Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

Apr 27

“You are a veritable cesspool of useless trivial knowledge.”

everyday glory, games, music, news and info No Comments »

Friday – 27 April 2007
This is it.  The end of the week.  Amen.

So far, the day’s going fairly well.  I am thinning out the blood in my caffeinestream.  I didn’t have to wrangle road monkeys – PoW or otherwise – this morning.  There were people paragliding off Traverse Mountain.  And it’s been quiet here at the ranch.
I spent a portion of last night hanging with Kate, Perry and the kids.  It was a nice way to wind down after work.  Then I went home and vegged.  And it was good.  I even managed to catch the rare and elusive online; we chatted for a bit.  She makes me laugh… even if she did say that the outfit that I (currently) have Dhoruba in makes him look like a gay Mr. T.

Winged Justice
After that, I took Corvus Nox to Paragon City.

You know it’s hard out there for a pimp Level 10 hero.  I couldn’t find anyone from my supergroup online, so it took some time to find a team.  I was invited to join a group for missions in The Hollows.  My big complaint about The Hollows: They expect low level characters to run – RUN – across the zone to a mission… and avoid higher-level bad guys in the process… and not die.  *sigh*  Or in my case: Hover.  We had a member with teleport for one of the missions, that was a boon.  WHen he left, however… it was back to hover-ifficness.  Wa.  Hoo.
The team – actually “teams” – I was on was/were good.  I was worried in a couple of cases because we were heavy with Tankers and Defenders… and only one blaster, at one point.  Typically, you want to have a well-rounded team – especially one with members who can do some ranged damage, hence my concern.  I shouldn’t have been quite so worried – we did pretty well.  Yes, we died a few times, but not as frequently as I had originally feared.

I even managed to add a couple more levels and make it to Security Level 12 before I logged out.

Stray Toasters

  • I am craving something.  I think it’s cotton candy.
  • Why isn’t the new Legion set of ‘Clix out yet?!?  Oh, wait… it’s not June.  *sigh*
  • Super-Ventriloquism.  This may actually push Hover out of the “second most-stupid superpower ever” slot.   Tyranist disagrees; he thinks it is the – and I quote – “Worst. Power. Ever.”
  • Speaking of Tyranist, he introduced me to a song from EuroTrip called Scotty Doesn’t Know.  It cracked me up.  Even worse: About halfway through the song, I started picturing Cyclops as the Scotty in the song… and Jean and Logan as Fiona and the lead singer.  That made me laugh even more.
  • 301 Useless Facts (not all of which have been verified, so take them with a grain of salt)
    I found these most interesting: 11, 20, 29, 37, 49, 53, 92, 104, 111, 117, 124, 126, 145, 149, 168, 175, 176, 179, 183, 204, 246, 256 and 289.
  • By way of Wired: Is ‘Internet Normal’ the New ‘Sex Normal’?
  • – Jack Valenti dies at 85
  • I was able to find (because I finally remembered to look for) the long video for Janet Jackson’s Alright, featuring Heavy D.
  • Chuck Berry’s My Ding-A-Ling makes me laugh.  And sing along.  Every time.
  • The 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time

Back to it.

Namaste.

Apr 20

“sun dogs fire on the horizon, meteor rain stars across the night…”

comics and animation, everyday glory, games, news and info, science and technology No Comments »

Friday – 20 April 2007
And, since it’s 4-20, let’s get this out of the way now…

And, with that out of the way…

Last night, I had to return to Fiddler’s Elbow. Why? Because I had apparently been double-charged… no, triple-charged for dinner the other night. So, I went to clear things up. The manager was shocked, to say the least, but she found the problem and explained what she thought had happened. However, there’s really nothing that can be done until the charge tries to clear my bank — which she explained should go through with the proper amount. All I can do now is wait and see. It was a little irritating – and a bit inconvenient – but nothing bad enough to throw off the NBN part of Thursday.

After that, all I wanted to do was go home. And, I did. I ordered a pizza and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening, since CSI: was a repeat. to the rescue! She had picked up the second season of The West Wing from the library, so she brought it over and we watched a couple episodes. That was such a good show; it’s too bad that Aaron Sorkin wasn’t there for the end – I would be interested to see how it would have been different had be been there.

The Scales of Justice
Post-Wing, The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets of Paragon City.

After a little aimless wandering, and a conversation with VikingPrincess, I was invited to join a team. A team on which no one had any missions, except me. So… we ran my mission. It was tied into the last story arc (find the missing Kheldians)… but this time, we were up against The Council. We died. A few times. But, we did complete the mission.
Stray Toasters

Namaste.

Apr 18

“Beyond the rim of starlight…”

comics and animation, dining and cuisine, everyday glory, games, news and info No Comments »

Wednesday – 18 April 2007
Yesterday, I left work a little later than I had planned.  It happens.  I had to come home because, in all of my brilliance, I neglected to consider the benefits of taking a pair of jeans to work with me.  Home.  Changed.  Off on [my] way, hit the open road… and made my way to the driving range.  , onlyaly and Chris were already there.  I didn’t do so well with the 2-iron.  The 5-iron was… okay, as was the 7-iron.  My trusty 5-wood was, once again, my best friend.

And, I finally got to test drive my 1-wood/driver.  Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…!  When I managed to pull off a good swing and make a solid connection, the ball moved.  Nicely.  I still need to get a bit of practice in with it – this was the first range I’ve been on that allowed the use of a driver.  But, I can see that I’m going to enjoy using that club.

After the range, onlyaly, and I headed to Fiddler’s Elbow for dinner.  I don’t think that I’ve been there since I lived in – or shortly after I moved out of – Sugar House.  Nice place.  I’ll have to keep it on the “Places to Remember for Lunch/Dinner” List.  Good dinner and conversation.

After dinner, I met my friend, Emily – whom I haven’t seen in a proverbial month of Sundays – for coffee.  And then home again, home again.  Jiggety-jig.

Stray Toasters

Out-of-Context Quote of the Day

“…throwing a strap over my head and going to town.”

Namaste.

Apr 17

“I don’t know what to say, the monkeys won’t do!”

everyday glory, games, monkeys! No Comments »

Tuesday – 17 April 2007
Today started late.

No, that’s not right.

I started the day late. There, that’s better. I slept in this morning. A little more than I had intended, but hey… it’s sleep. I opted to skip coffee this morning; we’ll see how wise a decision that was.

While most of the road monkeys behaved themselves – as much as they ever do – there was one standout in the crowd. Brave. Bold. Stupid. I’m not sure which, but he was definitely marching to his own drummer. Coming out of Salt Lake County into Utah County on I-15, you drive down the southern face of Traverse Mountain. There was a line of semis (most of which were hauling two trailers) in the second lane from the right. Near the front of this line, a van slides in between two of the semis. And I do mean “slide.” There couldn’t have been more than four feet of space between the van and the semi that he pulled in front of. And the semi didn’t slow down. I don’t know if the van driver had balls of steel or a really good supply of Depends®, but he stayed right there. Four feet in front of that semi. And didn’t flinch.

Last night was D&D night. We started late – and there was a good bit of tangentially related silliness involved – but we did accomplish part of our goal – we made it to a dragon’s lair. (No, Dirk the Daring wasn’t there, nor was Singe or Princess Daphne.) The dragon, however, was quite dead. Actually, it was a bit undead. But that’s another story. Another reason that we went was to seek out a particular sword. While others in the party were talking, I decided to check some notes that I’d written a couple of months ago… because there was something in the back of my head that said “Something about this isn’t quite right.” Then I saw it: We had been told – in fairly certain terms – that the sword we were after had been stolen from the dragon’s lair a few centuries back. So, that part of the trip was a wash. *braincramp* We may be able to get a lead on who took it and/or where it went, but we’re effectively back at Square One on the sword quest. Yay.

Tonight brings a trip the driving range. The Shadowrun game is going on hiatus, for the time being. (This means that I don’t have to rush at the range tonight. Bonus!)
Stray Toasters

  • I know that I’ve called Hover the second most-stupid super power ever, behind super-breath, but this made me chuckle:
  • Speaking of Shadowrun, this is what happens when people can’t separate their “real life” from their “fantasy life.”
  • “That’s no access tunnel. But you’ll find that out about… now.” *zombie attack*
  • How come you never hear about anyone getting eaten by a grue anymore?

Namaste.

Apr 16

“Prophet Six-Zero-Zero-Nine-One…”

everyday glory, games, music No Comments »

Monday – 16 April 2007
Back on the chain gang… (with apologies to The Pretenders).  So far, it’s been a pretty decent day, for a Monday, that is.  If nothing else, it’s Mocha Monday at B&B.  This means thirty-two ounces of triple-shot laden frozen mocha goodness.  Amen.

I just got back from my morning constitutional.  Nomad kept me on a good pace with the following offerings:

  • Duran Duran – Wild Boys
  • emmet swimming – Judas
  • Poe – Angry Johnny

I remember seeing Poe live at The Big Shindig in June of 1997.  Before she started her set, a guy with an electric cello came onstage, sat down and started to play.  I don’t recall what he played, but it was classical… definitely a bit “out of sorts/out of place” for an all-day concert.  He played a few songs and then… he… broke into the bass line of Angry Johnny.  You could see the looks of disbelief on peoples’ faces – mine included – as they realized what he was playing.

I don’t know exactly what I did yesterday, but I did something to my right arm while at the driving range yesterday: My right bicep hurts.  It’s roughly the same feeling I get after a good workout with dumbbell/barbell curls.  But, there’s just something… wrong… about saying that you injured yourself playing golf.  I mean, is there a less-intensive sport out there?  It’s golf.  And not even “real golf.”  Just the driving range.  Stand.  Swing.  That’s it.  My sides hurt last week, from the twisting motion.  That was understandable.  But, this…?  I got nothing.

Today’s musical offering: Hooverphonic – 2 Wicky

Namaste.

Apr 14

“Join together with the band…”

everyday glory, games, music No Comments »

Saturday – 14 April 2007
So far, it’s been a very lazy day. It started with a rebroadcast of “The Substitutes” on Legion of Super Heroes. I slept through one episode of The Batman and half-watched the second.

I’m not sure what to do with the rest of my afternoon. I’m tempted to grab the clubs and find a driving range.

Stray Toasters

Time to play in the sunshine.

Namaste.

Apr 13

“Look in to the eye of the storm… Look out for the force without form…”

everyday glory, games, geekery, music, toys No Comments »

Friday – 13 April 2007
Last night, I started on the new lyric drawing. I’m about halfway done… unless I decide to get OCD about one of the sections. We’ll see how that goes.

This morning started early. Well, what should ostensibly be my “normal” time… but hasn’t been for the better part of the week. It also started with a chalice of frozen mocha goodness and a quick stop in the north office.

Then the fun began.

Actually, the fun began before this but the story isn’t as good if I didn’t word it that way. *shrug* As the song says, “Time is a spiral, space is a curve.” So, by that rationale, I can make this as non-linear as I so choose.

The race with the road monkeys was fraught with obstacles. You would think that they could climb, swing, jump or otherwise avoid said obstacles. Apparently, I gave them far too much credit. There were three roadside incidents, one on the I-15 southbound collector from I-215, two on southbound I-15. And all of them – ALL of them – brought with them the phenomenon known as “spectator slowing.” Seriously, that’s how the radio stations here refer to it. For those who can’t suss it out from the name: “Spectator slowing” occurs when commuters slow – nearly to the point of stopping – to stare at an accident or someone getting a ticket… or someone who’s pulled onto the shoulder to make a phone call. And Utahns are no-no-notorious (notorious!) for doing it. In fact, the “second” incident on I-15 was caused by spectator slowing tied to the first I-15 incident.

So, the commute had pockets of stop-and-go flow. (There’s a bad joke in there to the effect of “See your doctor if this describes your symptoms…”). Knowing how the road monkeys often react, I’m sure that there were a lot of angry commuters in their shiny metal boxes. I, on the other hand, was cool with the whole thing. Why? Because the technopathic link with Nomad was in full effect again this morning:

  • Rush – The Body Electric
  • Rush – New World Man
  • Madonna – Die Another Day (while possibly not a “great” song, it’s one I like AND it was quite possibly the best part of the movie by the same name)
  • Rush – Kid Gloves
  • Led Zeppelin – Rock and Roll (I think Nomad chose this solely for the fact that we were in the CTS… and it’s a good song)
  • Rush – Turn the Page
  • Rush – Force Ten
  • David Bowie – I’m Afraid of Utah Drivers Americans
  • Parliament – P-Funk (I Wants to Get Funked Up)

In that order. Without me having to skip through songs. I am seriously beginning to think that ‘s sentient Winamp technogeist has taken up residence in Nomad. Which is cool… as long as it doesn’t start trying to reshape the Federation in its image. But, the fact that it was pumping out good music just meant that the traffic jams were allowing me more time to enjoy it.

Stray Toasters

Quote of the Day
This came from Tuesday night’s aborted gaming session:

and I started talking about our characters in City of Heroes/Villains. At one point, while I was talking about Nefer-Tem and his new abilities, he looked at me and this exchange came about…

nox_aeternus: Is it not true that when you go from running around half-naked, showing off your manly chest, to your Kheldian form, you are a nebulous ball of purple energy?
shadorunr: No, I’m a squid.
nox_aeternus: Are you sure?
shadorunr: Yes.
nox_aeternus: Because, when I saw you, I half-expected to see you hanging out around Prince’s groin.

Namaste.

Apr 12

“Everybody has a little secret he keeps…”

cyberpunk/steampunk, everyday glory, games, geekery No Comments »

Thursday – 12 April 2007
Last night, I played Battlefield 2142 for the first time since God was a boy.  Okay, it hadn’t been that long, but it had been since early January.  I met up with the rest of team and we exchanged bullets, rockets, and grenades with opposing forces.  It was fun.  I do, however, need to remember to turn Multiplicity off before playing – the mouse kept tracking over to Intrepid at inopportune moments.
I woke up with a phenomenal (do DO do-do-do) headache this morning.  I decided to take some Aleve and sleep in.  That seemed to do the trick, for the most part.  I still have a slight twinge, but not nearly as bad as it was earlier.

I’m not sure if the headache was contagious or if I’m developing a new level of technopathy, but Nomad was a bit cross this morning, too:

  • David Bowie – Look Back in Anger
  • Rush – War Paint
  • MC 900 Foot Jesus – While the City Sleeps
  • Prince – Electric Chair

That’s right, my iPod is apparently not to be trifled with.

Quote of the Day (so far)
Excerpted from a conversation with :

[10:33] shadorunr: So..
[10:33] shadorunr:  I saw [this]
[10:33] shadorunr: And the first thing in my head was
[10:33] shadorunr: “Vagina Dentata…….”
[10:33] shadorunr: To the tune of Hakuna Matata
[10:33] shadorunr: Hell.
[10:34] shadorunr: Handbasket.
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: hahahaahahaahahahahahahahaha
[10:34] nyx_hemsut: I loves you 😀

And that’s that.

Namaste.

Apr 09

“You can’t name a planet ‘Bob’…!”

comics and animation, everyday glory, games, geekery, toys No Comments »

Monday – 09 April 2007
I, very unintentionally, slept in this morning.  Apparently, Saturday night’s lack of sleep, coupled with Sunday morning’s early awakening, caught up with me.  Sleep Hard: With a Vengeance (coming soon to a theatre near you!)  The rest of the day was cake.  Aside from the road monkeys, there were no other monkey antics in the day.  I consider that a plus.

After work, I met at ‘ders.  I thought about starting a new drawing, but I didn’t have anything in mind to work on.  So, I thumbed through magazines.  I also found a plethora of interesting links that I want to explore.  And, I think that I have a couple of lyric-to-drawing ideas.  I need to give them some consideration.

And, of course, I watched the Jack Bauer show.  *beep*…*beep*…*beep*…*beep*… (fade to black)

Stray Toasters

  • I had far more fun on the driving range than I think should be allowed.  Especially since my swing and accuracy are very inconsistent.  Very.  After whacking a few golf balls down the range, I tried my hand at the putting green.  There were no windmills or clown faces, but it still was not a piece of cake.  At one point, I tried a long putt.  While I was lining up my shot, I had an image of Electronic Arts’ PGA Tour Golf (for the SEGA Genesis, of course) putting green, with hash marks and lines denoting the lie of the green.  It made me laugh.  (Sidebar: I didn’t know that EA had acquired a company in the SLC area.  Apparently, they did it last year.)
  • League of Marvels: Denouement – Custom-crafted figures, done in the style of an alternate Marvel Universe. (, check out the Kurt Wagner figure.)
  • For some reason, saying “nukerate” amuses me much more than simply saying “microwave.”
  • A few years ago, I picked up a copy of Dragon Magazine Archive, the first 250 issues of Dragon Magazine on CD.  I was perusing a few issues today and read some of the comic strips in the “Dragonmirth” section.  On a whim, I decided to see if I could find any information on a couple of the strips online.  I found more than information on two of them, I found websites: Yamara and Twilight Empire.
  • By way of (not to be confused with Sgt. Trellos from Squad 003): The 10 Worst PCs of All Time
  • All that I can say to or about this is, “Amen.”
  • I was explaining “non-sequitur” to someone the other day, when the name “Non-sequiturial Guinea” popped into my head.  I wonder if Equitorial Guinea would mind changing their name and, if so, what their flag would look like.
  • It all makes sense now…  (Thanks,
  • …speaking of which, The Temple of Sweden’s name is now in place on the eastern face of the building.  Selah.
  • and Tyranist‘s comments about Grindhouse make me want to see it. Even more.
  • The new interactive maps on Weather Channel.com are interesting.
  • And, while we’re talking about the weather, WHY is it that we had temps in the 70s last week… and 40s now?!
  • …of course, I guess that it could be worse:
  • Does anyone else remember this cartoon?

    • Namaste.

    Apr 07

    “You sank my battleship!”

    comics and animation, everyday glory, games, music No Comments »

    Saturday – 07 April 2007
    Trying out Axis & Allies: War at Sea yesterday was fun. I played an Allied fleet, comprised of:

    Chris used a mixed Axis fleet, with four ships and a squadron of planes. We didn’t fight a historical battle, instead we fought for three objective points. I took out his planes, which happened to be bombers, in my first attack. He retaliated by taking out the Baltimore and Javelin in his next couple attacks. That’s not what one would consider a very auspicious start… even for a beginner. I was left with the Rodney and the planes. Against a battleship, a cruiser, an aircraft carrier, and a destroyer (I think). The carrier couldn’t really do any damage to me, so it was a bit of a non-factor. The rest of the fleet could be… troublesome. Fortunately, I the Luck Lords of Ventura were apparently with me: I wound up destroying the three main ships while his carrier hid behind an island.

    Clitorati was good. I couldn’t get my head into drawing last night, so it was all about the socializing. Both and Ms. onlyaly made quote-worthy comments. I don’t think I’ll post the former… and I can’t remember the latter.  The crossword in this week’s City Weekly gave me a bit of a problem.  More specifically, the clue “donut like” was the primary antagonist.  I couldn’t figure out what 7-letter answer they wanted.   I had “OS_APED” staring me in the face for the longest time before I sussed out that it was supposed to be “OSHAPED.”  As in “O-shaped.”  As in “shaped like an O,” which most donuts are.  *sigh*  I’m a genius.
    Last night, after Clitorati and trying to play a little CoH (detailed below), I hit the rack around… 1:30 or 2:00. And was awake at 4-something. And 7:00. Sharp. And a little after 8:00. And a little before 9:00. I hope that’s not an augury of how the rest of the day is going to be.

    This morning, I watched the rebroadcast of “Lightning Storm” on today’s Legion of Super Heroes. I noticed something in the Legion tryouts that I had missed the first time: Fire Lad, Polar Boy and Night Girl – all members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes – were there.

    And in a couple of other Legion-related items, : Click here and here.
    The Scales of Justice
    After getting home last night, I decided to go on patrol in Paragon City. I joined a team with a couple members of my Super Group and we took on The Freakshow. It was a little tough, we could have used some backup… but we did alright.

    Until we got to the second floor of the building.

    Then, two things happened:

    1. We started getting our butts kicked. Repeatedly. Badly. Painfully.
    2. Two of us started nodding off… in the middle of fights.

    That’s not exactly a good combination. So, we scrubbed the mission. And I went to bed.

    Stray Toasters

    Time to go play in the sunshine for a bit.  Or something like that.

    Namaste.

    Apr 06

    “And the rockets’ red glare…”

    everyday glory, games, geekery, music No Comments »

    Friday – 06 April 2007
    Today’s been good. A cup of frozen mocha goodness in hand, I raced the monkeys to A.F. They weren’t too badly behaved, either. Of course, I had the help of a good driving soundtrack to distract me. The morning was low-key and quiet… just right for a Friday morning.

    We just finished a team-building exercise. Quake III. Eight players. Lots of weaponry. Lots of (virtual) running around. It was fun. This may have to become an irregular regular Friday lunchtime feature.

    After work, I’m heading over to Chris’ to check out Axis & Allies: War at Sea before heading to Clitorati.

    Stray Toasters

    • I neglected to mention that I picked up 24: Season Two a few nights ago. $20 USD. Unfortunately, none of the other seasons were similarly marked down.
    • Prices for ‘.com’ and ‘.net’ will rise
    • I watched The Call of Cthulhu the other day. It was modern silent movie, made to look and feel like it had been made in the 20s. It did a good job of evoking the feel of the times, too.
    • Opticon (live)
    • Not just a new Hall of Justice…

      (larger images: 1, 2)

      …but a new Watchtower, too…

    • Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body line
      Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the time
      Work, work, work, Senora, work your body line
      Work, work, work, Senora, work it all the time
    • By way of Derek: Origins of Rock Band Names
    • Echo-X: The artwork of Echo Chernik

    Namaste.

    Apr 05

    The tyranny of evil men… or women

    comics and animation, everyday glory, games, geekery No Comments »

    Thursday – 05 April 2007
    Another bright, sunny day in the valleys of the Land of Zion.  I actually got more than a couple hours’ sleep last night, which definitely comes under the heading of “a good thing.”  Getting up and out the door wasn’t too much of an ordeal, either.  The road monkeys weren’t flinging poo.  And, the path to caffeination zen has been a smooth one.  Not a bad way to kick off a Thursday, I must say.

    On the way home, last night, I picked up my weekly dose of four-color crack – more on that below. Then, I headed home to decide how best to spend the evening.  Apparently, that translated into “Take a forty-minute nap.”  I can’t say that it wasn’t needed.  I also needed to eat.  Post-nap, and I went to Fascist Place to assault the food court.  (I never said that I wanted something “good for me.”)  Then, we wandered around the mall.  Here’s a question for those of you who are familiar with See’s Candy: Does anyone remember a candy that they (used to) sell that fits this description:

    • Chocolate base, about 1″ square
    • A thin layer of marshmallow on top of the chocolate
    • A green mint “jelly” on top of the marshmallow

    Someone sent me a box of them many, many rains ago… but I haven’t seen them since.  I seem to recall that they arrived somewhere around Easter, or at least in Spring.  If anyone remembers this candy and/or knows what they were called, I’d appreciate any information on it.  Thanks.

    After the mall, it was off to Borders.  I really wanted to finish the drawing that I’ve been working on.  And I did.  Finally.  It’s not necessarily a masterpiece, but I’m happy with the way it turned out.  I was going to scan a picture of it last night… but that didn’t happen.  I’ll try to get to it tonight.

    Four-Color Coverage
    As I mentioned above, I picked up this week’s offerings from my local comics emporium.  I don’t know what happened or who kicked people in the pants, but the books this week were all pretty good… even the one title that I wasn’t planning getting – Avengers: The Initiative, a Civil Bore aftermath title – was good.  Here’s this week’s breakdown:

    • 52: Week Forty-Eight – This was a Renee Montoya issue.  She finally comes into her own as the new Question.  We all knew that it was coming, but it’s been interesting to watch as she came to realize – and accept – that she the fact.
    • Avengers: The Initiative #1 – What happens when the U.S. Government decides to license and train metahumans to use their powers safely and effectively?  And give them a chance to step up and be part of the senior team?  You find out here.  That’s right…. welcome to The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.  Wait… wrong book.  Welcome to Camp Hammond.  Okay, there we are.  It’s not all fun and games, though.  Instead, think: “superhuman boot camp,” and you’ll get the idea.  There was even a Starship Troopers-like accident during one of the training exercises.  I was shocked… and a little impressed by the fact that they did that.  I’m not sure if I’ll continue to collect this – Marvel’s lost a bit of their luster for me, lately – but I’ll probably give it another couple of issues to see where it goes.
    • Justice League of America #7 – For all my opinions about JLA #6 and that it was what the new direction was all about… I was wrong.  It was this issue.  The latest incarnation of the JLA finally – officially – came together as a team.  One member finally “graduated” to the senior class.  One potential member shared a possibly dangerous secret with a former teammate.  And there even may be a romance in the offing.  And, the last two pages seem to be tie-in with some pages from Justice Society of America, setting up the upcoming crossover: Lightning Storm – an arc that will unify the legacies of the JLA, and the JSA with the Legion.
    • Supergirl #16 – Finally.  FINALLY!!!  We now see why it is that Little Miss Argo is so messed up.  It’s an interesting look at the introduction of the Phantom Zone, from the point of view of Zor-El, brother of Superman’s father, Jor-El.  There is still a little bit to go to unravel full mystery of Kara’s psyche, but we’re finally on the yellow brick road.  Next stop: Oz.  Or the Fortress of Solitude.  Or somewhere.  But, even with all of this… this is probably the weakest issue of the week.  The weak?  (The strangest of the strange?  The queerest of the queer…  Do do do do-do-dooo)
    • Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 – The new/latest Dominator war comes to a head.  The Legion and the Wanderers square off against the Dominators’ armies.  The teams are splintered.  And battered.  And definitely on the thin edge of the wedge.  Not to mention Cosmic Boy and Triplicate Girl are both subjected to some fairly brutal torture – at one point, I wondered if Trip would be changing her name; it would have been a very interesting twist on the original story.  And, was that Polar Boy with The Wanderers (Threeboot)?!
    • Superman #661 – A Superman/Wonder Woman story… featuring Lois Lane.  You’d think that with two of the three members of DC’s trinity in the story, Lois might get overshadowed.  Nope.  Granted, she doesn’t have a lot of “screen time,” but she does hold her own with Clark and Diana.  It was an interesting one-off story, but far from a “bad” one.
    • Superman/Batman #33 – This issue was the wrap-up of what I’m referring to as the “Black Rock Invasion.”  I was a little surprised at how quickly/tidily the story concluded.  In fact, it included a plot hole that was large enough to pilot a Khundian battlewagon through.  And given that hole, one wonders if there’s a way to bring a certain Infinite Crisis villain back to the fore in the DCU…  Hmm.  Not a horrible story, but possibly the second-weakest of the week.  On the plus side, though, it did show an interesting side of the Bruce/Clark relationship and it also showed a more light-hearted Bruce Wayne than we’ve seen in recent years.

    Scales of Justice
    The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets – and sewers – of Paragon City last night.  The objectives: Follow-up on the missing Kheldians… and hit Level 20.  Both objectives were accomplished.  It also turned out that the Kheldian mission was the last of that storyline.

    I trained up to Level 20 and got my new power: Black Dwarf.  This means a new form and six new powers.  I didn’t test them out; I’ll do that this evening.

    Stray Toasters

    Namaste.

    Apr 03

    “I don’t know what to say, the monkeys won’t do!”

    everyday glory, games, monkeys!, movies and TV No Comments »

    Tuesday – 03 April 2007
    Another bright, shiny morning in the Land Behind the Zion Curtain.  The morning begins – as all mornings should – with a cup of frozen mocha goodness.  Two shots.  Selah.  The race with the road monkeys wasn’t bad, but it was amusing: As I was getting onto I-15 from the I-215 interchange, I watched as four monkeys attempted the impossible (at least according to modern physics) – They tried to put themselves into the same space at the same time.  I noted this to coworker John and we came up with what I think would make good copy for an UCBD ad campaign on “How To Be an Ass-Monkey to Your Fellow Drivers”:

    Drive offensively among others before they drive offensively unto you.

    Of course, there would be ads for “How To Be a Sensible Driver,” as well.  Or we could just take it on faith that people have a modicum of common sense.  Or would that be giving them too much credit?

    There was no game last night.  Instead, I hung out with Frankie and watched 24, an episode of Homicide and Hustle & Flow.  I hadn’t seen Hustle & Flow before… and I can’t figure out why I waited.  It was a good movie.  Very good.  Terrence Howard – and the rest of the cast – did an excellent job.  This is the second Craig Brewer movie that I’ve seen in the past month or so… and I have enjoyed them both.

    The Scales of Justice
    Last night,  The Hand of Nefer-Tem led a small team into The Hollows for a couple of missions against The Council and some Trolls.  Beatings were dispensed.  Justice was served.  The missions also advanced the missing Kheldians storyline.

    …and I’m a short way from Level 20.  Which means that I need to start thinking about Costume #2, which will again be civilian clothes.  I haven’t settled on a look yet, but I think that I might go with something more casual and possibly a little more ethnic, in keeping with Nefer-Tem’s background.

    Stray Toasters

    Back to it.

    Namaste.

    Apr 01

    Happiness is a warm paintball gun

    comics and animation, everyday glory, games No Comments »

    Saturday – 31 March 2007
    Today was nice. Sunny. Warm-ish. Blue skies with a few high clouds.

    I woke up… and proceeded to find a comfy spot on the couch. I watched today’s episode of Legion of Super-Heroes. After that, I headed out to meet nyx hemsut for coffee, chat and drawing. I got more done on the latest drawing… but it still needs some work. However, I’m pleased with the progress. I’m not sure how detailed it’s going to wind up being, because one of the things I thought of would make part of the picture as (relatively) detailed as the brickwork and balustrade on this drawing. After a couple of quick stops, I came home to get a change of clothes and then headed to everydave‘s house to get ready for…

    …asdf_cat‘s bachelor party shindig. Which included paintball. It was the first time that I’ve played paintball. It was more fun than should be allowed. During one of the games, I got tagged in the back of the head – thankfully, I was wearing a cap, but it still stung a bit – and in the lower back. That one still stings a little. Post-paintball, we headed back to everydave‘s for food, drinks, Wii gaming and poker. We played two games of poker: A free-for-all game and a “tournament.” I was the second or third person out of the free-for-all, but I hung in for third place in the tourny.

    All-in-all, it was a rather good day.

    Four-Color Coverage
    As I’ve mentioned before: I am enjoying the Legion cartoon. Today’s episode, “The Substitutes,” introduced the Legion of Substitute Heroes. And the villain du jour was Starfinger, although I didn’t care for the spin they put on him; he came off as… much more of a buffon than he was in the comics. But, there was still a lot to like about the episode.

    However, I was reminded of something that has bothered me about the cartoon since I started watching it: The show is called “Legion of Super-Heroes.” This is the logo for the show:

    The “problem” I have is with the S-shield in the logo. That’s Superman’s logo/insignia, not the Legion’s. The Legion insignia is this (slightly stylized, but you get the idea):

    I am fairly certain that I understand “why” they did it: Superman has greater name recognition in the general public than the Legion does. And as he, as Superboy, was a member of the Legion, they are hoping to use said public awareness to draw Superman fans to the Legion. It makes sense. But, the Legion is a team. A big team. It’s not “Team Superman,” however. Nor do I think that it should be treated as such. But, Superman – as he’s called in the series, due to a legal conflict over the rights to the name “Superboy” – features rather prominently in each of the three episodes that I’ve seen. He’s not the team leader, which is good, in my opinion… but he’s pretty much always there/around.

    On the positive side: They are doing a good job of blending different versions of the Legion in the show. Case in point: Today’s episode featured the results of the Legion tryouts. The new inductees were Star Boy and Matter-Eater Lad (hey, I didn’t name them). The Star Boy they are using is the one from the v5 Legion, as opposed to the Bronze/Silver Age Star Boy. The episode also featured Blok, Sun Boy and Tyroc, who hasn’t been seen in costume since the 80s, if I remember correctly.

    All-in-all, I shouldn’t complain too much. After all, there finally is a Legion cartoon. And, it’s not bad.

    Namaste.

    Mar 30

    “We move… five meter spread, no sound.”

    everyday glory, games No Comments »

    Friday – 30 March 2007
    Four down and roughly five hours to go.

    I have frozen mocha goodness, it’s Friday and we’re about to have a team-building, no… make that “team-fragging”… exercise.  HALO/HALO 2.  Selah.  Yeah, that’s the making for a good end-of-the-week.

    Stray Toasters
    I was about to list a few here… but it looks like we’re about to go shoot people.  So Toasters, just like Heaven, can wait.

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