked for a Super Bowl prediction today (and I am far, far worse a prognosticator than Mike Greenberg can ever dream to be), I'd say Steelers-Falcons. This means the actual Super Bowl teams will probably be the Bears and the Jets.
4. The underdog team that would scare me the most if my team was facing them in the playoffs is the San Diego Chargers, who have scored more points than any team in the AFC except the Patriots, and have allowed fewer than any, except the Ravens, Steelers and Jets.
5. I think it would be really cool if the Chiefs went really deep in the playoffs. Then I could start wearing all my Chiefs stuff again. Seriously, if they aren't coached by Dick Vermeil or Marty Schottenheimer, I don't have as much affection for my second favorite team. But, I'd still watch more closely if they made it into the post-season.

How I became a Bob Feller fan

2010-12-18T20:07:00.007-05:00

Here’s my “I met Bob Feller” story:
I was maybe 12 or 13, I don’t really remember exactly how old I was, but Feller was holding an autograph session at the Findlay Village Mall. (I assume it was called that even then.)
It was before all the renovations that added the Elder-Beerman and the whole corridor to the rear if the mall leading to it. For those of you who remember these things, that whole area was still a K-Mart store with a little lunch counter.
The JC Penney store was still in the front of the mall (about where the Radio Shack is today) instead of in the back, and right across from it was a little craft store of some kind that sold baseball cards. I used to go in there and look at them in the glass counter. I may have bought a couple, but I remember looking at them a lot.
I have no idea if that store had anything to do with Feller coming to the mall that day, but that’s where he set up for the autograph session.
My dad took me. He had seen an advertisement for Feller’s appearance in one of the the papers.
I don’t think I really knew who Feller was then, only that he was a Hall-of-Fame pitcher for the Cleveland Indians.
I am pretty sure my dad knew who he was, because they were about the same age, and, even though my dad was not a big baseball fan until I came along, he probably remembered the name from when Feller was still pitching.
To be signed, I brought with me the book “Pitching” by Bob Shaw. It’s one of the better “How-To” books about its subject, and may have been among the first of its kind. It explained the proper form for pitching, how to throw various pitches and lots of other related things like exercises that would help strengthen the muscles needed for pitching.
(To that end, Shaw recommended staying away from weight training because it could leave you muscle bound and inflexible. Hey. it’s an old book.)
I pretty much knew the book backwards and forwards. It was dog-eared from reading it so many times.
I remember standing in line for a while. I couldn’t tell you if it was a long time. I was wearing my first, really beat up Cleveland Indians hat. It was one of the blue ones with the old block “C” in red on the front. Like many hats of the day, the back was made out of a mesh and it had plastic snaps to adjust the size.
Feller was seated at the table, chatting with everyone who came by. He was very friendly and talkative and engaging.
My dad said he seemed like an old farmer, which made for easy conversation with all the northwest Ohioans standing in line. (Later I learned he had, rather famously, grown up on a farm in Van Meter, Iowa.)
When I made it up to where Feller was sitting, I handed him my book.I remember him being very friendly, and smiling and greeting us plesantly.
One of the first things he said when I handed him my book was, “So, did you read this book?”
Which prompted me, I am sure, to give him the dumb look of all dumb looks. Of course I had! Couldn’t he see how beat up it was?
I told him I had read it lots of times.
He approved my answer and signed the front page “Best wishes, Bob Feller.”
As we stood there, someone handed him a baseball to sign. He told the crowd he was glad he had a short name so it fit on the baseball. He was glad he didn’t have a name like Connie Mack, the former Philadelphia Athletics manager.
Mack’s full name, Feller said, was “Cornelius Aloysius McGillicuddy” and he could never have fit that on one baseball. You’d need a basketball for that one, he said.
Feller added, however, Mack’s real middle name wasn’t Aloysious. He didn’t know what it was, but still would have been too long to fit on a baseball.
Naturally, I looked it up when I got home, and Mack’s full name really was Cornelius McGillicuddy.”
(Interestingly enough, Mack managed the A’s throughout most of Feller’s career, which lasted from 1936-1956. Mack was the owner/manager of the As from 1901-1954. He stopped managing in 1950 at age 87.)
My dad and I went home happy that we’d met Feller and found him to be a fine gentleman.
One post script: We saw Feller pitch in an old-timer’s game later that year.
Feller would have been in his early 60s at the time, and I remember my dad commenting about how spry and fit he still looked when he pitched.
Indians broadcaster Herb Score also threw a few pitches in that game, and I remember my dad noting, and me agreeing, that Feller seemed to have retained more of his youthful athleticism that Score, who was 15 years younger.
The game was all the more enjoyable because we could say we knew one of the players.
One more post script: I was moved to tears (quietly, though) this past opening day in Cleveland when Feller threw out the first pitch of the 2010 season to Sandy Alomar.
Feller left the mound to a thundering ovation and tipped his cap to the fans.
I think I could have skipped the rest of the game and gone home happy just to have seen that.
Feller strode out to the mound at age 92, wound up and delivered a pitch to home plate. Some guy sitting in front of me was amazed that, at Feller’s age, he still went to the mound and threw the pitch from the pitching rubber.
I thought to myself the guy who said that didn’t know Feller very well. Or course he could still pitch from the mound. If he couldn’t, I don’t think he’d have even gone out there.
If that’s to be his last big moment in Cleveland in front of the fans, he left on a good note, and I am very happy I was there to see it.
I thought at the time it was almost as though he was handing off the reigns of being the senior statesman to a younger generation of Indian stars.
I don’t suppose Feller thought of it that way. I’d imagine he was just the greatest Cleveland Indian ever throwing out another ceremonial first pitch to start the season and would do it again next year if asked.
But, even though Feller probably has thrown out more than a few first pitches with Alomar catching, now it seems even more like a de facto generational handoff.
Maybe someone on the Indians will get the symmetry, and let Alomar, one of the greatest and most popular Indians from recent memory, throw out the first pitch next year.
And, yes, before you ask, I still have the book Feller signed. And, yes I still pull it out and read it now and again.

Serial cereal blogging

2010-12-18T18:53:00.002-05:00

I like "Corn Pops." I think they used to be called "Sugar Corn Pops," but they haven't changed much over the years.
They are still little yellow blobs of sweet, corn-based cereal. They still stay crunchy in milk for a little while and slowly soften until they are mooshy by the time you get to the end of bowl.
I don't mind them when they are mooshy. I like them better when they are in the in-between stages, actually.
I like them so much, I have been eating them as "snacks" since I opened the box.

Another Bob Feller post

2010-12-17T20:52:00.004-05:00

Here's a really nice piece about Bob Feller, by John Sickles, who wrote "Bob Feller: Ace of the Greatest generation."
One of these days, I'll post my own "I met Bob Feller" story. I promise.

The 1987 Cleveland Browns on video

2010-12-12T19:27:00.002-05:00

There's a commercial at the beginning, and the video is some 21 minutes long, but for those of you who want to remember how fun it used to be to be a Browns fan, this is a great video!
I still wish the Browns would hire Marty Schottenheimer as their head coach.

Nev Chandler interviews Bob Feller

2010-12-10T12:31:00.000-05:00

From 1990.

Some Bob Feller footage

2010-12-10T12:30:00.001-05:00

Bob Feller went into hospice care, the Plain Dealer reported yesterday. Here's some footage of him from his prime.

Bob Feller footage from OleMissCub on Vimeo.

A few funny Chuck Norris jokes

2010-12-03T20:06:00.003-05:00

Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, because no building can contain that much awesomeness.
Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck Norris met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
When Chuck Norris is bitten by a vampire, the vampire turns into Chuck Norris.

Here's a place to find some more.

Harry Potter: Not mediocre, but still average

2010-11-22T12:14:00.003-05:00

Why am I always underwhelmed by the “Harry Potter” movies?
In the middle of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One,” I thought to myself I’d really love watching this movie if I stumbled onto it on HBO at 2:30 a.m. and knew nothing about it.
This is how I happened to watch the original “Planet of the Apes” movie, along with “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “The Breakfast Club.”
I happened to be watching TV when they came on, I happened to settle on that channel and two hours later I had watched the whole thing.
My feeling about the latest “Harry Potter” installment is, while it was a very well-made movie, I just couldn’t get pulled into it. Like the book on which it was based, it didn’t assertively hold my interest throughout. I think reading the book colored my movie experience as well.
A good gauge for how well a movie holds my interest is how often you have the presence of mind of check your watch.
A really great movie is so engrossing, I never look. I stay focused on the screen.
The worse a movie is, the more I look.
I saw the 6 p.m. show, and checked my watch at 7:05, 7:20, 7:35, 7:50 and then at the end of the movie.
This isn’t a bad record, all told, but it’s not great.
I wish I could say something else really insightful about the movie itself, instead of just my reaction to it.
It was well-directed, the special effects were awesome. The book on which it was based was a huge hit. (I have to admit, I found myself skimming though huge sections of the book and stopping when the story got interesting, but since I am not a truly rabid "Harry Potter" fan, that's only natural with a book that doggone long.)
There were no dumb moments. And, the movie ended on a cliff hanger, not a crappy final twist ending like this summer’s “Inception.” (For what it's worth, I still don’t know why "Inception" was said to be so revolutionary. I thought it was so clever it out-thought itself.)
I should have really liked “Part One.”
Instead, I just liked it.

I take back what I said.

2010-11-21T17:15:00.002-05:00

The Browns will be 3-13 if they keep pulling the crap they did today.

Why the Cleveland Browns will finish 8-8 this year

2010-11-21T11:34:00.003-05:00

In his column in today's Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto tells us this:

1. The next five games are against Jacksonville, Carolina, Miami, Buffalo and Cincinnati. Only Sunday's opponent (5-4 Jacksonville) has a winning record. Carolina and Buffalo are 1-8, Cincinnati is 2-7. At 5-5, Miami has quarterback problems and is only 1-4 at home. Now is the time for the Browns to capitalize on the confidence from playing four of the NFL's best teams to a 2-2 record, along with the enthusiasm of the fans and the weaknesses in the schedule. The final two games are against the Steelers and Ravens, both in Cleveland.

So, notwithstanding today's game, if the Browns continue to play as hard and as well as they have been, and they play against worse competition, my guess is they will go 4-1 over the next five games. They probably won't beat both Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Even a split would be optimistic, but let's say it happens. This would have them finish at 8-8.
But, here's the interesting point: Even as bad as the Browns' record has been, if they happen to win five games in a row, then bear both the Ravens and the Steelers,they would host Pittsburgh at 8-6. This would mean they could finish at 10-6. The best case for such a finish would be if Pittsburgh and Baltimore are already resting key players for the playoffs. That would, however, mean that the entire AFC East would have to tank, and fall back to ward the Browns in the wild card standings, which doesn't seem likely.
Because there are so many good AFC teams, even at 10-6, the Browns would probably miss the playoffs, like in 2007.
If the Browns had won just a couple of their close losses at stood at, say, 5-4, they would probably have a legitimate shot at the post season.

Where are you all hiding?

2010-11-21T11:32:00.002-05:00

I just added a counter to my blog, and somehow, I am getting 2,000 visitors a month. I had no idea! I am sure it because you are all on the edges of your seats to find out what I had for breakfast.
For what it's worth, my goal is to have about 15-16 posts a month, averaging something like every other day. I haven't always hit that, because I tend to post in bursts, but it's still a reasonable goal.

Another fall foliage picture

2010-11-21T11:17:00.001-05:00

This was a leaf I found in my front yard.

One of I don't know how many fall foliage pictures ...

2010-11-20T12:36:00.001-05:00

... from right around my yard.

Snoopy laughing

2010-11-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

This should at least make you smile a little, if not laugh.

So, what do I think about the Browns win?

2010-11-07T17:09:00.004-05:00

Belichick sucks.
Payton Hillis for President.
I hope Colt McCoy starts the rest of the games.
My official Super Bowl prediction for 2012: The Cleveland Browns play the Detroit Lions.

(As an unrelated side note: My fingers always want to type "Detriot Loins" for some reason.)

A minute or so of Snoopy fun

2010-11-07T17:06:00.002-05:00

Why the Weird Al show was cancelled

2010-10-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

Conan the Librarian

2010-10-29T21:03:00.000-04:00

Remember this from UHF? \

Weird Al on Tom Snyder

2010-10-28T20:59:00.001-04:00

What more could anyone want?

Economic thought of the day

2010-10-20T15:09:00.000-04:00

If a billionaire gave everyone in America $1 million, that billionaire would still have $750 million.
Just a thought for all the billionaires who read this blog.

Another Paul and Storm video (with metaphor)

2010-10-18T21:51:00.000-04:00

I cannot possibly add anything to your experience of watching this by way of smartass commentary.

Paul and Storm back again

2010-10-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I have linked to one of these, eh?

Here's "Nugget Man." (With Jonathan Coulton, too!)

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain (that Glenn Beck guy out in front is so much more amusing, anyway)

2010-10-16T13:16:00.023-04:00

Here's a story from the New Yorker that is delicious in its irony: It tells us that Glenn Beck is part of a long-term battle of ideas.

Maybe one could use the term, oh, I don't know, conspiracy, like the conspiracy from the Fascist, Communist, Socialist Progressives Beck tells us about every night.

Joe McCarthy, anyone?

I am waiting for the night Beck tells us about the list on his table of 55 known Progressives in the American Congress. This movement that is about bringing down America! The pile of books on his desk, which his staff has just put nice sticky tabs in so it looks like he or they actually read them, shows us how dangerous this movement is. These 157 Progressives in Congress are clearly undermining everything America stands for! This book, for example, Mein Kampf, shows exactly how the Progressives will take control of the government. This list, of 579 known Progressives in our own Congress shows us what kind of trouble our country is in! Watch out! There's one behind your couch! By the way: Remember to keep watching me, so I can tell you more obscurely threatening things about your life that don't really make sense when you think about them! But if you want me to think about them for you, go out and buy all my books and DVDs and then spend even more of your hard-earned American money on my rallies and special one-night-only-in-theater movie events happening soon across the country and in your neighborhood! Be careful -- that person sitting next you just might be an undercover Communist, Progressive, Socialist, Nazi, LaRuche Democrat in disguise. Even if it's your grandmother! You'll never know how to spot them unless you listen to all three hours of my radio show and watch my hour TV show every single day, no matter what!

(Just for the record, if you could get all of Beck's Communists, Fascists, Progressives and Socialists in a room together, they have so little in common they'd spend too much time arguing to actually take over the world.)

Oh yeah. I had a link there to discuss, didn't I? Some points from the story:

Several times a week, Beck informs his audience that socialists (whom he also sometimes calls Fascists or Communists) led by Obama have seized power, and that patriotic Americans must take their country back.

OK, what next?

On September 22nd, amid a diatribe about House, Beck cited a passage from “Secrets of the Federal Reserve,” by Eustace Mullins. The book, commissioned in 1948 by Ezra Pound, is a startlingly anti-Semitic fantasy of how a Jewish-led conspiracy of all-powerful bankers established the Federal Reserve in service of their plot to dominate the world.

Huh?

Beck’s readings of Progressive-era politics are nearly as bizarre. Whatever can be said about Theodore Roosevelt, he was not a crypto-radical. It was Roosevelt who coined the term “lunatic fringe” to describe the extreme leftists of his day, and his concept of New Nationalism—in which an activist government built a vibrant capitalism, partly by regulating big business—looked back to Alexander Hamilton, not Karl Marx. Nor was (President Woodrow) Wilson a Bolshevik; in fact, in 1917 he sent American troops to Russia to support the anti-Bolshevik White Army. At home, his reforms sought to break up monopolies in order to restore competition among small companies. “If America is not to have free enterprise,” Wilson declared, “then she can have no freedom of any sort whatever.”

So Roosevelt was a radical? Wilson was a Socialist who was against free enterprise? Who's the revisionist historian now, Beck-o? Do these sound like credible sources and reasonable conclusions?

The story sites another classic example of Beck logic. Here it is:

Part of Beck’s allure is the promise that he will reveal secret information. In one segment last year, he produced a drawing of fasces—which he described, anachronistically, as “the Roman symbol of Fascism”—and then a picture of an old Mercury dime, with fasces on the reverse side. “Who brought this dime in? It happened in 1916—Woodrow Wilson was the President,” he said. “We’ve been on the road to Fascism for a while.” Benito Mussolini, of course, didn’t adopt the ancient symbol of authority as the Fascist emblem until the nineteen-twenties; the designer of the coin, the sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, intended it to signify the nation’s military preparedness, and paired it with an olive branch to illustrate the desire for peace.

Apologies to Jon Stewart (and boy, is that a great link), but this is connecting two unrelated things. It's kind of like saying, for example, Barack Obama has a pancreas. Adolf Hitler had a pancreas. Therefore, Obama is clearly a vegetarian Nazi suffering from extreme flatulence.

Beck could find a conspiracy in a coffee cup. Cream from Progressive cows, no doubt.

Here's another story that clearly and concisely sums up my feeling about Beck, from Dana Milbank, who just wrote a book about the popular television common-tater head.

Love him, or hate him, the man is brilliant. How can you not admire a guy who went from a horrible addiction to becoming perhaps the most dominant force in American culture and American politics. I have respect for the way he has been able to see where the country is going, where the discourse is going and get out in front of it. I just have serious questions about how genuine his beliefs are. I think Glenn Beck is a charlatan, but he's the best charlatan there is.

Along that line, and lest we all forget, in the late 1980‘s, Beck resigned from his job as a Phoenix morning drive time radio host (the most prestigious time slot for a radio personality) after calling up a competitors' wife on the air and making fun of her recent miscarriage.

On the air.

During his show.

Live.

I do not buy the he-was-stil-an-alcoholic-when-that-happened excuse.

This incident says everything there is to say about Glenn Beck. What won't he say or do on the air to get attention?

If you still think Beck's tired, alarmist act is anything more than that, you are getting the intellectual soylent green you deserve.

What I did when I was stuck in traffic

2010-10-08T14:43:00.003-04:00

I was stuck in traffic for about an hour this morning while trying to pass through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.
I listened to all of disc one of the "The Essential Weird Al Yankovic, and concluded that Weird Al improves the songs he parodies.
I also saw the ugliest bubblegum-fuscia colored Volkswagen Beetle I have ever seen.
Further, I pondered something that has always caused me pause to consider:
When drivers pass an especially nasty crash, we tend to comment on how awful it looks, and keep on driving. A few seconds later, we have resumed our normal driving patterns, without considering what happens when we make a mistake behind the wheel.
Rarely does anyone really consider that, on another day, the mangled vehicles they passed could have been theirs.

Wisdom from different sources

2010-10-04T20:57:00.001-04:00

From Bob Woodward's book, "Obama's Wars," page 153:

"One outspoken member of the team believed McChrystal should not base his strategy on 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' as the U.S. had appeared to be doing. What if we increase Afghan forces? If only we can reform Karzai ... If only we can improve agriculture ... What if we seize the ring road around the country?
"Such an approach was not reality-based. 'It was hope-based, which is to say, in wartime, illusion-based,' a team member explained to Josh, my assistant."

This, for me, kinda sums up the Cleveland Indians in 2011.

It makes you wonder how anything ever gets done

2010-10-03T20:37:00.002-04:00

Having read about the first 100 or so pages of the new book, “Obama’s Wars,” by Bob Woodward, I am struck by one thing: How little actual raw information reaches the president of the United States.
This is to say, the president, this one or any other, makes decisions not on what he knows, but on what other people know, filter for him and present to him.
The staff -- or more probably the staff’s staff, or maybe even the staff’s staff’s staff -- gathers information, turns it into some kind of report and then report works its way back up to the president, from which he makes a decision.
There are two things to recognize about this:
1. With the complexity of the world today, it would be impossible for the president to understand every detail of every facet of his administration; and
2. Part of the reason we pick a president is the quality of the people we think he will put into those key positions.
However, it is disturbing how badly someone who seems to be irrelevant could derail an entire administration by providing bad, skewed or incomplete information to the chain of command. Or, for that matter, push an agenda simply by manipulating the information that reaches the people who reach the people who reach the president.
From John P. Burke’s "The Institutional Presidency," in The Presidency and the Political System:

The Executive Branch and the Office of the President have grown significantly since George Washington first took office in 1789. He purposely downplayed the status of the office, not wanting the people to revere him as anything but a patriotic man willing to serve his country. He dealt personally with the Congress and the Courts, not relying on intermediaries to carry his messages for him. Jefferson employed a staff of two--a messenger and a secretary. By 1900, the White House staff had grown to a dozen. The explosion of activity in the White House during Franklin Roosevelt's administration highlighted the need for additional staff and the number of people working for the President has steadily increased since that time. The Executive Office of the President now employs more than five hundred people.

And that article was in a book (How quaint -- books.) published in 1998. What’s happened since then?
 This 500 is just the president’s staff, not the cabinet members and their departments, such as defense, state, etc.
And yet, we expect the president to have an eloquent, informed answer on anything that is happening in any part of the world, including places that many of us have never even heard of.
Just this past week, I learned about the island nations of Sao Tome and Principe, off the coat of Western Africa. But, if I was campaigning for president, I’d be expected to know about it, such as:

In 2001, São Tomé and Nigeria reached agreement on joint exploration for petroleum in waters claimed by the two countries of the Niger Delta geologic province. After a lengthy series of negotiations, in April 2003 the joint development zone (JDZ) was opened for bids by international oil firms. The JDZ was divided into 9 blocks; the winning bids for block one, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and the Norwegian firm, Equity Energy, were announced in April 2004, with São Tomé to take in 40% of the $123 million bid, and Nigeria the other 60%. Bids on other blocks were still under consideration in October 2004. São Tomé has received more than $2 million from the bank to develop its petroleum sector. São Tomé stands to gain significant revenue both from the bidding process and from follow-on production, should reserves in the area match expectations.

Oh, and in addition to knowing things like that, things that I can just cut and paste from Wikipedia, a president has to that kind of stuff about every country in the world. Even a presidential candidate has to know this stuff.
And, he has a staff to summarize and filter the information so he knows what the key points are and how they relate to his party’s platform.
Oh, and by the way, when questioned, he has to make sure he doesn’t accidentally say something in such a way that inadvertently insults anyone.
It seems a little silly, but maybe we as voters should find out before the president is elected who will be members of his staff and cabinet.
But, to make an informed decision at that level of detail, I’ll need a staff of my own.

P.S. Just for fun, next time you are invited to a town hall meeting with a presidential candidate, ask him about the oil deal between Nigeria and Sao Tome and see what he says.

The Browns won!

2010-10-03T19:11:00.004-04:00

In an amazing twist of fate, the Cleveland Brows did something they have not done often and aren't expected to continue: They now have a winning streak of one game.
(In Cleveland Browns terms, since 1999, one win has come to constitute a streak.)
Expect this to end quickly next week, as order is restored to the universe.
But, we can all enjoy it while it lasts.
Anybody going to run out and buy a Peyton Hills jersey?

Not so happy meals?

2010-10-03T19:07:00.003-04:00

This story tell us ...

A proposed city ordinance would ban McDonald's from putting toys in Happy Meals unless it adds fruit and vegetable portions and limits calories. The proposal would apply to all restaurants, but the focus has been on McDonald's and its iconic Happy Meals.

Some people don't want anybody to have any fun.
Can you imagine ordering a "Chef Salad" happy meal with a side of sunflower seeds and a pure mountain spring water to drink?
I don't think the product is at fault -- just the people who choose to over indulge. Or choose to let their children over indulge.

Today's pretty picture

2010-10-02T19:55:00.005-04:00

I just thought we needed a picture of Groo today.
Enjoy!

(I'll also take this opportunity to note that you can now purchase the hardcover version of "MAD's Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragones: Five Decades of His Finest Works" from many places, including Amazon.com for a mere $21.56. I have it, and I am working my way through it. Since it's only $21.56, you can afford to buy it and you'll have some money left over for some cheese dip to eat while you read it.)

Breakfast poll

2010-10-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

IHOP won the breakfast restaurant poll by a 2-1-1 margin over Cracker Barrel and Waffle House.
That surprises me.
I like IHOP OK, but after I eat there I always go into a sugar coma for the rest of the morning.
Maybe I should just lay off the syrup.

A cheesy family heirloom

2010-09-30T20:33:00.002-04:00

Here's a story about 117-year-old piece of cheese.
I should not have to say anything further to entice you to go read this article.

One of my favorite album covers

2010-09-26T21:46:00.000-04:00

From XTC's "Mayor of Simpleton" err .. uhh .. were these called "EPs?" I forget. I am getting old and stuff.

Al Williamson, remembered

2010-09-26T09:15:00.005-04:00

Here's a nice remembrance of Al Williamson, courtesy of comicbookresources.com.
Here's how the site introduces the article:

With his passing, Al Williamson left behind a legacy that will continue to live on well into the future. We spoke with Mark Schultz, George Lucas and others about their personal and professional memories of the artist.

Always good when someone interviews the supremely-talented writer and artist Mark Schultz, of "Xenozoic Tales" fame, about anything.

There's lots of cool art to look at, too.

I'd like to write a whole bunch of stuff about Al Williamson, but I doubt I'd have much to add that this story doesn't already cover. He was a brilliant artist, who captured flowing anatomy along with perfect pacing and wonderful use of black and white spaces. Heavily influenced by Alex Raymond, his pages played out dramatically like no others.

I have read many things he drew, including his EC science fiction comics from the '50s, a few westerns, his work on Star Wars in the 1980s, as well as his inking of John Romita Jr. and others in the 1990s.

As an inker, almost nobody could create such fine, flowing brush lines. He always enhanced the pencil art he was given, no matter how different the penciller's style was from his.

Anytime I saw Willimason's name in a comic book's credits, I always gave it a look.

There are lots of "Art of Al Williamson" type books out there, including a beautiful volume that collects his "Flash Gordon" work, from across several decades. I'd recommend anything he did.

I went to Costco yesterday and didn't buy a thing!

2010-09-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

How unusual is that?

Sure it's comedy, but is it funny?

2010-09-24T21:02:00.008-04:00

Illegal immigrant farm worker hearings in Congress aren't funny ... or are they?

They might be funny, if the chairman invited Stephen Colbert, because of a segment from his show on the topic.
How strange.

The subcommittee chairman invited the Comedy Central personality to testify at the hearing, which addressed the possibility of offering illegal immigrant farm workers a path to citizenship. Colbert’s “expertise” in the arena of immigration and farm labor stems from a July 2010 episode of his TV show “The Colbert Report,” during which he joined subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren to spend a day doing the work of an agriculture laborer.

Maybe next, he'll get invited to speak at a Tea Party rally, because of his expertise as a no-comprimise conservative commentator!

James Rainey of he LA Times gives us a little more information:

It turns out that the real joke was not on Congress but by Congress, or at least some of its members. They and their fellow travelers in the punditocracy wouldn't or couldn't wrap their minds around the idea that satirists are citizens too. And that they are often the citizens with a way of cutting right to the guts of a matter.

Of course, Fox News thinks it was inappropriate. Does this surprise anyone?

If Democratic leaders were trying to bring national attention to migrant farm labor by inviting comedian Stephen Colbert to a House panel hearing on Friday, they appear to have succeeded, but Colbert's performance didn't leave many lawmakers laughing.

John Conyers was one, says Fox:

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich, chairman of the committee, tried to kick Colbert out before he could testify.
"I'm asking you to leave the committee room completely, and submit your statement," he said.

Of course, Nancy Pelosi liked it, which explains further why Fox hated it:

... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't think Colbert was out of line.
"Of course I think it's appropriate," she said. "He's an American. He can bring attention to an important issue. I think it's great."

As usual, Mark Evanier summed it up perfectly on his weblog:

I suppose that Colbert did some good in that he got some attention for an issue that many wish to demagogue but few wish to actually fix. But I don't see that he did anything that would get us closer to fixing it. Then again, probably nothing that happens these days before a Congressional subcommittee is going to get us any closer.

Personally, Congress hasn't been any fun since Jim Traficant was sent to jail. They should bring him back to testify about something.

Some good Usagi news

2010-09-21T20:04:00.003-04:00

Here's a nice article from comicbookresources.com about some upcoming "Usagi Yojimbo" stuff.
In October, Fantagraphics - the first publisher to offer an ongoing "Usagi Yojimbo" series - will release "Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition," a two-hardcover slipcased collection of the original run, currently available as seven trade paperbacks. Meanwhile, Dark Horse, Usagi's current home, continues to publish the adventures of Sakai's anthropomorphic hero monthly, in what are mostly one or two-issue self-contained stories.
With this little post is a page from an upcoming issue of "Usagi," #132, in fact.
Let me be clear: Usagi is one of my favorite comics of all time. I have been reading it since 1995, and thanks to the Fantagraphics trades and back issue scouring, I have just about every issue ever published.
I probably won't buy the deluxe edition hardcover, because I already have all the material in it. But for anyone who has never seen this material, a giant hardcover collection would be a wonderful way to get started on the adventures of the rabbit bodyguard.
The character has changed in appearance a little bit since the early issues, and Sakai's skill as an artist has grown considerably, so what you'll get in the hardcover will be a little different that what you'd see in the current monthly comics.
Simply put: every month, we see that Sakai is one of the greatest cartoonists out there. He has a sense of storytelling that is simple, and at the same time perfectly expressive for his stories. You can pick up any issue at any time and not be lost in the backstory.
And, as this collection proves, there is plenty of Usagi out there for people who want more.

Bee very quiet

2010-09-18T21:01:00.005-04:00

So, today, I was playing with the children in the back yard, when I saw a bee on the railing of the deck.
The bee wasn't moving hardly at all. It was only dragging itself along the wood, very slowly.
Thinking I'd never really have a chance to observe a bee at such close range, I watched him for a while. It kept moving along very slowly, and was using its antennae to feel the wood in front of it as it sat and looked at me.
Eventually, it dawned on me that I should take some pictures while I could get so close without fear of retribution or at least a nasty sting.
So, here for your viewing pleasure are the pictures of a very quiet bee in my back yard.

Water you talking about?

2010-09-14T21:28:00.002-04:00

Why, I am talking about a new video from Paul and Storm!
"Because there just wasn’t enough going on at PAX already, we decided to make a video featuring ourselves, 68 last-minute volunteers, five geek superstars, and a bottle of water."

If it ain't broken, don't fix it. But, what if it is?

2010-09-11T20:33:00.005-04:00

This is a very interesting article from the New Yorker a few weeks ago about the United States Senate.
It's really long, but very enlightening.
I think the most salient passage is this:

Encumbered with aides, prodded by hourly jolts from electronic media, racing from the hearing room to the caucus lunch to the Power Hour to the airport, senators no longer have the time, or perhaps the inclination, to get to know one another—least of all, members of the other party. Friendships across party lines are more likely among the few spouses who live in Washington. After Udall joined the Senate, last year, he was invited to dinner by Alexander, because Jill Cooper Udall and Honey Alexander had become friends through a women’s social club. It remains the only time Udall has set foot in the house of a Republican senator. (Vice-President Joe Biden, in his autobiography, recalls that, in the seventies, a bipartisan group of senators and their wives hosted a monthly dinner: “In those days Democrats and Republicans actually enjoyed each other’s company.”) When I asked Chris Dodd how well he knew, for example, Jim DeMint, Dodd said, “Not at all. Whereas Jesse Helms and I knew each other pretty well.” He repeated something that Jon Kyl, the Republican whip, from Arizona, had recently said to him: “There’s no trust.” Dodd, whose father was a senator, went on, “That’s really all there is—this place really operates on that. I don’t think anyone would argue with that conclusion. And if that’s missing . . . ”

I don't know that much about the Senate, but it sure seems like this sums up modern politics: Never agree with the other guy, never admit you are wrong and never, ever try to reach a middle ground with anyone. About anything. Did I mention never?
And, by extension, don't build alliances with anyone except people who think exactly like you do.
Try applying this philosophy to your everyday life for a month and see how well it works.
Probably about as well as it seems to be working in the Senate.

What was Google doing the other day?

2010-09-10T20:13:00.003-04:00

By now, you may know already about Google Instant.
If not, you can click on that link and go see.

Vote early, vote often!

2010-09-10T19:52:00.002-04:00

Over here at Spike TV, you can go vote for your favorite science fiction, fantasy and comic book related movies and other stuff from the past year in the "Scream 2010" contest.
One of the cool things is that you can vote for Jill Thompson for her art on Beasts of Burden.
I'd love to see all my readers stuff the ballot box.
(Or, is that "all of my reader stuff the ballot box?" Something like that, anyway.)
You can also go vote for Mike Mignola for best writer (even though I'd also think he could be a nominee for best artist) on "Hellboy," and other comics.
There's lots of other non-comic book material to vote on there too, mostly based around movies like "Avatar" and "Inception," and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
When in doubt, I voted for a whole bunch of "True Blood" stuff for Hallie.
Anyway, go look. You'll probably have fun voting.

(A side note: the opening page of that Mike Mignola Web site is really cool. Go take a look even if you don't care about Hellboy or Spike TV's contests.)

Don an angus chapeau

2010-09-09T20:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is silly, but it's a Web site I visited a long time ago but I always seem to think of when I think of silly Web sites: Hats of Meat.
I'd love to add some kind of silly comment, but there is nothing I could say that could possibly top the pathos you can find by simply clicking on that little link.
Have fun.

Well, fry mah hide!

2010-09-08T06:46:00.002-04:00

Seems to be a theme here for the last few days, but the Internet also has brought us back daily "Lil Abner" strips. Modern newspapers lack this: a comic strip so strong in its appeal that people buy the paper just to read it. Remember "Steve Canyon," "Flash Gordon," and many others?
Daily newspaper strips and so small now that even being in color doesn't make them very enticing.
Ah well, here's a "Lil Abner" sample, as any fool can plainly see:
(An official tip of theIndians' cap to the person who knows and posts the correct punch line to " ... as any fool can plainly see.")

Serial cereal blogging (Or, breakfast at BK)

2010-09-08T04:29:00.006-04:00

According to this, Burger King is trying to horn in on McDonald's breakfast business. The fast food giant is adding egg and breakfast meat platters and pancakes, sort of like McDonald's, and some other items.
According to the story:
"Burger King is introducing nine new breakfast items including blueberry biscuits and pancake platters and planning a major breakfast marketing blitz — all with an eye toward eating up some of McDonald's morning business."
According to the AP story:
"THE NEWS: Burger King is introducing nine new breakfast items and planning a major marketing blitz — all with an eye toward eating up some of McDonald's morning business.
THE PUSH: Chief Marketing Officer Mike Kappitt said the company has dabbled in breakfast for years since Burger King introduced breakfast in 1979 but is now making it a major focus with six new television ads.
THE NEW FOOD: The new offerings include platters of pancakes, eggs, sausage and other breakfast items ranging from $2.29 to $4.29 and a ciabatta sandwich with eggs, ham, bacon, tomatoes and cheese for $2.89."
Investorplace.com tells us something interesting about the money involved:
"It’s conspicuous that this menu reformulation comes amid a buyout. That’s because breakfast sales are a measly 12% of total BK revenue – compared to McDonald’s, which pulls in about 25% of its sales first thing in the morning. Clearly there is room to grow, and making a push for breakfast sales makes good business sense for Burger King."
While I have generally preferred BK's hamburgers to McDonald's, their breakfast has never appealed to me much. I like their french toast sticks and their little hash browns, but I am not a big fan of croissants, so many of their breakfast sandwiches just leave me cold.
I do, however, really like McDonald's in the morning. So, if BK can come up with something similar, but better, they can probably win over at least some of my fast-food breakfast business.
So, I'll probably give the new option a try one of these days.
More later, when there's more, later.

Why am I up so early? Googling!

2010-09-08T04:21:00.003-04:00

Now, Google's logo is completely gray. And, there's no link yet to tell us why!
What's going on here?
Mashable.com tells us the following:
The Google homepage is sporting a new logo that changes color as you type, and it’s likely a big hint as to what the company will announce at its “can’t miss” search event on Wednesday.
When you arrive on the search giant homepage today, you’ll be greeted with a gray Google doodle. When you start typing a search query though, the color magically returns to Google’s iconic logo. This follows yesterday’s logo, a collection of animated particles that react to the movement of the cursor.

Google balls (Google, in this case, is a verb!)

2010-09-07T20:32:00.006-04:00

If you were wondering what Google was doing Tuesday with those little balls in their logo that kept moving away from your mouse, so were a lot of people, including CBS News.
Earlier Tuesday we wrote about the Google homepage illustration (or "doodle," as Google calls these things) that's sparked so many Google searches it popped up in Google Trends. By late morning, variations of "Google balls," "Google logo" and "Google dots" took up five spots on Google Trends' top searches.
The search - about the floating, size-changing, swooping balls that make up the word "Google" on the search page - is still popular Tuesday evening, and Google itself is mostly mum on the doodle's meaning, but the following tweet appeared on Google's official Twitter page by mid-afternoon: "Boisterous doodle today. Maybe it's excited about the week ahead..."
And the Christian Science Monitor.
Says they: Changes to the traditional Google homepage logo are often an attempt to honor artists and important historical figures – or to draw attention to an event such as the Olympics. But today's Google logo – a mass of bright, bouncy colored balls – isn't obviously linked to a birthday or anniversary, and Google has remained mum on the inspiration for the change.
The New York Daily News was asking, too.
The popular search engine has unveiled its latest logo lunacy and Google-philes are getting their giggles playing with the colorful dots.
So was the Washington Post. They added: If merely for the amount of mystery surrounding it, today's "Google Doodle" is officially, already, Comic Riffs's Animation of the Day.
What about Entertainment Weekly?
Or, USA Today?
They were interested, too.
In fact, here's some links from Google News itself.
No word yet from the National Enquirer.
I will continue to monitor developments, as they occur.

Another interesting place for cartoons

2010-09-07T06:37:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I noted "comics.com" as a good place to find comics and editorial cartoons.
Another place is Yahoo News, which has it's own staple of comics, many of which overlap.
Yahoo has a few editorial cartoonists that comics.com doesn't, including Pat Oliphant, which is often featured in Newsweek. Regardless of your politics, the man can draw!
Yahoo also carries "Classic Bloom County," which is fun to see. It's one of my all-tme favorites, and re-running on the Internet, you can read it daily, but it doesn't take newsprint space away from new cartoons.
In fact, there are several re-run comics in Yahoo and elsewhere.

Did you know (TV edition)?

2010-09-06T21:32:00.006-04:00

The longest running show on TV is "Meet the Press (NBC News)," which started November 6, 1947.

A lot of people remember that from when Tim Russert died. He hadn't ben on the show for the whole time, but it seemed like he was there for most of it.

The next two oldest shows still on probably would be harder to guess.
There are only two other shows with 60 plus years on TV. They are:
* "CBS Evening News (CBS News)," which started August 14, 1948; and
* "Music and the Spoken Word," a syndicated show that started in October 1949.

Has anyone ever watched "Music and the Spoken Word?"

Get Fuzzy; also some good puns

2010-09-06T06:31:00.002-04:00

"Get Fuzzy" is one of those comic strips I don't read daily, but I do buy the big treasury-sized collections when they come out. The author, Darby Conley, often comes up with some clever puns that make me laugh. Here's a strip with a few of them.
By way of a plug, there's lots of newspaper comics and even editorial cartoons available on http://comics.com.

Serial cereal blogging

2010-09-02T20:37:00.002-04:00

Today, I didn't feel like eating anything for breakfast. So, I had a little serving of apple sauce. It was the "natural" kind without sugar or cinnamon or anything. I like the kind with pears in it best, because it's usually green.

Why the Cleveland Indians will still be awful in 2011

2010-08-31T14:03:00.000-04:00

In a recent article at fanhouse.com penned (or rather, typed) by Pat McManamon, formerly of the Akron Beacon Journal, Cleveland Indians general manager in waiting Chris Antonetti said he thinks the Indians will be better next year.
“Our expectations are that we'll be a better team next year. And hopefully appreciably better,” was exactly what Antonetti said.
It would be nice to think this will happen, but I doubt it. Here’s a series of reasons:
No matter what else happens, the Indians need a couple of power hitters. They need a couple of middle of the order hitters like Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Juan Gonzales, Lou Boudreau, Rocky Colavito, Boog Powell, Andre Thornton, Joe Carter, Tris Speaker or someone like that. They don’t have a single player right now who fits that mold.
While Shinn Soo Choo is a really fun player to watch, he isn’t going to hit 40 home runs and drive in 120. He’s probably a number two hitter on a championship team, not a three place hitter or a cleanup guy.
They don’t have a middle of the order, and there are no sure-fire candidates.
There’s no way to know what the Indians will get from Grady Sizemore. Even if he comes back full throttle and hits third, that still only fills half of the bill. Besides, he usually hits leadoff.
Carlos Santana showed great promise, but he will lost a half season of development time. I hope he turns into Manny Ramirez, but right now, it’s an “if.”
Matt LaPorta has had stretches during which he has shown some power and overall hitting ability, but a quick glance at his numbers shows he hasn’t been really productive yet. More telling is that he usually hits sixth, behind (ahem) Shelley Duncan and Jayson Nix.
Side-note: One clue that says you are a pretty awful baseball team is that you have guys like Duncan and Nix hitting in the middle of your order.
Speaking of Nix, the infield defense has been awful.
Nix has been hitting since he got to Cleveland, but for some reason the Indians have insisted on playing him at third base where he has been clearly out of position.
Luis Valbuena and playing defense shouldn’t go in the same sentence. At second, he has shown awful hands, but tried to make up for it by being consistently out of position.
Many of the defensive ratings show Asdrubal Cabrera to have below-average range, Terry Pluto wrote recently. Oddly, Cabrera came to the major leagues as a great glove, no-hit guy. He effectively has reversed that at the major league level, being a great hitter but below average shortstop.
The sad thing is that both Cabrera and Nix and pretty good second basemen, but the Indians don’t seem to have a defensive whiz ready to go at shortstop.
It looks as though they don’t like Jason Donald’s bat or glove at short, as he has been the primary second baseman since Cabrera returned. To his credit, he always seems to hustle and play smart wherever he plays.
As for the pitchers, I could drag this out and go through the list, but here’s the short version: Other than Fausto Carmona, the Indians do not have a battle-tested pitcher. And, who knows what Carmona will be like next year?
Usually, in the season like this one, one or two guys that you never heard of become key players. This year, I don’t know if anyone has stepped up, and almost all the veterans have been traded.
Who are the Indians best three players going into next year? Probably Cabrera, Choo and Sizemore.
Compared with the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, Twins, White Sox, Rays or Rangers, and you’ll see the Indians are very far behind the pack.

The Harvey Awards winners for this year are ...

2010-08-30T14:11:00.006-04:00

How many of this year's best comics have you read? I starred the ones I have.

Random notes:
Looks like "Asterios Polyp" was pretty well received. Justly so. But, how does David Mazzuchelli win the best letterer award? I always think Todd Klein deserves it every year.
How could a book about Harvey Kurtzman himself not win the award? It is a great book, and oddly enought I am in the process of reading it now.
I read one issue of "Chew," and while it's clever, I think "iZombie" is better.

Best Writer
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead (Image Comics)
Best Artist
Robert Crumb, Book of Genesis (W.W. Norton)
Best Cartoonist
Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW Publishing)*
Best Letterer
David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)*
Best Inker
Klaus Janson, The Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
Best Colorist
Laura Martin, The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (IDW Publishing)
Best Cover Artist
Mike Mignola, Hellboy: The Bride of Hell (Dark Horse)*
Best New Talent
Rob Guillory, Chew (Image Comics)*
Best New Series
Chew (Image Comics)*
Best Continuing or Limited Series
The Walking Dead (Image Comics)
Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers
The Muppet Show Comic Book (BOOM! Studios)
Best Anthology
Wednesday Comics (DC Comics)
Best Original Graphic Album
Asterios Polyp, by David Mazucchelli (Pantheon)*
Best Previously Published Graphic Album
Mice Templar, Vol. 1, byzBryan J.L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming (Image Comics)
Best Syndicated Strip or Panel
Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell (King Features Syndicate)*
Best Domestic Reprint Project
The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, by Dave Stevens; edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW Publishing)
Best American Edition of Foreign Material
The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy (Abrams ComicArts)
Best Online Comics Work
PvP, by Scott Kurtz
Special Award for Humor in Comics
Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5 (Oni Press)
Special Award for Excellence in Presentation
The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures, by Dave Stevens; edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW Publishing)
Best Biographic, Historical or Journalistic Presentation
Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)*
Best Single Issue or Story
Asterios Polyp, by David Mazucchelli (Pantheon)*

For what it's worth, here's how I might have voted, had I a vote. I left off some categories because either I hadn't read any of the entries, I didn't like any of the entries (true in the "best writer" and "Best inker" categories" or I didn't have a strong preference:

BEST ARTIST
____ Robert Crumb, "BOOK OF GENESIS", W.W. Norton
____ Guy Davis, "BPRD: BLACK GODDESS", Dark Horse Comics
____ Brian Fies, "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW?", Abrams ComicArts
____ David Petersen, "MOUSE GUARD : WINTER 1152", Archaia Entertainment
____ Frank Quitely, "BATMAN AND ROBIN", DC Comics
__X_ JH Williams III, "DETECTIVE COMICS", DC Comics

BEST CARTOONIST
____ Darwyn Cooke, "RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: THE HUNTER", IDW
____ Jeff Kinney, "DIARY OF A WIMPY KID #3: THE LAST STRAW", Amulet Books
____ Roger Langridge, "THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK", BOOM! Studios
____ David Mazzucchelli, "ASTERIOS POLYP", Pantheon
__X_ Seth, "GEORGE SPROTT (1894-1975)", Drawn and Quarterly

BEST COLORIST
____ Brian Fies, "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW?", Abrams ComicArts
____ Steve Hamaker, "BONE: CROWN OF HORNS”, Graphix
____ Laura Martin, "THE ROCKETEER: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES", IDW
____ David Mazzucchelli, "ASTERIOS POLYP", Pantheon
__X_ Dave Stewart, "BPRD: BLACK GODDESS", Dark Horse Comics

BEST COVER ARTIST
____ Jenny Frison, "THE DREAMER", IDW
____ Mike Mignola, "HELLBOY: THE BRIDE OF HELL", Dark Horse Comics
____ Michael Avon Oeming, "MICE TEMPLAR: DESTINY, PART I", Image Comics
____ Frank Quitely, "BATMAN AND ROBIN", DC Comics
__X_ JH Williams III, "DETECTIVE COMICS", DC Comics

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES
__X_ "BEASTS OF BURDEN", Dark Horse Comics
____ "DIARY OF A WIMPY KID", Amulet Books
____ "GANGES", Fantagraphics Books
____ "INVINCIBLE", Image Comics
____ "SCALPED", Vertigo/DC Comics
____ "THE WALKING DEAD", Image Comics

BEST ANTHOLOGY
____ "ACT-I-VATE PRIMER", IDW
____ "FLIGHT # 6", Villard
____ "POPGUN # 3", Image Comics
____ "STRANGE TALES", Marvel Comics
__X_ "WEDNESDAY COMICS", DC Comics

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL
____ "CUL-DE-SAC", by Richard Thompson, Universal Press Syndicate
____ "FOXTROT", by Bill Amend, Universal Press Syndicate
____ "GET FUZZY", by Darby Conley, United Feature Syndicate
__X_ "MUTTS", by Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
____ "PEARLS BEFORE SWINE", by Stephan Pastis, United Feature Syndicate

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT
____ "THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY", by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; edited by Steve Saffel, Titan Books
__X_ "HUMBUG", conceived and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and created by Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth; edited by Gary Groth, Fantagraphics Books
____ "RIP KIRBY", by Alex Raymond; edited by Dean Mullaney, IDW
____ "THE ROCKETEER: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES”, by Dave Stevens; edited by Scott Dunbier, IDW
____ "THE TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN'S COMICS", edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, Abrams ComicsArt

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION
____ "ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN: THE MAD GENIUS OF COMICS", by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle, Abrams ComicArts
____ "THE BRINKLEY GIRLS: THE BEST OF NELL BRINKLEY’S CARTOONS FROM 1913-1940", edited by Trina Robbins, Fantagraphics Books
____ "GEORGE SPROTT (1894-1975)", by Seth, Drawn and Quarterly
____ "THE ROCKETEER: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES", by Dave Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier, IDW
____ "SECRET IDENTITY: THE FETISH ART OF SUPERMAN’S CO-CREATOR JOE SHUSTER", edited by Craig Yoe, Abrams ComicArts
__X_ "WEDNESDAY COMICS", edited by Mark Chiarello, DC Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION
____ "ALTER-EGO", edited by Roy Thomas, TwoMorrows
__X_ "ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN: THE MAD GENIUS OF COMICS", by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle, Abrams ComicArts
____ "THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY", by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby edited by Steve Saffel, Titan Books
____ "THE COMICS JOURNAL", edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean and Kristy Valenti, Fantagraphics Books
____ "UNDERGROUND CLASSICS", by James Danky and Denis Kitchen, Abrams ComicArts

Chiaroscuro video

2010-08-30T13:30:00.003-04:00

This video runs about four minutes, but it is definitely worth spending the time to watch. I found it on Scott McCloud's Web site. (Which, if you have not seen you'd probably also like.)

A post you may have read in an e-mail

2010-08-29T21:04:00.000-04:00

But, if you didn't, here's what I said:

Not that it went so far away, but I have horribly been neglecting my blog this summer.

To fix this, I have re-built the site with a somewhat new look, and I plan to be adding content regularly. In my best months, I was posting an average of once every couple of days and I think I can resume that pace.

Anyway, I am sending out an e-mail blast in the hopes of gaining some readers. Feel free to send the link out to anybody who might be interested.

I was once told all it is about is comic books and baseball, but it's also about lots of other things, including what I eat for breakfast, nun fights, bad experiences on airlines (especially United), commercials that really stink, interesting links I find and various other things I think up. I considered breaking it up into different blogs, but I decided I'd have a half-dozen little blogs that never got updated. I did not delete all the old stuff, so if you want to go read that, feel free.

If nothing else, come and vote on my poll. I try to keep them of general interest.

Opening band for a new era!

2010-08-29T20:59:00.003-04:00

What better to help me re-start this thing but another song from Paul and Storm: "Opening Band?" If I could only find the original file of the upside-down picture of me over there, I'd register on their site as a "minion."

Not in honor of Paris Hilton

2010-08-29T20:22:00.001-04:00

in light of Paris Hilton's recent arrest on allegations of cocaine possession, I present a link to a Paul and Storm song that called, "Anything But Paris."

It's been a month, hasn't it?

2010-07-04T16:03:00.004-04:00

I guess I just haven't had a lot to say.
A few brief comments:
1. Stephen Strasburg should not be placed on the NL All-Star team. He hasn't pitched enough in the majors to enjoy that honor.
2. There is a new "Apples in Stereo" album available, and I have not purchased it yet.
3. My new favorite comics writer is Chris Roberson. He wrote the "Cinderella" limited series, and is working with Mike Allred on "i, zombie."
4. The Cleveland Indians are a sinking ship. but will probably be more fun to watch as they call up more and more prospects and trade the likes of Russell Branyan and Austin Kearns.
5. Today, for breakfast, I had a cupcake.
6. I am trying to think of something clever to send in to "Groo-Grams" so I can get a letter published in one of the last real letter columns in comics. But, I want to send in something worth being read by millions of Groo readers worldwide. On second thought, maybe I'll just dash off something quickly.
7. Otters are a lot of fun to watch.
8. I have a new bike. I don't have much other than that say. It's a "Raleigh." It's green.