Sunday
Downtime is a good thing. Yes, indeed.

Of course, today was “Football Watching Day.” And so, I watched football. The Ravens played in the second set of games (4:05 PM EST), so the fact that I napped for a bit during the first series of games was not a problem. Here’s the way the games wound up:


    Lost. Actually, they GAVE the game to the Saints. They started to comeback in the second half, but the monkey on their collective backs was not the rally monkey.


    Won. Won BIG. They kicked the collective recta (or rectums, either is correct) of the Cincinnati Bengals.


    They play Da Bears tomorrow night.

    Comics stuff:

    • They were out of JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice, so I will have to get that when the re-orders come in this week.
    • Green Arrow #19 – This title has been pretty consistently good. There was an interesting meeting between Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) and Kyle Rayner, the current Green Lantern. There’s tension between them. Kyle is the replacement for Hal Jordan (Oliver’s best friend and the GL who went nuts and after a few other “bad turns,” eventually died, but, we’ll save that discussion for another time). Writer Brad Metzler, through Oliver, sums up the reason for the tension beautifully:

      Oliver: So… uh… nice to see you.
      Kyle: Yeah…um… nice to see you, too.

      ::: text-free panel of both characters :::

      Kyle: Can I ask you a question? Why do you give me such a hard time?
      Oliver: What’re you talking about?
      Kyle: The way you look at me — the way you stare me down…
      Oliver: Kid, I got no problem with you.
      Kyle: You do, Mister Queen. I know you do. It’s like you’re shaking your head, amazed they gave me the job.

      ::: text-free panel of Oliver :::

      Kyle: Am I wrong?
      Oliver: You wouldn’t understand.
      Kyle: Are you sure about that? You sure you know everything about me?
      Oliver: Listen, I didn’t mean–
      Kyle: They stuffed my girlfriend in a refrigerator. Snapped her neck, crumpled her up, and stuffed her dead body in my fridge. That was my first month.
      Oliver: I– I’m sorry.
      KyleI don’t want your pity, Mister Queen. It’s just a point. I haven’t walked in your shoes; you haven’t walked in mine.

      ::: text-free panel of Kyle :::

      Oliver: I’m not asking you to be Hal.
      Kyle: Everyone keeps saying that. No one means it.
      Oliver: I’m not sure you heard what I said. Kyle, it’s like someone showing up at your house on Halloween dressed as your dead best friend. And that’s it.
      Kyle: That’s it?
      Oliver: That’s it.

      I like good writing. Brad Metzler has been on this title for about 7 issues, but I like his style.

    • Superman #189 – Clark has to go undercover to find Lana Lang. This is not a job for Superman. And he even has a run-in with Gotham City’s Dark Knight… and it doesn’t go well. The storyline, “Lost Hearts,” is a four-parter; I get the feeling that we will be seeing more of Mr. Wayne before the story ends.
    • TechJacket #1 – This is a new title from Image Comics (a division of DC Comics). Imaging that an alien “gives” you one of the most powerful weapons in the known galaxy… and you can’t take it off. And other aliens want it… at any and all costs. That’s what the young protagonist, a junior-high student Zack, is dealing with.
    • Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra #2 – A retelling of the early adventures of a young Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios before they became costumed adventurers. This is set in Marvel’s “Ultimate” universe, where they have taken characters whose origins were decades-old and have updated them. The entire “Ultimate” line – Spider-Man, X-Men and The Ultimates (the MUU version of The Avengers) have been well-done.
    • Uncanny X-Men #416 – A story that focuses on Juggernaut. Very interesting. It seems as though there may be some changes in store for Mr. Marko.

    My friend (and one-time roommate) Theo called. He’s been working on writing and drawing a comic book for the past few months. It looks like he’s finished the first issue and is not only working on more issues, but has a couple of other titles that he wants to flesh out. And, he wants me to work with him as a writer/consultant. I think that I could get into that. And, this would give us a good opportunity to get further along with a book that I have been working on and want him to illustrate. Yes… that would be a verra good thing.

    After Jess got out of work, we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I tried a new dish (Chicken Vino Bianco) and it was quite good. I enjoyed a nice glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay with the meal.

    After dinner, we went to the Ft. Union B&N for a couple of hours. We ran into Jaclyn F. (a former co-worker of mine from the REC); we talked for a little bit. Jess read and I did some drawing. And, what extended trip to B&N would be complete without tasty coffee beverages and/or cheesecake? While we were there, Adam called. He asked if I could change his ticket for going home. “Uh… no.”

    And then…. hometime.

    That covers the day. Methinks that I shall finish watching this ep of Stargate SG-1 and then ponder the possibilities of calling it a night. After all, I have to work tomorning.

    Namaste.