Random Access

Friday – 17 August 2007
Yesterday morning’s monkeydom was punctuated nicely by more simian antics on the way home. As much as I wish that I could say that they ended at the county line… I can’t. They carried on all the way until I got to 90th South. So many monkeys, so little ammunition.

I stopped in to see Perry and the kids for a bit. And rifle through his plastic crack collection. And stuff.

Reeling by on Celluloid: Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead
Satire.

Pronunciation:

\ˈsa-ˌtī(-ə)r\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin satura, satira, perhaps from (lanx) satura dish of mixed ingredients, from feminine of satur well-fed; akin to Latin satis enough — more at sad

Date:

1501

1 : a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
2 : trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly

synonyms see: wit

I took an elective English class on Satire in 10th Grade, from a teacher of whom I was not fond. (Some of you may have heard the “mastication” story. Yeah, that guy.) In fact, I didn’t think that he was all that great of a teacher, but what do I know…? I mean, it’s not like I have any teachers in the family or anything. </sarcasm> If he spent as much time on curriculum as he spent on trying to look or “be” cool, he could have actually been a decent educator. But, we learn different things from all experiences.

Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much about satire from him.

But, I’m not here to talk about him.

Instead, I am going to talk about a couple of movies that I watched at the behest of Tyranist: Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright “get” satire. They also know where the fine line between “funny” and “absurdity” is… and they trample on it mercilessly.

Hot Fuzz tells the story of Nicholas Angel, a London police officer who was good at his job. Very good. Too good. And, as a reward for his performance, he was shipped off to a sleepy little town in the English countryside. Quaint. Quiet. Peaceful. And that’s when the real fun begins. On the surface, the movie seems little more than a funny buddy cop movie. To be honest, when I saw trailers for it, that’s exactly what I had taken for granted… and what eventually made me decide not to see it. I had decided that if I wanted a funny buddy cop movie, I would watch Beverly Hills Cop or Rush Hour. I did the movie a horrible disservice in brushing it aside in such a cavalier manner. It was funny, surprising and very well-written.

Shaun of the Dead is… well… a zombie movie. Whoops, I just said the “zed word.” Sorry. But, let’s face it: That’s what it is. And it’s funny. Beyond that, it is a buddy movie. And a movie about family – the one you’re born into and the one(s) you choose. And, it’s a movie about the sometimes too grey world in which we live – the one that we trudge through, day after day, moving forward as simple creatures of habit. And what happens when we wake up one morning to find that things have changed. Again, I was surprised to discover how sharp a movie it was. (Yeah, yeah… three years after pretty much everyone else figured it out, but I got there. Finally.)

I also made a comment to Tyranist about how Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – the male leads in both movies – in their own ways reminded me of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Not so much in their acting styles, but in the way that you can tell through the on-screen chemistry that you’re watching a couple of friends having a good time hanging out with each other… while there happens to be a camera recording the whole thing.

These movies may not necessarily be considered “family fare,” and they may not be everyone’s cup of tea (U.K. films… tea… Oh, Hell, if I have to do all the work for you, what’s the point?!) , but they are good pieces of entertainment. And, thanks to these movies, I will never listen to Queen or the phrase “By the power of Greyskull…” in the same way. Ever again.

I give both movies enthusiastic “thumbs up with an okay.”

Stray Toasters

• I’m still a bit jazzed about yesterday’s 275.
• : You need to click here.
• I still love this:
  
  … and there’s a (not small) part of me that thinks that it would be fun to actually do!
• Dungeons & Dragons 4^th Edition Announced
• Three words (well, one of them is a compound word): Black Cherry Kool-Aid.
• I’m not a fan of so-called “reality television.” That said, I watched Who Wants to Be a Superhero? while hanging out with Perry. Amusing, a little hokey, but… I have to admit it was fairly entertaining. And it had Stan Lee.
• Plain soap as effective as antibacterial but without the risk
• Tom Cruise… as Capt. Christopher Pike? *shudder*
• When I look at the first and fourth panels of this picture (possibly NSFW), I think that Pam Anderson might make an interesting Power Girl. (I dont know who Alex Ross uses as his model for P.G.)
• NASA has opted not to repair Endeavour‘s heat shield tiles. I hope this doesn’t turn into a total cock-up and come back to bite them in the ass.
• UCF physicist says Hollywood movies hurt students’ understanding of science

And off to work!

Namaste.

Monday – 13 August 2007
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

This morning’s good intention was to get up (relatively) early and get a jump on the day. I reconsidered, however, when the alarm and iPod went off. Three-and-a-half hours of sleep is usually not bad… but having capped the night off with a tall glass of Merlot (and a Sam’s Summer Ale) made an extended stay in The Dreaming a very pleasant thing, indeed. And, I was still in the office at a decent time, so I’m good with having caught a few extra ZZZs this morning.

Last night, post-movie, I stopped by to see Kate, Perry and the kids. The kids crack me up. Pure, straight-up comedy.

Scales of Justice
When I got home, I decided to take a side-trip to Paragon City. As soon as I logged in, I was invited to join a team. No waiting. No muss, no fuss. I accepted.

Then, I noticed who was on the team: The same tank who got us killed (repeatedly) on Saturday. *grblsnrkx*

And, guess what…

The team mortality rate was fairly high. Until he quit the team. After that, no problems. Go figure.

And now, The Hand of Nefer-Tem is knocking on the door of Security Level 32.

Stray Toasters

• I had a corned beef sandwich for lunch. And you didn’t.
• Mike Wieringo Passes Away
• Merv Griffin dead at 82
  • It’s pretty well-known that Mr. Griffin created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! What’s not quite as well-known is that he wrote the theme for Jeopardy!, the music that they play when contestants are considering their answers for “Final Jeopardy.” Most people refer to the song as “The Jeopardy! Theme” or even “Think Music;” but he originally wrote that song as a lullaby for his son, Anthony, and it was originally named “Time for Tony.”
• Beheaded snake sends man to hospital
• I received a friendly, neighborhood reminder about registering my copy of Eudora a few days ago. It actually made me laugh:
  

  Please register your copy of Eudora.

  Registration will enable us to provide you better service when you contact us for technical support and it comes with these benefits.

  — list of benefits —

  We’ll also erect a giant statue in your image on the front lawn of our corporate headquarters.* How cool is that? C’mon, register! It’s easy and it’ll stop this stupid box from popping up!

  *Giant statue offer void to Eudora users living on the planet.

• From the “Holy crap! Who’d’ve thought it was possible” file: Girl overdoses on espresso
• 
• There are a couple of articles floating around the Interweb that basically say “NASA considering repairs to gouge in shuttle heat shield.” *blink blink* Let’s look at the basic math and physics behind this:
  • The shuttle orbits Earth at a little over 17,000 mph (nearly 28,000 kph)
  • It re-enters the atmosphere at roughly Mach 25 (~ 5.3 miles per second or almost 9 kilometers per second).
  • The heat shield endures temperatures over 2700° F (1500° C).
  • The gouge in the heat shield is 3½” long and goes ALL THE WAY THROUGH the thermal shielding.

  “Considering?” Hi. I’m sorry… I’m thinking that Mr. Goodwrench better be well past the “considering” stage and on his way – tools in hand – to get the job done.

• I read this Real Life Comics strip… and immediately was reminded of this movie clip.
• Steampunk cloque

Namaste.

*EDIT:  Went back to correct the math on the re-entry speed.  It’s MUCH faster than I had originally posted.

Saturday – 11 August 2007
So far, it’s been a good day. Blue skies. High clouds. Temps in the upper 90s.

The day started with me hanging out with Perry and Max. Coffee. Cinnamon rolls. Dolls. Mini-figures. We hung out and chatted/geeked out for a couple hours; as Max started getting a bit restless, I remembered that I had my GameBoy in my backpack and further cemented my role as “best adopted uncle ever.”

After they headed home, I put in a few hours with pencil and paper. I finished off She Talks to Angels. I’m happy with the way it turned out. I also decided on a couple of changes to Ed’s Song. And, I’m now toying with the idea of redoing 8:45 as a drawing; I would probably use the same basic “content” that I did in the Poser/Bryce one, more or less. Or maybe not. We’ll see…

Stray Toasters

• I’m still craving chocolate milk like a fiend.
• Report: Gamers largely clueless about next-gen console media capabilities.
• Slowly, but surely, I’m making my way towards the end of Deathly Hallows.
• WizKids is starting to release images and info for the upcoming Justice League set.
  • Is it just me or does this figure scream, “Hey, look! I have a crotch! Wanna see it?!
  • , you will want to see this figure.
• This is Ethan van Sciver, probably best know as the artist behind Green Lantern: Rebirth and Green Lantern Corps: Recharge and Sinestro Corps Special #1. This image, taken at Wizard World Chicago (a great-huge comic convention), amuses me greatly on many levels:
  • Ethan is LDS (That’s “Mormon,” for those of you outside the Zion Curtain).
  • His t-shirt says: “I’ve tried polygamy!” (That in itself is amusing enough.)
  • The shirt – and slogan – are for Wasatch Brewery’s Polygamy Porter.

Whether or not Ethan has actually sampled the beverage (which is unlikely, given his religious beliefs…) I don’t know, but I admire and applaud his sense of humor.

• 
• For Acolyte Derek: Stephen Colbert portrait in 768 mini Rubik’s Cubes
• U.S. Gov’t plans changes in air passenger screening
• LIEFELD!
• Coworker Tommy shall henceforth be referred to as “Code Monkey Build Bitch” or “Code Monkey BB.” Thus it is written, thus shall it be!
  Code Monkey BB sent me the following message yesterday, it amused the geek/gamer in me:

  [16:11] Tommy: graffiti seen (among many others) on the granite walls of a pit-fall
  [16:11] Tommy: In Dwarven: “Durembar Ironshanks was here and killed more orcs than he could count.”
  [16:11] Tommy: In Elven (below the preceding): “That means eleven.”

• Tyranist: At least it’s not a “space maggot.”
  
• The Great Data Migration proceeds apace.
• So… is this guy the new Phoenix?
  If so, does Jean know? Cause we all know that Scotty Doesn’t Know.
• Damn you, Tyranist. *shakes fist*
• Wow… they’re recruiting ’em young these days.

Time to go save the world. Or something.

Namaste.

Friday – 10 August 2007
Last night, I finished Discs 3 and 4 of Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. It was a series, based on the movie Starship Troopers, which in turn was based on a book of the same name, by Robert A. Heinlein. The movie was of the “check your brain at the door” type; the book on which it was (loosely) based, however, was brilliant… even more so when you consider when it was written. The series was intended to have a 40-episode run, but due to production issues, ended after only 36 episodes. Like the book, the series follows the members of the Mobile Infantry under the command of Lt. Jean Rasczak/Razak, most importantly: Juan (Johnny) Rico. We follow Rico’s rise from student to enlistee to non-com-to lieutenant over the course of seven campaigns. The series loosely followed the movie, but differed in a few details. All-in-all, I enjoyed the series – and even the late-90s CGI that it employed.

Today has been a decent day. Nothing too bad… other than an IT task for Monkey #2. Really, it’s a no-brainer. And I had to work on a system that used to belong to the Monkey Formerly Known as Monkey #1. (I have since moved the former Monkey #5 into the #1 spot.)

Stray Toasters

• I found a quote from a review of a Star Trek: TNG episode, “Coming of Age,” on Wikipedia that I found interesting:
  

  Worf (to Wesley Crusher): “Only fools have no fear.”

  It made me think of both the Green Lantern Corps and Daredevil. It brought the Corps to mind because, in order to be a ring-bearer, one “…must have the ability to overcome great fear.” I think that Geoff Johns has done a good job of portraying this in the way that rookies are still susceptible to “the yellow impurity,” which was how The Guardians explained away the taint of Parallax, the embodiment of fear, in the Central Power Battery. Once they master their fear, they have no problem in handling things colored yellow – the one thing that a power ring has been unable to deal with according to GL canon… until Green Lantern: Rebirth.

  Daredevil came to mind as he is called “The Man Without Fear.” While Matt Murdock has done a number of foolish and/or foolhardy things, I doubt that he could truly be called a fool.

• Giant LEGO man found in Dutch sea
• Maybe it’s just me, but how difficult is it to wipe the countertop around the sink if you splash inordinate amounts of water on it? If I were to gauge by the amount of water left sitting on the counter over the course of the day in the AF office, it’s apparently a nigh-Herculean task.
• Hot Stormtroopers in love
• The Hardest Bosses of All Time (I didn’t make up the title, I just find it amusing…)
• I was humming IKEA the other day when it occurred to me that there was a flaw in the lyrics:
  

  Ikea: just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen

  Um… there’s a reason I call it “the Garden of Sweden” and not “the Garden of Norway.” Sure, they’re both Scandinavian, and “…a handful of Swede-men” doesn’t roll easily off the tongue, but come on. *shrug* Oh, well.

• Steampunk maker Datamancer video
• 
• Big Man on Mulberry Street
• mayhem
• “GOD BLESS AMERICA! WOOOOOO!!!”
  “Um… they’re Canadian.”

And that’s that.

Namaste.

Thursday – 09 August 2007
Three down, one in the chamber and one to go.

I ran out of coffee creamer last week and neglected to pick some up. But, I’m trying something (again) that I haven’t done in a while: using ice cream instead of milk. I like it. I still need to find the right blend, but it seems like two(-ish) tablespoons do the job nicely for my travel mug.

She Talks to Angels is nearing completion. Thank God. (No pun intended.) I have a little more detail work to do and it should be pretty much good to go. I’m also deciding whether I want to color the piece or just color selected parts of it. I’m also thinking about how I want to do Ed’s Song. The content will remain as I planned, but I may go for more of a sketch style than a detailed drawing.

The Best: Pink Cadillac
Bruce Springsteen vs. Natalie Cole

The Boss’ version is a hard-driving (again, no pun intended), almost-garage band sounding song about a guy’s love for his ride. (As much as I hate to make the comparison, it’s kind of like the way Danny Zuko sings about Greased Lightning in Grease.) Ms. Cole’s version has much more of an R&B feel and swing to it… but it just doesn’t handle the curves quite as well as the original.

This one goes to Springsteen.

The Scales of Justice
I found my way to Paragon City last night. A few members of my SG and my coalition were on, but they were already involved in teams and/or missions. After some aimless wandering, I decided to hop the train to Brickstown. A little more wandering, but I did find some bad guys in need of a beat down. I headed back to Talos Island and was invited to join a team… in Brickstown. I joined the team and got back on the train. We went up against The Council. In the words of Dr. Peter Venkman: “We came, we saw, we kicked their asses.” After a couple of missions, I decided to call it a night.

Stray Toasters

• I discovered Matt Silady’s The Homeless Channel last night, while cruising boingboing.net. Very interesting premise. I will have to add this to my next order at Dr. Volt’s. I signed up for the THC GoogleGroup last night. At the bottom of the sign-up page was a section for comments, so I left one. Less than an hour later, I received confirmation of my acceptance to the group… and a brief “thank you” message from Matt.
• Stardust opens this weekend. I need to see it. I also need to get in a viewing of The Bourne Ultimatum.
• And, speaking of Mr. Gaiman’s work, from the movie Mirrormask: Close to You
• In further efforts to bend my brain, sent me a link to this post. I told him that it was both awesome and scary… at the same time.
• Yep… more things to add to the Covet List. (, you might want to check this out, too.)
• You just don’t get it
  What it is … well, you’re not really sure
  You move like you’re walking on this ice
  Talking like you’re still insecureTime is a spiral – Space is a curve
  I know you get dizzy, but try not to lose your nerve
  Life is a diamond you turn into dust
  Waiting for rescue, and I know you just
  Don’t get it
  You just don’t get it
• I know that there is a Speed Racer project in development; I loved the cartoon as a kid, but I’m only *ehn* about the prospect of a live-action movie. But… Warner Brothers is now talking about making a Jonny Quest movie. This piques my curiosity quite a bit. Hopefully, they won’t dumb it down; the 60s series was pretty well-written, even if some of the episodes’ content would be dated today; the 80s/90s series also had intermittent glimmers of greatness.
• , you should click here.
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” File: American Red Cross Sued for Using a Red Cross
• Wizards of the Coast has made a lot of their D&D content available for download. Geeks…? Online..?!? Who’d’ve thunk it?!
• A Million U.S. Idiots

Namaste.

Wednesday – 08 August 2007
For some reason, I keep thinking that it’s only Tuesday. Not really sure why.

Last night’s game did not end with mass death – neither ours nor the mad god that we were facing. I consider that a “good” thing. That’s not to say that things didn’t hit the fan in short order. Because they did. With the quickness. Our mage attempted to use a scroll to ‘port us out of harms way… and rolled a critical failure. (For those non-gamers out there, think: “Put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye” bad.) The raw magic wound up taking the form another spell – Limited Wish. We got some rather… unusual… results:

• Three of our party returned to our home city
• One was returned to another part of the home city.
• My character… um… “slid sideways,” into a nominally parallel plane. (For lack of a better analogy, think of Patrick Swayze in Ghost – I could see/hear things around me, but not interact with anything or anyone.) Oh, and while everyone else went home, I stayed in the same place, which was about 10-14 days away from home. Greeeeat. Fortunately, I’m playing a monk and, as such, have a couple of feats that allow me to travel faster than normal and recover from fatigue faster than normal.

Fortunately, our group knows a mage who was not only able to find me, but also open a portal to get me home… after five days, by which time I’d already covered about 2/3 of the journey. (Like I said: “Bionic monk.”) Once everyone was together – and fully recovered – and we set about our original plan: Amassing an army to go and whoop some elevated being’s ass. Turns out that in coming to our world, the god had broken a pact among the pantheon and turned himself into Public Enemy #1. (Although, if he had turned himself into Flava Flav, I would have been much more amused.) We’ll see how things go next gaming session.

Stray Toasters

• I just heard some amazing news… but I can’t share it on here.
• Remoting Future – countdown timer to science fiction future events
• There are a plethoric ass-load (although not quite a metric fuck-ton) of pictures on Flickr under the SDCC: San Diego Comic-Con International pool.
• The IKEA 2008 catalog is out. I got a message from the Right Coast saying that the one I have delivered there has arrived; my local copy should be here soon. *genuflect*
• Minesweeper: the Movie, by way of Acolyte Derek
• 
• Eric sent me a link to a LEGO Guitar Hero controller mod. I countered with a video of someone playing YYZ in Guitar Hero 2 on Expert Level.
• SSDT / SSDG
• Douglas Adams on the now-extinct Baiji dolphin (yes, that Douglas Adams)
• World War II propaganda posters
• 
• Right to the heart of the matter
  Right to the beautiful part
  Illusions are painfully shattered
  Right were discovery starts

Pax vobiscum.

Tuesday – 07 August 2007
First off: The Rush concert was fun. My one gripe would lie in the hands of their sound engineer: He couldn’t seem to find the right balance of treble and bass… and wound up cranking the treble WAY up. Vapor Trails up. But, other than that, I had a blast! I was surprised at the range of ages present, but they were (more or less) all into it. The set list featured a nice mix of the old and the new, including a few surprises. They were surprises to me, as I had avoided seeing/hearing about the set list. I was also surprised to discover that the Maytag dryers were no longer part of the stage equipment. But, what they were replaced with made me laugh, especially when I finally sussed out exactly what they were. AND, they were a recurring gag throughout the show. But, one of the best surprises of the night was this. All-in-all, it was a great way to kick off the week.

Today has been… not bad. The workout was decent, but I had problems on the flat bench – I couldn’t get my 3rd set at 205 pounds. So, I did six reps of 205 and five reps of 185. But, after the rest of the workout was done, I went back and banged out three more reps at 205… and a slightly less-impressive fourth rep. But, I got all ten reps in. And that made me feel better.

Tonight is D&D night. I will finally get a chance to play after… a month away, I think. Holidays and other things and whatnot. We’re still at a bit of a crossroads as to what to do. And I think that at least one of us may/will die. But, as the song says:

Why are we here?
Because we’re here.
Roll the bones.

And that’s just what we’re gonna do.

Stray Toasters

• Turtle cheesecake. I had some. It was tasty.
• Isn’t she just terminally cute? I must have her.
• Civil War mail art: envelope illustrations from mid-1800s
• It’s been 10 years since Lady Lara Croft first graced videogame screens. Gametap is celebrating this with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Gametap Collection. Check out the Re\Visioned animated shorts. The first three episode arc, “Keys to the Kingdom,” by Peter Chung, is good. The fourth episode, “Revenge of the Aztec Mummy,” by Brian Pulido, is weak – both in writing and animation. The fifth and sixth episodes, “Angel Spit (Parts I & II)” were written by Warren Ellis… and are good. The seventh episode, “Legacy,” also written by Brian Pulido had a pulp feel… and was not only MUCH better than “Revenge,” but might have even made up for it.
• How to make Windows XP work for the next seven years.
• reminded me of this comic from VG Cats. It makes us laugh.
• I’m still chugging along through Deathly Hallows.
• Penny Arcade + Empire Earth II = this.
• I know it’s not quite time for them, but I am craving pomegranates.
• Pencil removed from woman’s head 55 years after accident

This post was brought to you by the letter “E,” the number “4” and the Omega Concern.
(c) 2007 – National Midnight Star

Namaste.

Sunday – 05 August 2007
Another weekend comes to a close and this one has been something of a mixed bag:

The Good

• Rita Coolidge concert
• Kimball Arts Festival

The Bad

• The sunroof in the car imploding… while I was driving on 215. I don’t know what caused it, so I’m not going to speculate about “what if…?” scenarios. I’m blessed/fortunate that I didn’t get hurt in the process and that no one else on the road was affected.

The Ugly

• Nothing yet, although I’m not looking forward to getting estimates on replacing the sunroof.

Last night’s concert was a nice distraction from the angst induced by the sunroof issue. Not only did Kate do me a good turn by getting me a ticket… but that ticket was seventh row, center. I was, maybe, thirty feet from the stage… if that far. Ms. Coolidge performed with a four-piece band (keyboard, guitar, bass and percussion) and they sounded good. Very good. “We don’t have to do a lot of overdubbing and tweaking in the studio” good. The band members were all very capable, if not downright talented. I realized part of the way through the show that I was comparing her band either to people I know or to other instrumentalists. Not exactly “fair” comparisons, but what’re ya gonna do? Near the end of her show, Ms. Coolidge gave a brief history lesson about the Trail of Tears and how there was a song, written by a Scotsman, that was/is the most often sung in both White and Native American churches in the south and the Bible Belt: Amazing Grace. She performed it in Cherokee. It was a very nice – and moving – rendition.

Since I was already out, I headed directly to Cheers. I was early, so I took my sketchbook inside and did some more work on She Talks to Angels at the table. I got a couple of nice compliments from passers-by.

Today was the annual Park City Arts Festival excursion. There were seventeen of us, I believe, in all. Unfortunately, Cisero’s was not doing their brunch, so we ate from the lunch menu. And they had coffee. Sweet, sweet nectar of the gods. The exhibits were, as usual, good. And, for the first time in… three years, I think… I didn’t run into anyone that I knew. We ate, strolled around the artists’ booths… and then stopped in Zona Rosa for a late lunch/early dinner and drinks.

Then, home again, home again. Jiggety-jig.

Stray Toasters

• I should do some cleaning around here. I’ll probably wind up on the Xbox. Or in Paragon City. Or reading more of Deathly Hallows. Or some such thing
• , you might enjoy clicking here. And here.
• blickum blickum blickum
• this was supposed to be the future
• Oracle vs. The Calculator: “Nerds of Prey.” Coming soon to a comics purveyor near you.
• …and, speaking of (the former) Batgirl and of Catwoman: and should click here.
• …and, should click here.
• Tyranist: Infinite Identity Crisis on Multiple Earths part Three… or is it Four?
• A Gentlemen’s Duel – steampunk animated entertainment
• My host’s SMTP server is being a right piece. This does not make me happy.

Off to storm a castle or something…

Namaste.

Saturday – 04 August 2007
Despite oversleeping this morning, it’s been a good – and nominally productive day. I don’t know what it was, but after Clitorati, I came home and was ready to hit the rack within an hour. Which put quite a damper on any thoughts I may have had about visiting Paragon City. I was up shortly before 7:00, but saw the error of my ways and returned to The Dreaming.

Once I got up and dealt with the necessary hygiene rituals, I met Perry and the boys for coffee. When they left, I did some more work on She Talks to Angels. I’m rather pleased with the way the angel has turned out, but a little less enthusiastic about the figure that’s supposed to look like my grandmother. Which means that I need to do more portrait work. My other big concern with this piece is/was: Fabric. It folds and twists and billows. Depicting that isn’t exactly my strong suit, but I am happy with the way it looks.

dropped by for a bit, to say “Hello,” so I chatted with her for a while until I got a message from Chris (we’re going to have to start numbering Chrises now, too) asking if I was still interested in going to the gym. I was. We did. I got there before him, so I spent 10 minutes on the recumbent bike. I haven’t done that in a long time; it was good. Chris showed up and it was game time. I wasn’t paying attention when I set up the weights for my bench press and wound up doing 225 pounds on my first set. Brilliant, I am. Not easy, but I did it. I dropped it back down to 205 pounds for the second and third sets, although I had to do the last 5 reps of the third set at 185. Today also saw a lot more presses than I have done (in one workout) in a long time: Flat bench, incline and decline.

Back home for a much-needed and very refreshing shower and a late lunch. And to kill some time. Tonight, I’m going to the Rita Coolidge concert at the Sandy Amphitheatre, thanks to Kate. I asked her to find out about tickets and a couple of days later, she presented me with one. I should send her a fruit basket. (Bonus points for knowing where that came from.) I think that I would really like to take a nap, but I have a few things that I should take care of before heading to the concert. *sigh* No rest for the wicked, I guess.

…and I still need to make (another) trip to the Garden of Sweden, which I most definitely will not get around to tonight.

Stray Toasters

• I have been craving chocolate milk like a madman, lately.
• From Real Tech News: MP3-Eating Worm on the Loose
• Blood, Sweat and Cheers! – Five little-known facts about 300.
• “Are you Lutheran vegansexual?”
  
• And I must have missed a memo about last week being “Bag on Vegans Week,” because I just saw this in Crtl+Alt+Del:
  
• The Best Super-Pregnancies (No, I didn’t make that title up.)
• WizKids will be adding a “Heroes” line – based on the television series – to HeroClix.
• When Amber met Amber
• – Play Infocom Hitchhiker’s text adventure by IM
• The Weird Things People Eat Around the World
• , I saw these and thought of you when I got to the pair in the lower-left corner.

I should finish getting ready and get out of here…

Namaste.

Thursday – 02 August 2007
The back half of yesterday was good. Jason and I went to lunch at La Puente; Perry met us there. After lunch, we paid a visit to the good Doctor’s, where I fed my four-color fever. Then it was back to the workday grind for a few more hours.

I started to watch Dark City last night. For the first time. Interesting movie. Unfortunately, I started it far too late in the evening and wound up nodding off about 30 minutes into it. I will finish it tonight or tomorrow.

This morning, I slept in. A bit unintentional, but it was nice, all the same. And, once I finally got in gear, I was able to have a brief conversation with , which is never a bad way to start the day.

Unfortunately, one of the code monkeys didn’t get the memo about today being NBN Thursday. I walked into the office to find that this person decided to do something stupid. Actually, it was a couple of things, but we can lump them all together into one homogeneous item for this case. (A coworker pointed out that the issue in question happened on Wednesday, so it’s not really a Thursday problem and I can still enjoy the rest of NBN Thursday.) And, apparently, the person-in-question had asked other people about the same issue before deciding to take matters into his own hands. And, I just found out that the person was told where to look to resolve the problem… which means that he either ignored the person who told him that and/or is a complete idiotstick. After talking with a few others about this person, I’m going with Option 2.

Today’s workout went well: Three sets of 205 pounds on the bench press (10 reps/set) followed by 2½ reps of 250 pounds. Apparently, Tuesday’s warm-up set – and the extra weight on the first set – just took any extra UMPH I may have had… and let it dribble out of my ears.

Four-Color Coverage

• Action Comics #853 – Countdown tie-in issue. This issue was another Jimmy Olsen issue, showing him – as Mister Action – going up against The Kryptonite Man. And, Superman does put in an appearance or two in this issue.
• Astro City: The Dark Age – Book 2 #3 – This issue continues the story of Charlie and Royal Williams, two men whose parents were killed during a superhero/villain battle. Charlie became a police officer; Royal a criminal. The series looks at Astro City through their eyes… and their estranged relationship.
• Avengers: The Initiative #4 – “World War Hulk” tie-in issue. Justice and Cloud 9 go on a field trip. Hardball is… moonlighting? And, what happens when you throw heroes-in-training up against Ol’ Jade-jaws and his extraplanetary band of rebels? Um… hello?! You did catch the “World War HULK,” up there, right? Do the math. I also have to give Marvel credit for something: They have brought back a few teen characters that had fallen off the map in recent years. In fact, one of the characters, Ultragirl (1, 2), had her own mini-series about… ten years ago… only to completely disappear until Civil Bore War.
• Countdown: 39 – Karate Kid and Una (the former Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel) want an audience with Oracle. Oracle is a bit busy and doesn’t want visitors. The Legionnaires don’t think that “Come back later” is an acceptable response. Throw in a few pages of the new Suicide Squad, Batwoman and The (new) Question and you have a full issue.
• Justice Society of America #8 – “Bells & Whistles” This issue fleshes out the backstory of Jesse Chambers,the new Liberty Belle. Most of the issue is done in flashbacks, showing her as a young girl and a fledgling heroine. But that’s not where the issue shines. It shines when we see a modern ‘Belle acting as negotiator to Damage, who has Hutner Zolomon – better known as Zoom, the Reverse Flash – hostage… and is looking for a little payback.
• The New Avengers: Illuminati #3 and #4 – The behind-the-scenes powers-that-be shaping the Marvel Universe for a better tomorrow. First, they go up against The Beyonder – think Star Trek: TNG‘s Q, but without the impish qualities – who is apparently undergoing a retcon. *sigh* And then, they take on Kree hothead, Noh-Varr, would-be world conqueror… and Namor whoops his ass a time or three… and, then they make Noh-Varr a proposition.
• Supergirl #20 – We have finally moved past “Finding My Way” Kara and on to “Taking a Stand” Kara in this “Amazons Attack” tie-in issue. And we get to see “Getting My Butt Kicked” Kara, as an added bonus! While I enjoyed the writing – and it’s notably darker-than-usual tone – I wasn’t terribly enamored with Renato Guedes’ interior artwork when I first read through this… but I went back and looked at it again, later. Some of it may seem… simplistic… but there is a lot that is conveyed in the body language. And, some of the close-up shots convey emotion very well: Anger. Pain – physical and emotional. Anguish. Determination. All-in-all, a very solid issue.
• Uncanny X-Men #489 – What happens when the news gets out that a band of mutants is attacking and disfiguring people in the general populace? Oh, and while they may live in the tunnels and sewers beneath New York, they aren’t technophobes – they harness the power of the Internet and “We2UBE” to spread their message of hatred. Yep, the flames of mistrust and hatred just got fanned. And, let me just say that Salvador Larroca can draw Storm any day of the week – and twice on Sunday – as far as I’m concerned.
• World War III #1 – #4 – I finally got around to reading “Black Adam vs. the DCU.” After reading it, I’m not sure that I really needed to spend the money on it, but the deed’s done.
• X-Men: First Class #8 of 8 (limited) – The X-kids go on safari! Their quarry: Professor X. Their guide: Ken Hale, Gorilla Man. Hilarity ensues. (No, really… it does, at times.)
• X-Men: First Class #2 (ongoing) – The X-Kids go up against the rather carnivorous flora and fauna of… Island X.
• X-Men: First Class Special #1 – This book contained three short stories, featuring the fledgling X-Men. The best of the stories was “A Girl and Her Dragon,” a story told by Scott Summers to Kitty Pryde and Lockheed. It started with Kitty chasing Lockheed through the mansion and running into Scott. He then tells her that she is not “the first mutant girl with dragon” and recounts a story about Jean Grey and (the retconned history of) Dragon Man.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I not only enjoyed a Samuel Adams Summer Ale (Thanks, !), but I drank it from my Samuel Adams pint glass that I acquired from J. Butler’s many moons past.
• pointed me in the direction of this site. Cool stuff.
• “trans-orbital trailer home”
• Brain-injured man speaks after 6 years
• Ass-hats and ignoramuses.
• Wow… Firefox didn’t try to correct my spelling on any of the above words.
• 
• For the Whovians – not to be confused with Whoville-ians – Doctor Who Action Figure with R/C K9
• Are people more polite in virtual worlds?
• Dwim: In light of your “Magneto goes where he will!” post, I offer up this: “Magneto goes when he will!”
• Pope Stumpy
• Apple iPhone getting pwn3d in Wired’s Greatest Gadget Tourney
• “You’re naked all of the time. Aren’t you?”
  
• Need something new and different for your walls? Try Tonky Wall Stickers.

/lunch

Namaste.

Whenever I hear It’s All Been Done, and it gets to the verse…

Alone and bored
On a thirtieth century night
Will I see you
On The Price Is Right?
Will I cry?
Will I smile
As you run
Down the aisle?

…images of the Legion (and ther supporting cast) sitting in a holo-studio, with Saturn Girl running down to Contestant’s Row, pop into my head.

And it makes my inner comic geek grin like a fiend.

Sunday – 29 July 2007
Another day in the lovely Utah sun. Temps seem to be creeping back in the triple-digit direction.

So far, it’s been a good day. I was considering going to see You Kill Me, until I found that it is no longer playing in this area. That’s something that drives me nuts: A movie will open locally… in one theatre. And then, it disappears with nary a trace of its passing. I had the same problem last week in trying to find a theatre that was playing Sunshine: Eleventy-seven theatres in the greater Salt Lake City metro area and only one theatre had it. Bah.

Stray Toasters

• I think that I am going to find a place to hole up and draw this afternoon.
• Dad called a little while ago. All’s well with the Mid-Atlantic contingent.
• Someone has posted a link from the Sandy Eggo San Diego Comic Con premiere of the teaser trailer for Iron Man.
• Damn you, Tyranist. *shakes fist*
• I may make a pilgrimage to the Garden of Sweden today or tomorrow.
• 

Over. Under.  Out.

Namaste.

Saturday – 28 July 2007
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

That’s what my sleeping hours were like last night/this morning. It wasn’t horrible – and I didn’t feel exhausted when I finally got up this morning – but it was a little annoying. After dealing with the necessary hygiene rituals I met Perry and Max for coffee this morning.

I tried to work on my new lyric-to-drawing piece today, but didn’t get very far today. I did, however get a good bit done last night. The new piece is based on The Black Crowes’ She Talks to Angels. I finished most of the angel last night: Upper body and wings. Wings. Take. Forever. To. Fill. In. (But, I think that they look good.) I still need to figure out how the positioning for her arms. After I finish that, I have to add the other figure into the piece and that’s going to be a little more involved: I want the other figure to look like my grandmother. Yeah… like I’m not going to be picky/meticulous about how that looks. More so than usual, anyway.

The piece that I interrupted to do this one is based on emmet swimming‘s Ed’s Song. But, I’m putting a small twist on the point of view. More on that later. Maybe. Or maybe it will just be a surprise – at least to those of you who haven’t seen me working on it.

Four-Color Coverage

• Countdown: 40 – Donna Troy, Jason Todd, “Bob,” and Ryan Choi (The new Atom) meet some of the denizens of the subatomic universe. Some rather unfriendly denizens. Hostile and unfriendly, at that. Mary Marvel takes a cruise… kind of. Darkseid masses an army. And is that Ms. Renee Montoya, the new Question, lurking on rooftops?
• Elephantmen #010 – I really can’t say enough good things about this title. The method/manner of storytelling is reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman in many ways. This issue, titled “Unicorn,” featured rhinoceros- based Elephantman, Obidiah Horn. It tells his story in two parts/perspectives: One, harsh and grim, from Obidiah’s… and the other, comparing him to the mythological unicorn.
• Green Lantern Corps #14 – This issue continues the Sinestro Corps War. GL Soranik Natu returns to her home planet, Korugar, to try and bring stability and balance to her people. Unfortunately, Korugarans are leery of Green Lanterns, following their treatment under renegade GL Sinestro’s “leadership.” So, they are a little “less than happy” about Natu’s attempts to help……until Sinestro shows up. But what is he after?
• Love and Capes #5 – I first discovered this title last year… and I like it. Quite a bit, in fact. This issue finds Mark and Abby dealing with… Mark’s parents. I think that one of my favorite exchanges in the issue is between Abby and her sister Charlotte (who knows that Mark is The Crusader):
  

  Charlotte: Don’t worry, I’ve got something that will wake you up.
  Abby: Please tell me it’s something with two creams and three sugars.
  Charlotte: Here you go. *hands Abby a cup of coffee*
  Abby: Thank you. You’re now my favorite little sister.
  Charlotte: Oh, hey– Mark called just before you got here.
  Abby: *to her coffee mug* Come to me, oh sweet, sweet elixir of life that men call “Joe.”
  *to Charlotte* What did Mark say?
  Charlotte: He wanted me to let you know that his mother is coming into town next week.
  Abby: *sputter* What? Mark’s MOM?
  Charlotte: See? I told you I had something to wake you up.
  Abby: You don’t understand, Charlotte. Mrs. Spencer hates me.
  Charlotte: Any particular reason or just general principle?
  Abby: More like multiple choice. Worse yet, she doesn’t say anything outright, she just kind of hints around it. It’s like she has some insidious plan to drive me away, and– –just what is so darned funny?
  Charlotte: *snicker* When you said “insidious” it just clicked– Mark’s mother is your arch-nemesis.

  …although, this post-visit exchange was pretty good, too:

  Mark: Hi, honey!
  Abby: Hey, Mark. How was the airport?
  Mark: Not too crowded. My parents got on with no problems. They told me to tell you “good-bye” for them.
  Abby: I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you. Charlotte couldn’t cover for me today. It’s pretty late though. Was their flight delayed?
  Mark: No, I just wanted to make sure they got home okay, so I followed their airplane to the Ohio border.
  Abby: You do know that planes are statistically speaking the safest way to travel, right?
  Mark: You wouldn’t say that if you’d caught as many of them as I have.

• The Mighty Avengers #4 – Ultron takes on the world… and plans to remake it in its own image. And, as an added caveat, it plans on using Tony Stark’s own technology to help! All while (still) looking like The Wasp. But, the real Ms. VanDyne hasn’t lost any of her spark – While the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. are looking for ways to take down Ultron, they bring in cyberneticist/biophyicisit (and former Avenger AND Wasp’s ex-husband) Hank Pym:
  

  Black Widow (acting as head of S.H.I.E.L.D.): Where is Reed Richards? Can’t he look outside his window and see the world is coming to an end? Carol, go knock on the Baxter Building and see if anyone is home.
  Hank Pym: Actually, although clearly Reed Richards is the biggest brain of all time, in this particular field, I am the world expert.
  Wasp: Sweetie– when the world is about to come to an end because of something you created and lost control of… bragging about how smart you are… not cool.

• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32 – Mekt Ranzz, Star Boy and Sun Boy. On Winath. With U.P. Special Prosecutor Tenzil Kem. Still on the hunt for Cosmic Boy.
  

  Tenzil Kem: Let the record show that Thom Kallor, alias “Star Boy,” confirms incriminating statements made by the fugitive Rokk Krinn, alias “Cosmic Boy.”
  Mekt Ranzz: What record? This is a farm, not a courtroom.
  Tenzil Kem: As an officer of the Adjudication Bureau, I am authorized to conduct field depositions. Everything I lens is part of the official transcript, Mister Ranzz, so you might want to mind your manners. I’ll be arresting Cosmic Boy when we find him. Try to stop me and you jeopardize the Legion’s partnership with the United Planets.
  Sun Boy: Like I care. I quit the Legion, Mister Kim.
  Tenzil Kem: That’s Kem. Tenzil Kem. And I know all about you… Dirk Morgna — alias “Sun Boy” — current leader of a noted meta-terrorist cell.
  Sun Boy: They aren’t terrorists. Not anymore.
  Tenzil Kem: Don’t worry, I’m only after the guy who blew up the Dominators.
  Mekt Ranzz: And what if we don’t let you have him?
  Tenzil Kem: Mekt Ranzz. Lightning Lad’s big brother. I know all about you, too.
  Mekt Ranzz: If you did, you’d get as far from me as possible.
  Star Boy: We’re wasting time here. Bottom line, Mister Prosecutor — We’d all be dead if not for Cosmic Boy. If we find Cos and you lay a hand on him, I will drop you where you stand.
  *breep breep*
  Star Boy: What’s that?
  Tenzil Kem: My glasses have a built-in lie detector. Don’t make empty threats, Star Boy. Not to me.
  Mekt Ranzz: Tell me if this is a lie– You stay out of my way, or I’ll poke my finger in your eye and cook your sprokkin’ brain. *lightning arcs from his fingertip*
  *Mekt and Kem stare at each other*
  Mekt Ranzz: Whaddaya know… it works.

  And… what is the Cult of Validus?

• Superman #665 – This issue was a bit of a two-for-one filler issue: It serves as a bit of a bridge to Jimmy’s current goings-on in Countdown and it gives background into “When Jimmy met Superman” and how Jimmy came to be known as “Superman’s Pal.” Not an entirely bad retcon of young Mr. Olsen’s origins.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #44 – The FF versus the Silver Surfer… again. Still. Or something like that. Although, in this case, the Surfer doesn’t seem to be the herald of Galactus (or however they spell it in the Ultimate universe).

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the Matriarch for a bit this morning. All is well.
• I talked to Kris. She’s (still) packing for her pending move; aside from things being a bit hectic, she’s doing well. On top of that, she will be living minutes from Pro Player Stadium… where the Dolphins play. Not that she’s a ‘fins fan, but… she is a Ravens fan. And guess who’s playing the Dolphins in December? Mm-hmm, that’s right! She’s looking into getting us tickets for that game.
• I also chatted with the too-infrequently seen/heard from <lj user=”yerac”> this afternoon.
• WTF!?: The 8 Strangest Communities on the Web
• By way of comes Unfortunate Placement of Yahoo! Ad

Time to go play in the sunshine some more.

Wednesday (coda)
Crossposting seems to be back on track, so let’s give this a go, shall we…?

The day was good. Work wasn’t bad and I had plenty to keep me occupied. That’s never a bad thing, “idle hands” and whatnot. At lunch, I fed not only myself, but also my four-color crack addiction… with a single serving of plastic crack as dessert. Total win-win situation.

Came home and read a bit of Deathly Hallows. I’m seven chapters in. Stuff has happened. Spells have been cast. And monkeys! Flying monkeys! Wait… that was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Nevermind.

Stray Toasters

• I am appalled by this story: Man dies of heart attack after VA hospital turned him away. I would like to hear both sides of the story, as there is possibly more to it than…
  

  The unidentified person who answered the phone inside the hospital said the ambulance should take the patient to a hospital located about three miles — or 10 minutes — away.

  …but that a medical center would turn away a patient? Granted, from the “transcript” of what the paramedic said, there is no indication that she or he said that the victim was suffering a heart attack. Hopefully, the truth will come out in the next few days.

• Samuel Adams: Brewer. Patriot. Homeboy.
• 
• Queen guitarist wraps studies for doctorate
  “So what are you, some kind of rocket scientist…?”
  “Well, as a matter of fact, yes… yes, I am.”
• From the “Truth, stranger than fiction” file: Nude blonde, gold stilettos and a Ferrari
• , I’m not sure if you’ve heard this: Weekly World News dies after 28 years of awesum, Bat Boy bummed
• With The Simpson Movie just around the corner and this being the 30th Anniversary of the release of a little film by George Lucas, this seemed appropos: I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection
• I’m rockin’ the suburbs…
• And a little somethin’ for the math majors out there:

That’s good for now. Maybe I’ll go check out the invasion.

Pax vobiscum.

Wednesday – 25 July 2007
Thank you to and onlyaly for their kind hospitality last evening. They had people over for a cookout and to watch the Cottonwood Heights fireworks display.

and Beth challenged and me to a warped version of Six Degrees of Separation. The two challenges they presented us were:

• Trent Harris to Elvis Costello
• William Shatner to Denis Leary

We managed to make both connections.

Stray Toasters

• Dwim sent me a link to this. Please check your sanity at the door…
• Snapple, Advil and Denis Leary
• Sign up for Explosives Camp
• We’re getting a reprieve on the high temperatures again today; it’s supposed to be around 85°
• Trailers from Hell: Directors muse on schlocky movie faves
• From Newsarama: Crossover? Ka-ching!
• Old Harry Potter Is Back in Troll Remake

In the words of Kool Moe Dee: “I go to work.”

Namaste.