Random Access

Thursday – 22 March 2007
Four down, one to go.

Today was a rather decent day. It started with frozen mocha goodness and a trip to the SLC office. Neither of which is a bad way to start the day. Then, it was on to the south office. The day was relatively problem-free; and it was slow enough to allow for two constitutionals. The lunchtime workout was good, too – a focused triceps workout.

Post-work, I skipped picking up my four-color shwag and got home a little before six. I was in a Barbacoa mood, so I had a steak burrito for dinner and watched V for Vendetta. (March Madness = CSI: ) Good movie and a nice way to wrap up the day.

Random Access
We’ve taken care of everything
The words you read
The songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure
To your eye

One for all and all for one
Work together
Common sons
Never need to wonder
How or why

Whenever I watch V for Vendetta (1, 2, 3, 4), I am struck not only by its similarities to George Orwell’s 1984, but also to the Rush concept piece/rock opera, 2112. The three of them are set in dystopian societies where the government provides all of the necessities and good things in life. And they would never mislead their citizenry. And everyone works for the betterment of god and country.

In the three stories, we are introduced to “the outsider,” the one who sees between the cracks of the grand facade and recognizes that all is not well. In two of the stories, he is also the one who wishes to bring change and freedom to his blissfully ignorant brethren: V and the “narrator” in 2112. In 1984, Winston Smith is not necessarily out to overthrow The Party and/or Big Brother, or even enlighten his fellow citizens, as much as he enjoys subverting the system by partaking in restricted/forbidden pleasures.

The stories differ in their resolutions and in how their protagonists end up:

• In V for Vendetta, V sacrifices himself, knowing that he has shown people the way to free themselves. We are shown that V represented ideas or ideals – greater than any one person – and it didn’t matter who was behind the mask: V was everyone… and no one, at the same time. He represented the unspoken – and in some cases, unimagined – hopes, dreams and ideals of the faceless masses and the forgotten.
• In 2112, the narrator, realizes that he alone cannot fight the power of the Priests and the Solar Federation. In desperation/despair, he commits suicide. Ironically, just after this act… the “Elder Race,” the enlightened, legendary forebears of the Solar Federation who left (Earth) return, with the proclamation: “We have assumed control…”
• In 1984, Winston Smith is captured by Party loyalists and reprogrammed to follow convention and embrace the love of The Party and Big Brother.

I also find it… oddly amusing that I wound up watching the “Vote Different” parody of Apple’s 1984 Mac ad earlier and then watching V for Vendetta tonight.
Stray Toasters

• I have another idea for a lyric-to-drawing piece.
• By way of Derek, Bunny suicides – Some of these are just… “wrong,” but they’re also eerily amusing.
• Also by way of Derek: Lego Aircraft Carrier. I have chosen a good acolyte. *nod*
• Chess Enlightenment, from xkcd.com
• , you might be interested in this: Batgirl 13″ Deluxe Collector Figure
• HeroClix is getting a Fifth Anniversary update.
• It was twenty years ago today
  Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play…
  But, who taught the good sargeant to play?
• From Games Radar: The Top 7 – PR Disasters
• Return of the Super Pimps. I have no joke here. In fact, I’m not exactly sure what to say…

Quote of the Day

It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you.

Valerie Page, V for Vendetta

Namaste.

Wednesday – 21 March 2007
Middle of the week and all is.

Last night, joined us for Shadowrun; she played one of the player group’s NPCs. The group, at the behest of their fixer, tracked down the team of runners who caused a good deal of strife for the fixer. That led to gunplay, spellslinging… and a clumsy troll. The players were outnumbered, 6 to 4… which made it roughly even odds. Unfortunately (depending on your point of view), the troll – who wasn’t the brainest member of the opposing group – had the brainstorm that throwing a table at the players was a good idea. This is where “theory vs. practical application” came into play. The theory was sound: Trolls are strong, tables are heavy… and there was a good chance that he could damage more than one player with the move. The practical application went something like this, however:

• Troll sees table.
• Troll picks up table.
• Troll throws table.
• *dice roll*
• The dice roll says that the troll not only failed to hit, but that hit completely botched the throw.
• *dice roll*
• The table found a new target: one of the troll’s teammates. It effectively decapitated him… and hit with enough force to carry the body to the far side of the room.

Why is it that the pretty ones are never very smart? Wait… he was a troll; he was neither smart nor pretty. *sigh*
I don’t know if Nyx will be a regular or intermittent member of the game – or if she’ll decide that it’s not her thing – but it was fun having her play.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve listened to Far Cry, the new release from the upcoming Rush CD Snakes and Arrows, a few times. I like it. But, then again, I’m biased.
• One of our senior managers was standing at a cube wall a little while ago, with his fingers and the top of his head sticking over the wall – it looked like the quintessential “Kilroy Was Here” picture. So, I said called him Kilroy. He asked if I knew the origin of it. I told him that all I knew was that it was used in World War II. He then proceeded to tell me how it came to be used: When Allied forces would recon houses and other buildings – clearing traps and clearing out civilians – they would draw that on the wall as a sign to later squads that the houses have been gone though. I did a little more digging and found a little more information about its history on Wikipedia.
• Yahoo! Movies has a trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
• Forget the film, watch the titles.
• Jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces.
• I live with it everyday…
  
• Draw Supergirl.
• I love it when someone asks you a question (“Where is [item a]? I just looked in [location x] and didn’t see any.”)
  …and you answer them (“There aren’t any in there.”)
  …and their immediate follow-up is a question (“Are they [shelf y] or [shelf z]?”)
  …that you had just rendered moot by saying “There aren’t any in there,” which I told him again.His reaction: “Oh.” *quizzical stare*
  Welcome to Wednesday.
• Technopathy.
• If you find the courage within you
  To face the path ahead
  It matters not the outcome
  If what you will gain instead
  Is a heart deepened in the knowing
  That experience carves the soul
  And the very thing that empties you
  Shall surely make you whole
• In talking with this weekend, he mentioned a fun “project” that he and Nyx did a couple of years ago: They would take a random lyric and draw a picture based on it. If I remember correctly, that’s where her Rocket Mouse picture series started. Doing something like that sounds fun.
• “How very Mary Tyler Moore of you.”
• – Tigger socks land girl in detention, school in court

Time to finish eating and get back to the grind.

Namaste.

Friday – 16 March 2007
And so, another work week comes to an end. The day wasn’t bad… of course, it started off with frozen mocha goodness, so how bad could it be? Things were fairly quiet in the southern compound. I made up for missing yesterday’s workout at lunch this afternoon. Back and triceps again. It was a good workout – my arms were tight and the muscles burned by the time I was done. Back on the ranch, I handled a couple of projects and called it a day.

On the way home, Dad called to tell me that it was snowing in Baltimore. Turnabout is fair play, I guess. I made it home and he called again. He had forgotten to tell me something the past couple of times that we’ve talked: One of the teachers at my high school died last week. I didn’t have him for any academic classes, but he was one of the faculty members who supervised – and played in – my phys ed basketball class a few trimesters. His obituary says that he “…could be intimidating at first.” They’re right. But, once you got to know him, he really was a great guy. He will be missed.

Then… Clitorati. Small turnout, but fun group. I started work on another drawing tonight:

Source:

Drawing (unfinished):

A gentleman in the cafè came over and asked if I drew professionally; I told him that it was just a hobby. He complimented me on the work and detail. That made me smile.

Four-Color Coverage
It’s been a while since I’ve done it, but let’s take a look at some of the things that have been distracting me for the past couple of days:

• 52: Weeks Forty-Four and Forty-Five – At the end of Week Forty-Three, Osiris gave up his power and was eaten by his “companion,” Sobek. Turns out that Sobek was actually one of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips, specifically: Famine. When Black Adam and Isis discover this, they confront Sobek. But, he isn’t fighting alone – the other Horsemen show up and it’s “Game On.” Adam and Isis take down Famine, War and Pestilence, but not before Pestilence and Death deal a fatal blow to Isis… and Death escapes. The one thing that you do not want to do is piss off Black Adam. And just what effect do you think that killing his family will have? You got it. Things go from “Game On” to “Game Over” just like that. After burying his wife and brother-in-law (and a brief conversation with Renee Montoya, doing her best Carmen Sandiego impression), Adam heads to Bialya – where Death has gone to ground – and does his level best to turn it into a smoking crater. He does a good job of it, too. The estimated death toll was in the millions. But, here’s the rub: What happens when you kill that many people in the presence of Death? Yep, you guessed it: Death gets stronger. Too bad it wasn’t strong enough. Adam methodically – and very painfully – destroys death. The last panel of Week Forty-Five shows Adam in flight, on the trail of those who created and unleashed the Horsemen. And he didn’t look very happy.
• Superman #660 – This was a Prankster issue. And, while it was a nominally interesting story, it could have served better as a back-up feature. Yes, Superman was in the issue, but not very much. There was a bit of character development to The Prankster, but I don’t feel that it was necessarily Kurt Busiek’s best work.
• Superman-Batman #32 – This issue is part five of a six-part “alien invasion” storyline. Superman has been corrupted by the approaching alien fleet and has turned his back on humanity. What chance does Batman have of stopping him? Come on… we’re talking about Batman. He’s got Alfred. He’s got the wealth of Wayne Enterprises at his disposal. He’s got a utility belt. I’d say his chances are pretty good. Or are they…?
• Green Lantern Corps #10 – Guy Gardner gets in trouble with the brass. Kilowog sets up two new Lanterns – who aren’t exactly fond of each other – as partners. And, Mogo puts in an appearance. This issue was pretty much a return to the norm for this title.
• Dynamo 5 #1 – What happens when a deceased superhero’s widow tracks down and brings together his five illegitimate children – none of whom were aware of the others and each of whom has one of their father’s powers – to fight crime? You can find out here. It was an interesting and auspicious start for this title. It makes me want to check back next month and see how this dysfunctional “family” deals with each other and the challenges of being a hero team.
• Fantastic Four #543 – This is a Civil Bore War epilogue issue. Johnny and Ben babysit Franklin and Valeria while Reed and Sue try to figure out how to heal the emotional bruises they gained in Civil War. The solution: Take a leave of absence and try to work things out. But “Fantastic Two” doesn’t have the same ring to it. Reed, being the highly-intelligent man that he is, has a plan: He has a couple of people lined up to take his and Sue’s place. The King and Queen of Wakanda – The Black Panther and Storm. There are a couple of back-up stories in this issue, too: A Human Torch – Spider-Man story (*mediocre*) and a Stan Lee-written story (*weak*).
• newuniversal #4 – Starbrand. Nightmask. Justice. And… a character who’s being called “a Cipher,” but I suspect will be known as “Spitfire,” before all is said and done. I am still enjoying this reinvention of Marvel’s New Universe. Warren Ellis has done a good job of creating a comic book world/universe that is close enough to be “the real world” in most ways… but introducing a healthy dose of science fiction and turning things just enough off-center to be set apart.
• The New Avengers #28 – This is the first post-Civil War issue of TNA. The team is still underground because they refuse to register, per Civil War’s Superhuman Registration Act. Then, they get wind that the supposedly-dead Captain America is still (barely) alive and being held on The Raft. When they go to get him, they instead find themselves face-to-face with Tony Stark – in full Iron Man armor – along with a newly-formed, government-sanctioned Avengers team. Another part of the story takes place in Japan, with appearances by the Silver Samurai, Echo/Ronin… and Elektra. This issue jumped around a bit much for my taste and I found Leinil Yu’s art to be a bit distracting.
• The Mighty Avengers #1 – Newly minted Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony Stark, sets up Ms. Marvel as the team leader and together they set out to “…pick the greatest roster ever.” New team. New direction. Lots of action. This book seems to be the classic motif of brightly-garbed heroes beating the snot out of brightly-garbed (and even drearily-garbed) villains. I’ll hold off judgment and bear out this title for a few issues, to see if I can determine where it’s headed.
• Uncanny X-Men #484 – Yet another chapter in the twelve-issue-long soap opera in space. This issue had lots of action. A dash of political intrigue. A dangerous romance. A possible rekindled romance. And the Starjammers – every Marvel fan’s favorite space pirates!
• Justice League of America #6 – This is the one we’ve been waiting for: The conclusion to “Tornado’s Path,” the Red Tornado’s quest to become human. The arc started off slowly, but this issue made it worthwhile. There was triumph and loss. The JLA acted the way longtime fans expect them to act – like a team (for a change). The Red Tornado showed what it meant to act heroically… and selflessly. The whole is best summed up nicely by the Tornado’s last captions:
  

  This is a story about history and destiny. And love. And passion. And friendship. And coming-of-age.

  This is the story of my life. And my death.

  But this isn’t the story of my defeat.

  My face is so swollen, she can barely get the mask off.

  The worst part isn’t her expression when she sees me…

  …or the snag in her voice as she tries to look strong…

  …or even the clear disappointment as she realizes that everything we gained is now lost.

  The worst part is that I tasted it. I felt it. Even if it was never meant to work… for those precious days, I was truly alive. And now, for the rest of my life, I know what I missed.

  All-in-all, despite my bemoaning the slow, dragging start to the arc, this was a good opening volley for what will hopefully be a long and successful run for this title.

Stray Toasters

• I posted a link to the typography demo that used the “What does Marcellus Wallace look like?” scene a few days ago. Here’s a video clip of that scene from the movie.
• Fly away, sweet bird of prey…
• Is there anything that George Lucas can’t get his hands on? Case in point: R2-D2 Replaces Mail Collection Boxes
• and Carmen apparently have… dopplegangers. Bizarre.
• From Slate: The genius of film noir.
• 336 – 410 – 317
• When I see this picture, I want to replace it with an image of Famke Jenssen from X-Men III: The Last Stand and put “Jean Grey” underneath it:
  
  …although, given the name that’s already there, you could put a picture of Patrick Stewart there and call it good.
• Spider-Man 3 Minimates

And… that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Marvel has just released 7½ minutes of footage from the upcoming Spider-Man 3.

You can watch it here.

Enjoy!

Friday – 09 March 2007
Today has been good. I didn’t have to fight too many road monkeys. I was able to work on something that I haven’t had a chance to do anything with since God was a boy. Went to off-site training. Went back to work. Worked. Came home.

Today’s off-site training was held at the Cinemark at The Meadows in American Fork (or, if you want to sound more like a native Utahn: “Amurrican Fark”). It was titled 300. For those of you who don’t know, the movie is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel 300; it is about King Leonidas of Sparta and the 300 soldiers who battled the combined might of Xerxes‘ Persian army at Thermopylae.

It was good. And gritty. And bloody. And passionate.  And, like Sin City, also by Frank Miller, it is not going to be for everyone.  It did a good job of conveying the importance of freedom. And honor. And duty. And the costs of being free. Yes, there was creative license taken, but from what I’ve read of the actual Battle of Thermopylae, I still think that, all in all, it was a well-crafted and well-told story. I haven’t read the graphic novel yet, but I’m going to; I want to see how faithfully this was adapted.

Stray Toasters

• Note to self: Call Mom tomorrow.
• New bicycle routes trace Underground Railroad.
• Thanks to for pointing this out: Disney creates first black animated princess
• Brad Delp, lead singer of Boson, has died.
• Fly.
• From eWeek: The Worst Cube-Dwelling Offenses
• Maggie Gyllenhaal will be replacing Katie Holmes (or is it “Katie Cruise?”) as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.

It’s coffee time, so I’m up out.

Namaste.

Thursday – 08 March 2007
Another NBN Thursday in the bag.  The day started off slowly, but gathered steam quickly.  I was even able to work on a report that I’ve had to back-burner for a few weeks.  It wasn’t a bad near-end to the week.

Post-work, I was invited out for dinner at Asian Star.  It was the first time that I’d been there since they moved to the new location.  The food, as usual, was good; but the wait for a table didn’t seem commensurate with the number of available empty tables in the dining area.  *shrug*  I do like the new building, though.  And they have “complimentary valet parking.”  This is an interesting twist.  Of course, their parking lot is big enough for two cars (if you’re a gully dwarf).
Stray Toasters

• Tomorrow, Jason and I are scheduled to do some off-site training: 300.
• Brass Goggles – the lighter side of Steampunk
• As any good ‘runner, knows: Bulletproof clothing is a good thing.
• 
• Thanks to for the link to Knights of the Star Trek Table.
• First Adalius Thomas signs with the Patriots, now Jamal Lewis has gone to Cleveland 2.0.  *sigh*  At least we were able to trade for former Bills RB Willis McGahee from the Bills.
• Marvel Comics, Feel My Wrath!
• Coworker Matt sent me a link to Movies… in 5 seconds.  One word: Batman.
• Dave’s Long Box
• “Take him to the cell!”
  “Yes, boss!  Er, what cell?”
  
• Brad Metzler talks to Wizard about Justice League of America: A League of His Own
• Chandelier made from gummy bears

Namaste.