Random Access

Thursday : 06 July 2006
Another NBN Thursday comes to a close.  The day was good: No bad news… but one monkey.  Fortunately, the monkey didn’t present me with an insurmountable “problem.”  I came up with a work-around solution (if it comes to it) and kicked the problem to someone better qualified to deal with that particular issue.

I went to the gym for the first time in far too long (about two weeks) today.  I can tell that I’ve been out of the loop for a while; I had to go down on weight in a few exercises.  Oh well.  Just means that I’ll have to work hard to get back to where I was.

The Shocking Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I hit the streets of Paragon City for a while with .  We took on Council of Thorns, Rikti, The Council (not Thorns this time), and a few Devouring Earth.

I changed a few of my powers last week, so this was a good opportunity to try them in the field.  I gave up the “Fitness” power set which gave me a few health-related buffs/powers and added the “Teleportation” and “Medicine” sets.  The new sets give me access to teleportation (duh) abilities and the ability to heal others or myself… and the resuscitate a fallen teammate.  That’s right: Indigo Bolt, the Human Defibrillator.  Hell, with Teleport I’m like a defibrillator and ambulance all-in-one!

Four-Color Coverage
Last weekend, I picked up my books.  I didn’t get a chance to read anything other than the latest issue of Wizard until last night.  Here’s the quick recap and rundown:

• Ion: Guardian of the Universe #3 – Kyle’s losing his mind.  Or he lost it.  Or something.  Good thing that Hal Jordan’s around to help him find it.  Or something.  I don’t know… I want to like this book, but I’m not sure that I wouldn’t be better served by just waiting until the trade paperback comes out.
• Captain Atom: Armageddon #9 (of 9) – Hey!  Here’s an idea: Let’s take this character who’s always been something of an almost-ran in the DCU and stick him in the Wildstorm Universe… and… and… let’s have something be horribly wrong with him!  Ooh!  Not just “something,” let’s make it so that he’s going to explode… and take the whole WSU with him!  Yeah!  That’s the ticket!  Tick.  Tick.  Tick.  Here’s another series that I wanted to like.  I bought all nine issues.  I read them.  A few of them were actually fine examples of good storytelling.  But in this issue, at least to me, they dropped the ball.  *sigh*  They built up an interesting premise, but like any good sitcom, they “solved” the problem in 22 minutes.  Um, I mean 17 pages.  And there were still six pages left over.  I just felt like it was really anticlimactic.  Oh, well.  It seems as though both DC and their WildStorm division got what they wanted out of the deal.
• New Avengers #21 – This was a Civil War tie-in issue.  Surprise.  I mean, Captain America and Iron Man, two of the main faces on opposite sides of the “war,” are members of the team.  But, this was an all-Cap issue. 

  What happens when Uncle Sam’s favorite star-spangled soldier effectively tells his bosses to take their brand-spankin’ new Superhuman Registration Act, shine it up nicely, turn it sideways and shove it up their collective asses?  They send everyone and everything (including the kitchen sink) after him. 

  How does Cap respond?  Well, let’s just say this:  He is a soldier.  Do the math. 

  Brian Bendis did a great job of not only capturing the hero/legend in Captain America, but also of the turmoil in the heart of Steve Rogers, Cap’s alter ego, a man out of time.  I found a few parallels between Steve Rogers and the character in Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty.”  It was good to see the return of Cap’s old partner, Sam Wilson, The Falcon.  While I’ve avoided most of the hullabaloo associated with Civil War, I found this to be a good and engaging story.

• Young Avengers #12 – I wasn’t too sure about this book when it first started.  “Oh, great… Marvel’s take on the Teen Titans.”  And, while that may be true, to some degree, I have to admit that I was wrong in not giving it a chance when it first hit the stands.  This has been a great book.  And this issue, the last of the first “season,” was no let-down.  The young heroes-not-yet-in-training fighting alongside their role models and namesakes.  Not only fighting along with them – holding their own, too.  Allan Heinberg didn’t make the characters seem like cardboard cut-outs or caricatures.  He gave them voices.  He made them believable.  Not only that, but he told a good story, too.  If you get the chance, pick up the back issues or the trade paperbacks – they’re worth reading.
• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #19 – A murder story.  Plain and simple.  Not a bad story, per se… but I picked up on the “who” behind the “whodunit” about halfway through the story.  It was a good look at Chameleon, who has not really been featured in a good story since LSHv1 (the first Legion series, for non-fans) when he almost single-handedly sparked a war between the United Planets and the Khundian empire.  (Remember that one, ?)
• The American Way #5 (of 8) – I can’t say enough good things about this mini-series.  John Ridley has woven a tale, set in late 1960s America, that shows us what heroes and villains should be.  Or at least what our government wants us to think that they should be.  The Justice League (or any supergroup) funded/sponsored by their government?  No problems there.  But what if the villains were hired by the same government… to stage fights with the good guys… just to put on a good show for the people?  To keep them happy and safe and warm… and unsuspecting.  This title has consistently provided a solid story with good characterizations.  It’s been a “save this for last” read whenever an issue arrived in the comic shop.  It’s that good.  There are only three issues left in this book, and I’ll be happily waiting for each one.
• 52: Week 8 – This is the one book that I didn’t want to like.  And now, I can’t get enough.  DC is using it to fill in the gaps between their recent Infinite Crisis mini-series and their “One Year Later” titles.  It’s been an interesting read so far, and it’s barely one-sixth of the way through the story.  I like it.  And I didn’t think that I would be able to say that.  Here’s to hoping that DC is able to maintain their momentum over the next 44 weeks.

Stray Toasters

• I came home feeling a little tired this evening.  I took what I had expected would be a thirty to forty-five minute nap.  I woke up an hour-and-a-half later.  But, it was a good – and obviously necessary – nap.
• While there’s something about all of these ads, it’s the one in the lower right that makes me smile the most.  Go figure.
• Demure silk and flowerbot
• – Baseball Coach Teaches Kids More than Catch
• Drawn!
• Slug Magazine‘s cover interview: Maddox
• I really don’t know what to say about this other than “You decide what to make of it.”
• Among the podcasts that I discovered, one of them is “City of Stories,” fan fiction set in the City of Heroes/City of Villains universe.  I listened to “Issue 1” today.  It wasn’t bad.  It was… fun, really.  I’ll be listening to more of them.
• Starz! and Angry Alien Productions present: Superman: the Movie… in 30 seconds (re-enacted with bunnies)
• Scorpion Pale Ale.  (Thanks to !)
• I discovered this morning.
• Invisibilia

Quote of the Day
From a conversation with :

[10:31] : Okay… check this out.
[10:31] : http://wjz.com/bios/local_bio_053095517/
[10:31] : “Just the facts”
[10:31] : 6th bullet point
[10:32] : The reason that this is amusing to me: He used to co-anchor the evening news with her.
[10:33] : Ah.
[10:33] : I’m more amused that a guy of his age likes Destiny’s Child.
[10:33] : She [Oprah] used to be a features reporter on WJZ…. moved up to anchor
[10:33] : Yeah, that made me chuckle, too.

[10:35] : http://www.linquist.net/temp/flashcards1.jpg
[10:35] : What’s wrong with this picture…
[10:35] : BWAHAHAHAHA
[10:35] : They stopped counting.
[10:36] : Hell, I’m surprised that they made it past 21 states.

That’s probably (more than) enough for now.

Namaste.

Tuesday : 04 July 2006
Overcast weather…
Rain…
Overcast weather…
MORE rain…

…but it finally gave way to nominally still, although not clear, skies.

Visited with Land and Catherine at their family pool party/cookout this evening. Then, it was on to see the fireworks at Sugar House Park. Okay, not really “at” the park, as it was chock full o’ people. Instead, I planned on viewing the display from a few blocks east of the park. On the way, I found a parking garage with a good view of the park (or the air above it, at least). Not only were we able to see the park display, but also the one at the University of Utah and Franklin Covey Field… and some other display from a little further east and south of the garage.

In an odd twist, one of the families at the garage was on a cross-country trip. From Maryland. Columbia, to be exact. It was a surreal. (And, unlike Charles Barkley, I do know what that means.)

All-in-all, it was a good way to end the long weekend.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Tomorning, it’s back to the work-a-day grind… for a short work week.

Namaste.

Monday : 03 July 2006
It’s the day before the Fourth, I’ve had a good weekend… and there’s still one more day to it!

<< Rewind <<
Friday’s Clitorati gathering was… modest. The only “problem” was another round of Friday night music in the Borders cafè: A three-piece group from California who played Middle-Eastern influenced music. They were promoting a CD, but they must have only had a few songs on it – said that he heard one song played at least three times over the course of the evening. Post-bookstore, and I headed to Cheers: North for a bite to eat, ESPN and conversation.

Saturday brought errands, comic books, a trip to the park with ‘s boys… and a Superman-themed party. and I hosted a party (at the suggestion/request of ‘s husband). The grill was fired up. Superman: the Movie and Superman II were in the DVD player. Fun was had. After the party, and I headed to Cheers to see Melody.

Sunday, I took to see Superman Returns. On the IMAX screen at Larryland. It was just as much fun the second time. And the IMAX 3D scenes were very good; it would have been interesting to have seen the full feature in 3D. I also thought about the fact that Brandon Routh looked as if he was born to “fly.” He looked comfortable and rather natural in the flying scenes. After the movie, it was off to visit and then on to cover a couple of errands before…

…heading to the airport: My uncle flew into town for the evening, on his way home from a family reunion in California. and I met him at the airport, drove him to his hotel and then joined him for dinner at Spencer’s. Prime Rib and chianti. Excellent. (SIDENOTE: , I had the bartender fix a Pirate’s Tea for my pre-dinner drink. She or he did a good job.) We wound up closing down the restaurant before walking my uncle back up to his room.

> Play >
We picked up ‘s boys and headed to the hotel to meet my uncle for breakfast. After that, we drove up Capitol Hill to Ensign Peak Park to let him look down over the city and the Salt Lake Valley. I hadn’t been up there in a while, but I am always amazed by the view. The inversion haze was very light, so it was easy to see the entire valley. From there, it was on to The Gateway. Mmm. Apple Store. I introduced my uncle to the iPod; he liked it. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he buys one in the next month or two. Somewhere along the line, Curtis (the younger boy) decided that he really liked my uncle – holding his hand as we walked through Barnes & Noble and on the way to the car. Time was quickly growing short – it always does when you are visiting or are visited by family – so we headed back to the airport. While I was sad to see him go, I was glad for the few hours that I was able to spend with him.

The rest of the evening has been spent with and the boys.

Like I said: It’s been a good weekend.

And, it’s not over yet.

Namaste.

Friday : 30 June 2006
Although the day started off in a less-than-stellar manner, it wound up being a very good day.

I’m tired – very tired, apparently – so I will call it a night.

Namaste.