Random Access

Monday: coda
And so, another day comes to an end.

…and at the end of that day, Jack Bauer [spoiler deleted] because the people involved with the [spoiler deleted] didn’t follow through with [spoiler deleted].
Stray Toasters

• For the past year or so, my camera has had a problem with the switch that controls the on/off and lens.  I fixed that today.  It was a mixed bag: I was happy that it was fairly easy to take care of and that I don’t have to rush out to get a new camera… but, I was a little torqued that it was such an easy fix and that I hadn’t thought of it before.
• Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Batmobile
• Sib-3 called this evening to inform me, and I quote, “Gears of War is the best game ever.”  I reminded him that he said the same thing about HALO and HALO2.  He said that they were good… for the time, but that this easily surpasses them.  And that he loved his 360.
• People are already camping out at the new IKEA.
• Passive-aggressive notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers
• : Here’s a bunch of LSH-related items…
• Cover art to Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32
  
• Legends of Lost Legionnaires – including some Sims skins
• Gone But Not Forgotten: LSHv4
• Legion of Super-Heroes Customs
• There was a song/video that I wanted to look up, but damn if I can remember what it was.
• Hot Chicks with Douchebags (some of the images may be NSFW)
• Pre-orders for Weta Collectibles Rayguns will begin on Friday, 25 May 2007.
• Glass Rayguns by Joe Blow Glassworks
• By way of boingboing.net: Threadless spoiler tee
• For , and the other Wii owners: Can’t Wait for the Wiikend

And now, sleep…

Namaste.

Monday – 21 May 2007
Another week begins.   A short week, although I’m not sure how short it will be:  The Temple of Sweden opens on Wednesday and I think that I want to be one of the early morning teeming masses.  If that’s the case and I wind up taking the day off, I may work a full 8 – 10 on Friday.  We shall see.
Yesterday was very lax.  Uber lax.  Lax-tastic.  I went for a drive up through Parley’s and Emigration Canyons; I hadn’t done that in a while.  I capped it with a trip to Jitterbug.  I headed home and made an amazing discovery:

As a Green Lantern in training, I’m pretty familiar with the uses of willpower.  With proper focus, you can use it to create pretty much anything.  (Yeah, there’s a good reason that they call GL rings “the most powerful weapon in the universe.”)  For the past few months, I had taken it for granted that the items around my keyboard and monitors were being held up through force of willpower alone.

I was mistaken.

There was actually a desk under the accumulated debris.  The desk is still there; the debris is not.

The Scales of Justice
The Hand of Nefer-Tem spent some time in Paragon City.  The person leading the team decided to run one of my missions.  Great!  The more, the merrier.  Apparently, I should have said: “The more, the deadlier,” because we got our collective recta kicked.  A lot.  So much so that the team abandoned the mission and disbanded.  Oh, well.  I led a small group on the same mission a little later.  Yes, we died a few times… but we cleared the mission.  Now, I just need to clear that 13K of XP debt…

Stray Toasters

• I have Goldfish.  Both pretzel and cheddar.
• The Reverend Al Sharpton is in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain today, meeting with members of the LDS Church – trying to (re)build some bridges after a few… less-than-thoughtful… remarks he made over the past few weeks.

  I think that they should have him meet with members of the clergy and the laiety.  And my top pick for the secular member for him to talk with: Gladys Knight.

• I wasn’t sure if there would be one, but I was glad to see that Wikipedia does have an entry for “…said the Actress to the Bishop.“
• …and then, there’s always the Brian Bolland poster.
• galilieo’s head was on the block
  the crime was looking up the truth
  as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
  i try to trace them to my youth

  then you had to bring up reincarnation
  over a couple of beers the other night
  now i’m serving time for mistakes
  made by another in another lifetime

• Poang
• Duran Duran White Lines
• :  Thanks!  That made me smile.
• …which reminds me:  While having a comics-related conversation with Tyranist and Jason earlier, Tyranist said “Stop…” to which I replied “Hammertime!”  And then, a horrible image passed through my head:  Thor, swinging Mjolnir, doing Hammer’s “Chinese Typewriter” dance.
• 
• NOTE TO SELF: Northern Strike
• Topsy-turvy Bus

Back to it.

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 May 2007
So far, it’s been another quiet day in the valley.

I woke up this morning a little after 7:00. And again at 8:30-something. And finally decided to call it good around 9:45. I surfed for a bit before deciding to take a trip to Paragon City. I got in on a team and we ran a mission and a half before the team disbanded. I decided to leave Paragon City and have some lunch. I also read more of Specter of the Past while eating.

I’m not sure what I want to do, but it’s a great-looking day out there… and there’s wind. This might mean that I have to break out the kite.

Yesterday’s excursion to the zoo was fun. I managed to walk right past the new feature exhibit – a white alligator – without realizing it. And, it’s not like there wasn’t a banner hanging next to it, either. In fact, I read the banner, but didn’t put “2” and “2” together to realize that it was referencing the exhibit house next to the banner. Yep, I’m a genius!

Unfortunately, the camera on my phone was the only thing I had available – and reliable enough – with which I could get some pictures. But, it’s better than nothing.

Breakfast last night wasn’t bad. There’s a new manager at Cheers, but we don’t know if he’s the new regular weekend/night manager or not. We shall have to see about this one…

Football Update
and : You may want to take a look at NFL.com’s Fantasy Offseason Review: AFC North

And now, it’s time to go run some errands and play in the sunshine.

Namaste.

[16:21] chromeangel: [forwards a URL]
[16:21] shadorunr: Howdy.
[16:21] shadorunr: *click*
[16:21] chromeangel: its really sad
[16:21] shadorunr: I don’t have permission to access that, apparently.
[16:22] shadorunr: Protected entry
[16:22] chromeangel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k98bRUOb4g
[16:24] shadorunr: What in the blue ottoman fuck….?!
[16:24] chromeangel: no shit
[16:24] chromeangel: ….and far off in the distance, through the hubbub of the rough and tumble of a city that sings itself to sleep every night, you can hear an ottoman,crying……
[16:25] shadorunr: I’m seriously torn about whether or not to ‘Toaster this.
[16:25] shadorunr: It’s… bad.
[16:25] shadorunr: REALLY, blow-your-brains-out bad.
[16:25] chromeangel: well you have ot add my comment
[16:25] chromeangel: if you do
[16:25] chromeangel: yeah
[16:25] shadorunr: Of course.
[16:25] chromeangel: weep for our species bad
[16:25] shadorunr: *genuflect*
[16:26] chromeangel: shudder
[16:26] shadorunr: Yeah.
[16:26] shadorunr: Okay, I’m going to go bleach my brain now.

Saturday – 19 May 2007
WHY was I awake at 8:06 AM?!  There’s no discernable reason that I’ve come up with, so far.  None.  But, there I was -  my time in The Dreaming at an end.  Although, given some of the dreams I’ve had lately, being awake isn’t such a bad thing.

Yesterday was a good day.  Because I didn’t sleep well/much Thursday night, I stopped for a triple-shot laden cup of frozen mocha goodness on the way to work.  I got to the office, put out a few small fires, did some reading and then the day was done: The IT department had “offsite training” – lunch at Cafè Trang and Spider-day Night Fever Spider-Man 3.   After the movie was over, a couple of guys asked what I thought of it; I repeated what I had said a couple of weeks ago: “It wasn’t Amazing.  It wasn’t Sensational.  It wasn’t Spectacular.  But, it was fun.”  A couple of them looked at me and asked: “You saw this already!?  Why did you see it again?”  My answer was simple: “Because I didn’t have to pay for it.  And I can spring for a bucket of popcorn for a free movie.”  (I did kick myself for not taking my refillable cup, though.)  After the movie, I stopped by to see Kate, Perry and the kids for a bit.  Then, I was off to dinner with Jenn at Yamato.  Teriyaki beef with sushi… which turned out to be pretty tasty California Rolls.  I also had a couple of pieces of Ika (squid) nigiri.  Then, back to ‘ders for Clitorati.  But, by the time I got there, the party had already moved to Applebee’s.  But, I ran into Gin and Roger, a couple I know from Jitterbug; I talked with them for a few minutes.  As I was getting ready to head out, showed up… so we headed to Cheers: North to hang with everyone else.

Did I mention that I still have no idea why I was up so early this morning?  I did?  Oh.  Alright.  Just checking.

The only thing on the day’s agenda was Tristan’s birthday party this afternoon.  Operative word: “Was.”  Seems as though I may be heading to the zoo shortly – Liz wants to go, I have an open schedule and I haven’t been in a while.  After all, it’s the zoo.  Speaking of which, I need to make a foray to the Living Planet Aquarium – I want to see how it stacks up against the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Hmm… since I’m going to the zoo, can I use “monkeys!” as a tag for this post…?  Oh, what the Hell.  Why not?  It’s my blog.  And, just like Bobby said: “It’s my prerogative.”

Stray Toasters

• I have coffee.  All is becoming right with the world once more.
• UTFO
• “Fuckmuppetry.”   (And, no, this is not an Avenue Q reference.)
• Tyranist and I were discussing this the other day: While we realize that flashy costumes are part and parcel of the four-color comics superhero world, why don’t more heroes wear costumes/outfits that are easily replaceable?  Something off-the-rack, for example.  Look at how often a hero’s costume gets torn to shreds in the heat of battle.  Wouldn’t it be much easier to pop into Kohl’s or The Gap or Dillard’s, pick up a new shirt (or jacket or pants) and get back on the job?  Instead, they either have to whip up a new costume or go see their tailor/costumer and wait.  (Of course, no one ever waits in comic-time, but you know what I mean…)
• : I don’t know if you’ve gotten into HeroClix, but has a new item about the upcoming Legion of Super-Heroes set, if you’re interested.
• There were a few videos I wanted to look for on YouTube, but I can’t remember what they were.  Frustrating.
• 

Zoom!

Namaste.

A few things that crossed my path in the past few hours:

• posted a link to the new Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix trailer.
• Four-year-old drummer
• A retcon of Of Mice & Men… with Superman and Bizarro.  (watch the entire clip, even after the credits)

And with that, I’m ghost.

Thursday (coda)
The work day ended.  Blah blah blah.

I came home, cooked, watched two… two… two! episodes of CSI:.   Yadda yadda yadda.

Four-Color Coverage
Wow.   I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’d done one of these.  Let’s get rolling:

• The Ultimates 2: Issue 13 – It’s been… months… since the last issue of The Ultimates came out – something on the order of four to six months, I think.  But, it came out.  And I bought it.  And… and… and… yeah.  So, let’s say, hypothetically, that you’re going to invade America.  Let’s say that you’re going to send in legions of troopers, some metahumans… and the Norse God of Lies, just for good measure.  It should be a piece of cake, right?  Roll in, snap ’em off a little something and…. voila!  New land acquisition!  Right?  Right?!  Wrong.  Oh, so very wrong.  Because, you apparently forgot about Captain America and his intrepid band of heroes.  Oh, and that Norse God of Thunder.  Six months in the making… and worth the wait.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #41 – The UFF versus Diablo.  Time travel.  Alchemy.  Magic.  Science.  And a new look for The Thing.  The only thing (no pun intended) that would have made it better would have been if Ben had said, “What a revoltin’ development!”  Oh, well… can’t have it all, I guess.
• Ultimate X-Men #81 and #82 – Sentinels, Morlocks and Beast!  Oh, my!  Wait… Beast?!  Didn’t he die about 30 issues back?!  *blink blink*  Okay.  Fine.  Moving on… I’m not sure about this title.  It seems to have lost… something.  I know people who practically say that Robert Kirkman can do no wrong.  I’m not necessarily of that opinion.  Yes, he has shaken up the status quo.  He’s pulled rabbits out of hats.  He made the book interesting… for a while.  But, I fear that my time with this title may be approaching an end.
• The Mighty Avengers #2 and #3 – What happens when Tony Stark’s armor reshapes itself into the newest incarnation of Ultron… with Tony in it?  This.  Wait…  Isn’t…um… wasn’t…. Tony a… guy?!  And why does he… she… it… look like… The Wasp?!  Oh, boy.  So, you have Ultron, the Mole Man and a bunch of the Mole Man’s creatures duking it out with the newly-minted Mighty Avengers.  In midtown Manhattan.  This brings to mind two words: “Collateral damage.”  And, there was a lot of it.  But, this is what people pay for: A book with people in costumes beating on other people in costumes.  And, as an added bonus: We find out who’s a Level Ten Agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and just how much power that person potentially wields.
• The New Avengers #30 – More backstory on how the team wound up in Japan and their encounter with The Hand, led by Elektra.  Readers also learn who the new face is behind Ronin’s mask.  On the down side: I’m sorry, but Leinil Yu’s artwork isn’t really doing anything for me; it’s almost enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story.
• Uncanny X-Men #486 – “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” comes to a close in this issue.  And it goes out with a bang.  The X-Men and the Starjammers fight against the Shi’ar Imperial Army and the Imperial Guard.  And, Vulcan lashes out and kills [spoiler deleted].
• Green Lantern #19 – What do we know about Star Sapphire?  Not enough, apparently.  This issue serves as a history lesson.  We learn a little more about the “emotional spectrum” of the DCU (Green for willpower, Yellow for fear): We see that Violet represents love… as (mis)understood by the Zamarons.  We are shown how the Star Sapphires – yes, plural – choose their hosts and discover their roles, relative to the Zamarons.  I’m still getting used to Daniel Acuna’s artwork.  It’s not bad… in fact, it reminds me of Stuart Immonen’s early work in Legion of Super-Heroes, which also took me a while to warm up to.
• Justice League of America #8 and #9 and Justice Society of America #5: “The Lightning Saga” – Wow.  Seriously, wow.  This storyline is supposed to cement the ties between the JLA and the JSA… and tie their legacies to the Legion, as well.  (So you know I was hooked from the get-go.)  Seven Legionnaires trapped in the 21st Century.  For an as-yet-unrevealed mission.  Long-time Legion readers will recognize certain items that appear in the third chapter  of the story.  Hint: The last time we saw these items, it involved a dead Legionnaire.  I think that my favorite exchange, so far, comes in Chapter Two, between Superman, Stargirl, Red Tornado and Cyclone:
  Stargirl: I’d never heard of the Legion of Super-Heroes before today.  Who are they?
  Red Tornado: The Legion is a team from the 31st Century made up of representatives from dozens of different alien worlds.  They stand as a symbol of unity in a universe plagued with separatism and xenophobia.
  Superman: They were my friends.
  Cyclone: Wow.  You had a lot of friends.
  
  (click image for larger picture)
  Superman: I didn’t for a long time.  When I was your age, there weren’t any other kids around that could fly.
  Stargirl: I can’t even imagine you as a kid.
  Superman: You two are lucky to have each other.
  Cyclone: Totally.
  Superman: My powers were hard to get under control when they were developing.  I broke a boy’s arm playing football when I was twelve.  For years, the only people I could be myself around were my parents.  Then one day, these three showed up.
  Stargirl: Saturn Girl?
  Superman: Cosmic Boy told me when I was older I’d become the inspiration that would help found the Legion.  They brought me to their future to make me an honorary member.  They had a clubhouse.  And “flight rings.”  Every single one of them could fly.
• Astonishing X-Men #21 – Joss Whedon is writing a book that lives up to its title: “Astonishing.”  The X-Men are on Breakworld to stop a prophecy from occuring: A prophecy that foretells of Colossus destroying Breakworld.  A world where almost every living creature wants Colossus dead.  On sight.  Bargains are made.  As are new discoveries.  And a couple of shocking revelations, too.  All-in-all, this was a solid issue with great art.  Whedon and Cassady will be a tough act to follow.
• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #29 – We finally learn the reason behind the Dominators’ attack on Earth.  Through a bit of a history lesson, it is tied in nicely with the mid-90s Invasion crossover/mini-series.  And there’s a major tie to 52.  And there’s a lot of fighting.  A lot.

Stray Toasters

• I should have been in bed hours ago.  Oh, well.
• Street lockdowns proposed for Baltimore  WHAT?!?
• By way of : Worst Movie Scenes Ever
• Dwim sent me a link to this.  Make of it what you will…
• Marvel Comic artist defends suggestive statueette of Spidey’s girlfriend
• 
• North Korean rollercoaster
• Chinese crime blotter reports recreated as art photos

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 May 2007
Post-work yesterday, I (finally) went to pick up my four-color crack… for the past two or three weeks. Yeah. I needed my fix. I didn’t get everything, just the important stuff. Okay, the really important stuff. And, Dave was kind enough to save the Free Comic Book Day items that I had requested… which is good, because he apparently ran out of stuff quickly. AND… I even got the limited edition FCBD plastic crack: Batman.

After that, back home for a bit and off to dinner and a movie with Liz. Tres Hombres. I need to remember to travel with Tums – the food was tasty, but it came back with a bit of a vengeance a few hours later.  *sigh* The movie was Disturbia. I enjoyed it. I would call it “a thriller,” but I fear that a certain Tyranist would pelt me with office supplies over the cube walls. The movie did a good job of building suspense and holding it. I even jumped a time or two because I didn’t see something coming. I give the movie a thumbs up with an okay. It might even make it into the collection someday… And, there was a life-sized, 3-D Silver Surfer… mannequin/standee in the lobby.  It’d make a great lawn ornament: “Oh, sure… anyone can get a cement statue; we decided to do something different!”
Three days and change down… one to go. This morning started, once again, in the SLC office. Followed by another trip to the caffeination dispensary. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• I’m craving crab cakes. From Phillips, of course.
• Woman survives internal decapitation
• Shucky Ducky quack quack!
• Quiz: Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?
• Matt – who shall hereafter be occasionally referred to as “Dwim,” – pointed me in the direction of Chris Dimino’s Cuckoo Clock… based on The Shining.  Check out some of his other stuff, too.
• More scary old ads about Lysol: Nazi babies and Spider-Crotch
• 
• Microsoft to Dump 32-Bit After Vista
• 2 Legit 2 Quit (Hey! Heeeey!)
• Usenet is my friend.   It brought me more episodes of Legion of Super Heroes.  *genuflect*
• Guy who remodeled his flat to Star Trek specs finally sells it

Just getting back from the gym; it was good.  Very good: Three sets of 200.  Ten reps each set.  Hoo-AH!

And now, food.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 16 May 2007
Yesterday was good. It started early – and in the SLC office, at least for a few minutes. The workday was fairly quiet and monkey-free. Selah. Eric and I decided to do some heavy sets for the bench press portion of today’s workout. I did 225 lbs. (dropped to 185, to finish the set), 200, 200. I was rather pleased. (Yes, it’s three months past when I wanted to be able to do it… but I did reach the goal.) I want to get at least two sets of 200 lbs. in each workout… preferrably, starting from this point. We’ll see how that goes.

Last night was D&D night. We learned some important things pertaining to our current… quest… to prevent a new god from rising to power. Fun for us. And, most importantly, we neither died nor killed each other. That’s something positive!

Stray Toasters

• I finally got around to scanning my latest “lyric-to-pencil” drawing: Presto
• By way of : Hue & Cry (or what I like to call: “That sofa is WHAT color?!”)
• The Next Fad: Old Game Music on iTunes
• Tyranist pointed out Marvel’s site for the upcoming Doctor Strange video.
• 
• Heather Jansch: Life-size Driftwood Sculpture
• Women in Comics’ Special Outrage of the Week Edition – The issue: the upcoming Mary Jane Watson statue
• 
• Pictorial History of Vidgame Consoles
• Tyranist: Pan’s Labyrinth is back at the Broadway.
• Do we really need a Shrek “holiday TV show?”

And now to finish getting ready for – and on the way to – work.

Namaste.

boingboing.net has an item called: Funky Horror mp3s from 1977: “Soul Dracula.”

I shared the link with , which sparked a conversation about Soul Dracula vs. Blacula:

[14:26] melodywise: soul…….dracula.
[14:26] melodywise: soul……… dracula.
[14:26] shadorunr: NOT to be confused with Blacula
[14:26] melodywise: i think blacula could kick soul dracula’s ass.
[14:26] shadorunr: Fangs down.
[14:26] shadorunr: 😀
[14:26] shadorunr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacula
[14:26] shadorunr: 😀
[14:27] shadorunr: First paragraph after “Synopsis”
[14:27] shadorunr: 😀
[14:28] melodywise: it looks like soul dracula has a bad case of the shakes.
[14:28] melodywise: and blacula’s got it out for gay men.

Then there’s the Soul Dracula video. In the words of Magnum P.I.‘s Higgins: Oh. My. GOD!

I shared the video link with Tyranist. His response:

(2:31:48 PM) Tyranist: It buuuuurrrrnnns.
(2:34:15 PM) Tyranist: That vampire looks like he’d starve to death in less than a week.

Yep, this deserves a stake through the heart. Maybe even two or three of them, for good measure.

< chair dance break>

• Rockapella – Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
• A3 – Woke Up This Morning
• Craig David – What’s Your Flava?
• Rush – Malignant Narcissism
• Robbie Williams – Feel

< /chair dance break>

How are you getting your groove on this morning?

Groove on, brothers and sisters…. groove on.
*genuflect*
His Chocolate Holiness.

Monday (coda)
Tonight, I watched the next-to-last episode of the season of the Angry Jack Show 24. It was good… and, of course, had a last-minute plot twist that I didn’t see coming. And I’m still trying to get my head around the concept of Powers Boothe as a not-so-likable Vice President. Although, he did play the charismatic Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy many moons past…

Other than that, it’s been a rather quiet evening.

Stray Toasters

• I want to clarify something from this afternoon’s post: IMPACT = creepy/odd/bizarre. I have no desire or intent of becoming one of the Stepford Children. Some of the things my coworker told me about that organization – a member of his family became involved with IMPACT a many years ago – came off sounding almost cultish or like a Mirror Universe version of Amway. Thank you, no… I’ll pass.
• For those of you who are planning on boycotting gas stations tomorrow: You might want to read this. I’m not trying to dissuade you from doing not buying gas, if you feel that it will make a difference, but there is some good information here.
• Geek Troubador Jonathan Coulton profiled in New York Times Magazine
• For Tyranist and :
  
• Pirates of the Great Salt Lake
• – Japan boy ‘severs mother’s head’
• PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda
• I should see if I can track down a copy of Tailgunner Jo; I don’t think that I fully appreciated that story when it was originally released.
• …and I also need to figure out to whom I loaned my copy of The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. My signed copy. *sigh*
• …and I want to track down issues of The Griffin.
• From lordmesa, of the Comics2Film Digital Concept Gallery, comes a simple – yet effective and elegant – solution to Civil Bore War:
  
• I believe that I shall have a Merlot nightcap again tonight.
• If anyone has suggestions of a good brand and/or type of wine that I should try, please let me know.
• Papercraft Back to the Future III Train

Time to go punch holes in the walls of the universe and screw with continuity.  Again.

Namaste.

Monday – 14 May 2007
To borrow a line from The Pretenders, “I’m back on the chain gang…”  So far, it’s been a rather quiet day.  I put that under the heading of “Good things.”  Especially for a Monday.

One of my coworkers read yesterday’s post and asked me a question about IMPACT.  I told him what little I knew about it… and he filled in the gaps.  Unglaublich! I was not expecting to come to work and get a little lesson in all things IMPACT, but I did.  Wow.  Check it out for yourself.

The Scales of Justice
Yesterday, The Hand of Nefer-Tem spent a few hours patrolling the streets – and a few islands – in Paragon City.  I got in with a pretty decent team… but our mortality rate was a little high, as we couldn’t find any empathic Defenders or Controllers.  But we marched on.  And on.  And on.  On series of missions that we did continued another branch of the missing Kheldians story arc that I’ve been playing.  This branch deals with a couple of villain groups who are developing weapons designed specifically for use against Peacebringers and Warshades.  Wonderful.

Somewhere, amidst all of the fighting – and dying – I managed to hit Security Level 26.

And, I came up with a couple of handy-dandy Nefer-Tem icons… but I need to decide which one I want to use:

  

Stray Toasters

• There are a few productions, opera and ballet, coming to Capitol Theatre that I want to see.
• “Youre lucky, I happened to be at the rib joint across the street…”
• I dedicate this song to .   He knows why.
• Health Education: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Drug Use
• 
• From DrugDigest: Check potential interactions between two or more drugs
• Tyranist: Click here.

Hey, look!  The Interweb’s back!

Namaste.

Sunday – 13 May 2007
Happy Mother’s Day.

I called the maternal units (biological and step) this morning… and got both. That’s right, I was up at 7:00 to make sure that I could catch them. Both are doing well. Then I went back to sleep. Selah.

Last night, before heading to breakfast, I decided to test Usenet’s retention and see if I could find “Man of Tomorrow,” the pilot episode of Legion of Super Heroes. Not only did I find it, but I was able to grab it. Then I watched it. It was a very good episode. They tweaked a few things from the original Superboy meets the Legion story, but it was close enough for jazz as far as I was concerned. And, it did something that the original story didn’t do: Clark knew about his powers and was able to use some of them… but not very well. This played out a few times during the episode. And, this was also the episode in which the Fatal Five was introduced, which made having them in “Sundown” even more fulfulling, as it brought them full circle.

Breakfast was… interesting. IMPACT was there. In full force. With reinforcements. They had to take up at least 80% of the available seats in the place. I think that was a first. They’re an odd group, but they make for interesting people-watching. “Interesting” in a weird and occasionally creepy way. made a QotD-worthy comment that I can’t remember. *sigh* But, I do remember that she won a purple, hat-wearing dog from the claw machine.

I have no idea what I’m doing with the rest of my day. But, I have a cup of hot caffeinated goodness, so I’m sure that things will fall into place. Or something.

Stray Toasters

• I have an… eclectic… assortment of videos in my YouTube favorites. I’m still a little saddened by the fact that Code Monkey: SGA isn’t there anymore, though.
• There are a lot of Mom/Mama/Mother songs out there.
• What happens to people when they get old?
• Not that I have any idea where I’d put it, but I think that I want an electronic keyboard. Musical, that is.
• Conversations with are usually amusing. This morning’s was no exception:

[10:05] asdf_cat: you and wil wheaton are really freaking me out lately.
[10:05] shadorunr: Happy Mother’s Day!
[10:05] asdf_cat: heh
[10:05] shadorunr: I mean… ‘Good morning’
[10:05] shadorunr: He’s stalking me.
[10:05] shadorunr: 🙂
[10:06] asdf_cat: i read your legion of superheroes bit and then the next entry down is this one – http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2007/05/we_are_the_legi.html
[10:09] shadorunr: See! Stalking me!
[10:09] asdf_cat: technically i think his was posted a day before yours. 🙂
[10:09] shadorunr: That’s not the point.
[10:12] asdf_cat: hmm. i’ve never seen you and he together in the same place.
[10:12] asdf_cat: YOU ARE WIL WHEATON!
[10:13] shadorunr: Shit.
[10:14] shadorunr: *calls in the Mnemonic Deletion Unit*
[10:14] shadorunr: I’m sorry.
[10:14] shadorunr: This is for your own good.

• I’m willing to bet that Scotty still doesn’t know. (mp3)
• Doghouse (for/because of )
• I’m still digging Multiplicity.
• 
• Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow.
  Cornershop said so.
  And, here is a breakdown of what the song means.
• 
• Tony Stark’s House of Ribs

Namaste.

Saturday – 12 May 2007
Thanks to Usenet, I just finished watching part two of “Sundown,” the season finale of Legion of Super Heroes.

Wow.

I am duly impressed.

Battered, bruised and adrift in space after suffering a rather handy defeat from the sun-eater, the Legion has to figure out a way to stop it before it reaches its next target: Sol.  Earth’s sun.  The realization comes that they need help.  Who do they turn to?

• Dev-Em?
• The Wanderers?
• The Heroes of Lallor?
• Xanthu’s Uncanny Amazers?

No.  The Fatal Five, a villain group that has often fought the Legion to a near stand-still.  Apparently, war – like politics – makes strange bedfellows.  Four Legionnaires break into the prison planet Takron-Galtos to free the ‘Five.  Then, the battle planning begins.  The teams are divided into smaller groups… and young Superman, who would be ineffective against a red sun-powered sun-eater, is given the task of finding the Controller who put the sun-eater into play.  Something of a wild goose chase, but a necessary one: You can’t have Superman dying in the future… before he ever began his career as Superman.

The characterizations in this episode were solid.  There were a few Easter eggs thrown in for long-time Legion fans.  (It’s good to be able to read Interlac!)  A few more previously-unseen Legionnaires were seen: Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Tyroc and Ultra Boy.  And, let’s face it: This was a season-ending episode – you can’t end it with a whimper.  They didn’t.  It definitely went out with a bang.  A loud, reverberating bang.
I was talking with Tyranist a few weeks ago about what he looks for in a comic.  One of the things that he mentioned was that he began reading The Avengers because it was, at its core, a book about people in brightly colored costumes beating up other people in brightly colored costumes.  That’s exactly what this episode was.  Granted, the costumed characters were all fighting a common threat, but it was a great, no holds barred Battle Royale.  The perfect way to end the season.

As if the episode didn’t do everything that it needed to, the epilogues wrapped things up quite nicely… and set the stage for season two.  They also included a couple of items that leave nice inroads to bring in – or bring back – (other) characters.
Long live the Legion!

=======================================

Today’s been rather lazy.  I fell asleep on the couch last night while watching Ultimate Avengers 2.  I must have been FAR more tired than I thought.  I looked at the clock once and it was 1:13 AM… I looked again and it was 6:04 AM.  I got up off the couch and made my way to the bedroom.  9:30 was a much more civilized time to be awake, although I tried to fight it for a while.
I started to watch “Brain Drain,” this morning’s episode of Legion of Super Heroes, but decided to have a go at fighting crime in Paragon City.  That didn’t last long, but it was a nice distraction.

called and asked if I’d mind going with her to look for a digital camera.  I didn’t, so off we went.  She found one that seems to meet her needs nicely.  I was able to walk into – and out of – two (2) Best Buy locations without buying anything.

I came home, watched “Sundown, Part 2” (above) and I am now torn between finishing Ultimate Avengers 2, going back to Paragon City or taking on PAC or EU forces in Battlefield 2142.  Decisions, decisions…

Stray Toasters

• I received a message from Kris and Mom letting me know that Kris has been accepted into an advanced Graduate Program to receive her LL. M., starting this fall.
• , click here and take a look at the figure on the top row, far left side.
• Wizard Magazine interviews Keith Giffen: 52 on 52 – A (jaundiced) Look Back
• : Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen talk Legion
• Paul Dini, the ‘father’ of Batman Rogue Harley Quinn, talks about his newest creation: Madame Mirage (1, 2)
• Spoon!  (Not a reference to The Tick, in this case.)
• The 52 Exit Interviews: Grant Morrison
• 
• Should I have an apple… or ice cream?   Or gummy worms?
• and

Namaste.