Thursday – 11 December 2008
Welcome to another NBN Thursday.

Last night was a low-key stay-at-home night. And that was fine with me. I fixed a little dinner, watched some TV, enjoyed a visit from SaraRules, and read yesterday’s four-color haul. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening, if I do say so myself.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Charitable Donations
Since I no longer work for the USPS, I don’t have Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charitable contributions coming out of my check. That’s a shame, because I enjoyed being able to donate to charities that resonated with me.

Last year, I made something of a Christmas resolution: Select a charity and make a donation to it. After a bit of investigation, via Charity Navigator, I decided to donate to the Children’s Defense Fund. With Christmas rolling around again, I’m starting to think about this year’s giving. I may still give to CDF, but I’m weighing other options, as well.

To that end, I thought I’d solicit opinions of others to see what organizations they donate to or think of as worthwhile entities for donations. So, if you have an organization to whom you make charitable donations, I’d be interested in what it is and, if you’d care to do so, why you find it worthwhile.  Thanks!

Four-Color Coverage
There were a couple of noteworthy items in yesterday’s books:

  • Justice League of America #27 – This issue featured the (long overdue) “integration” of the heroes of the Milestone Universe into the Mainstream DCU. It also featured the return of Doctor Light – the heroine, not the villain that the Teen Titans used to smack around back in the day. This issue had the return of Icon and the Shadow Cabinet… and setup the traditional “We’re here to save the day/world/universe/creation, and we’ll do it even if we have to go through you first” battle between the Shadow Cabinet and the JLA.
  • Legion of Super-Heroes: The More Things Change

    When I saw this TPB in the store, it wasn’t a question of “Am I going to buy this,” it was more a question of “Am I going to be able to wait until I read everything else before reading it?” I was… and the journey to the 31st Century DCU was well worth the wait. The book reprints a number of Legion stories from the late 80s; some of the stories I had read, some I had not – this was during the time when there were two Legion books: The Legion of Super-Heroes (available at specialty shops only) and Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes (which was available at newstands, 7-11s and just about anywhere comics were sold). LSH was printed on high-quality Baxter paper; TotLSH was printed on newsprint and ran a one-year-long story… before reprinting the stories from LSH. (Oh, DC, you greedy double-dipping bastards…) If you’re a long-time Legion fan, this would make an excellent addition to your collection.

  • Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1 – The invasion is over and the aftermath is being dealt with. [SPOILER DELETED] has been charged with picking up the pieces of S.H.I.E.L.D. and putting things back in order. Their first order of business: Putting together an eerily Illuminati-like group to delegate authority… and responsibility. It’s an interesting premise, but I found myself distracted – not in a good way – by the artwork at some points, especially in panels involving Namor.

Stray Toasters

I’m skipping the gym today. I tweaked something in my shoulder on Tuesday, it seems. So, I’ll just go on Saturday, before the ‘Clix tourney.

Namaste.