Thursday : 10 August 2006
It’s been a good day. Aside from slamming my thumb in the door this morning, that is. That wasn’t so good. Pretty far from it, in fact. But, other than that, it’s been a good day.

Random Access
We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When its said and done we haven’t told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!
-“Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley

I realize that the foiled “liquid explosives” bombing plan is newsworthy, but I am tired of hearing about it.

No, that isn’t entirely true. What I am tired of is hearing the sensationalization and the speculation about it. Let’s face it: We don’t know what was going through these peoples’ heads… and we probably never will. So, rather than just stick to the (few) known facts behind the story, some news outlets have taken to throwing out whatever theory, idea or whim comes to the anchors’ and/or news directors’ minds.

Got to keep the ratings up!!!

This is exactly why I tend not to watch the news anymore: It’s not news, for the most part. Sure, you get some news. And weather. And sports. But, it seems as though an increasing percentage of newscasts aren’t filled with “news” as much as they are filled with human interest stories. Light and fuzzy and fluffy. Feel-good pablum to keep the masses fat and happy. And the ratings up, of course. Because who doesn’t want to hear about little Jimmy’s stamp collection? Isn’t that cute!? Sure, it’s cute. Newsworthy? Not so much. Boy Scout Troop 104 went out and cleaned up a couple of miles of highway? Gee, that’s great… but lots people do that everyday (or on the weekends) and I don’t see camera crews following them around.

News, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is:

1 a : a report of recent events b : previously unknown information news for you> c : something having a specified influence or effect news for lawns and gardens — Garrison Keillor> news>
2 a : material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast b : matter that is newsworthy

“Previously unknown information.” Not “speculation.” Not “sensationalization.” Information. Data. Facts. Wouldn’t it be nice if “the news” could get back to that?

Four-Color Coverage
The Wizard World Chicago Convention was held this past weekend. There are a lot of comic-related items that were premiered and previewed there, so Four-Color seemed like the most logical place to post those links. For those of you who don’t really care about this stuff, there are ‘Toasters below. That said…

The Adventures of Indigo Bolt
I neglected to post a couple of things the other night:

Rockin’ the suburbs on Talos Island

The guy in the center of this picture was called “Super Captain.” Who bore a strange resemblance to this guy. He was at least level 30, as he had a couple of other costumes (1, 2)… which bore incredible resemblances to this character and this character, in one of his other costumes. Is it really that difficult to come up with a new look – says the guy who’s still deciding on a fourth costume – without having to completely cop someone else’s idea? *shrug* I guess it is. And while I can’t really say that it was “instant karma” kicking him in the ass, he did die a lot on that mission.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.