Or rather, missing altogether. Sorry about that, but sometimes life not only knocks you down, it stands on your throat until you pass out.
First off, like the new look? I wanted to find something different, yet not the same as Jim's and Shawn's blogs, both of which look way nicer.
I will be doing some posting this weekend on comics and other such fun. I know you await with bated breath. Really, you should see someone about that. It's disgusting.
Labor day is here and you know what that means. Time for the stupid drunks to hit the highway and byways of the land. So to the 95% of us who are smarter than that I say: be careful please. I would hate to see you hurt by a drunk asshat.
Really, I guess I just wanted to check in and let all of you know that I am alive. For the moment anyhow. Things really can change fast. More to come later, promise.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
A Murder of Nerds.....
I don't know what a group of comic fans really would be named, but I thought it was cool. Saturday was a special sort of day. Cosmic Comix had a picnic for all its regular subscribers at Jim's house. This was a great opportunity to meet and greet not only those you encounter on the day you go get your books, but also a chance to meet and talk to those who share your love for comics. Families and loved ones were also invited. But since Cindy and I are house and dog sitting, she couldn't make it.
The usual conversations crew made it there, as expected. Jim's house is a really nice one and he made everyone feel welcome and part of the crew. He and his wife are excellent hosts, and have made every time I visit an enjoyable one. The weather was fantastic. The day was made really great by not only those factors, but by what did and did not happen.
What did happen? Well, besides all that I mentioned above, it was great to talk to those who read what you do and to get their opinions. Whether it was good or bad, it was interesting to discuss what is going on and to find out if what you read is being enjoyed by others. The food and setting was phenomenal. The chance to talk to those you meet once a week outside the store and their families was really nice.
Which leads to something that didn't happen. This picnic was put on by a comic store. You would never had known that if you walked in off the street. Rusty did a great job of letting everyone know that this was an informal "thanks" to all of us who buy the comics week after week, either in rain or snow, mainstream or indy. There was no sale pitch, no strings, just a gathering of people who enjoy his business. That was the greatest thing of all.
OH, and the moon bounce was real cool too.
The usual conversations crew made it there, as expected. Jim's house is a really nice one and he made everyone feel welcome and part of the crew. He and his wife are excellent hosts, and have made every time I visit an enjoyable one. The weather was fantastic. The day was made really great by not only those factors, but by what did and did not happen.
What did happen? Well, besides all that I mentioned above, it was great to talk to those who read what you do and to get their opinions. Whether it was good or bad, it was interesting to discuss what is going on and to find out if what you read is being enjoyed by others. The food and setting was phenomenal. The chance to talk to those you meet once a week outside the store and their families was really nice.
Which leads to something that didn't happen. This picnic was put on by a comic store. You would never had known that if you walked in off the street. Rusty did a great job of letting everyone know that this was an informal "thanks" to all of us who buy the comics week after week, either in rain or snow, mainstream or indy. There was no sale pitch, no strings, just a gathering of people who enjoy his business. That was the greatest thing of all.
OH, and the moon bounce was real cool too.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Enough fantasy, time for a reality check.
Hey gang. Since no one liked my last posting, or at least didn't like it enough to leave a comment, I am moving back into the real world. Two things happened this weekend that left me feeling at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
On Saturday, my niece Jenny was married. I am very happy for her and Matt, he seems like a really nice guy. I will admit to having a twinge of feeling old. I have been there since just after Jenny hit the atmosphere, and I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman with a sense of humor. The day was made better for me by two things; first off, the reception was held at Art Donovan's country club. If you don't know who he is, you've never lived in Baltimore. The chance to meet a living legend and to discover that he is the same in person that he projects on TV was amazing. I mean when you think of him, you picture a guy sitting in a bar having a Nattie Boh and telling stories. About an hour into the reception, into the bar comes this man who sits at the bar and has a couple of Schlitz. He was gracious and humble to everyone who stopped and thanked him for the place and his contributions to the community. His humor was self-depreciating, as you would expect from him. To get a picture of my mom and my wife with him and be able to thank him was a real treat. Today's athletes could really learn alot by sitting down with him, having a beer, and just talking about life.
Secondly, I had the chance to see some of my family that I had not had the opportunity to for several years. My uncles and aunts that were able to be here (sorry to hear about your back, Uncle Ron) were sitting at one table and we were able to chew the fat (not the dinner, that was great) about what was going on in their lives. I made a decision to sit with them seeing as they were out-of -towners who didn't know anyone there. It wasn't until later that I figured out that Cindy and I were supposed to sit with my immediate family. So for all of my recent bitching, I guess they wanted us there with them, and for that I am grateful.
Today began on a sad note. Mike Wieringo passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 44. Mike had been one of my favorite artists since his work on the Flash way back, and I was looking forward to getting an autograph at the Baltimore Comic-Con next month. He was a dynamic artist and he will be sorely missed.
More to come later in the week. Be good to each other out there.
On Saturday, my niece Jenny was married. I am very happy for her and Matt, he seems like a really nice guy. I will admit to having a twinge of feeling old. I have been there since just after Jenny hit the atmosphere, and I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman with a sense of humor. The day was made better for me by two things; first off, the reception was held at Art Donovan's country club. If you don't know who he is, you've never lived in Baltimore. The chance to meet a living legend and to discover that he is the same in person that he projects on TV was amazing. I mean when you think of him, you picture a guy sitting in a bar having a Nattie Boh and telling stories. About an hour into the reception, into the bar comes this man who sits at the bar and has a couple of Schlitz. He was gracious and humble to everyone who stopped and thanked him for the place and his contributions to the community. His humor was self-depreciating, as you would expect from him. To get a picture of my mom and my wife with him and be able to thank him was a real treat. Today's athletes could really learn alot by sitting down with him, having a beer, and just talking about life.
Secondly, I had the chance to see some of my family that I had not had the opportunity to for several years. My uncles and aunts that were able to be here (sorry to hear about your back, Uncle Ron) were sitting at one table and we were able to chew the fat (not the dinner, that was great) about what was going on in their lives. I made a decision to sit with them seeing as they were out-of -towners who didn't know anyone there. It wasn't until later that I figured out that Cindy and I were supposed to sit with my immediate family. So for all of my recent bitching, I guess they wanted us there with them, and for that I am grateful.
Today began on a sad note. Mike Wieringo passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 44. Mike had been one of my favorite artists since his work on the Flash way back, and I was looking forward to getting an autograph at the Baltimore Comic-Con next month. He was a dynamic artist and he will be sorely missed.
More to come later in the week. Be good to each other out there.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A road to nowhere
I find myself staring into the brownest eyes I've ever seen in my life. I have a thing for that, as opposed to most men who are suckers for blue eyes. Not me. An ordinary woman with deep brown eyes gets me every time. But I find myself distracted by the fact the between the two eyes is a barrel of a gun pointed straight at my crotch. It's the little things that I overlook that get me into trouble. Like the fact that this woman, this somewhat plain woman who turned out to be a monster in the bedroom is also nuts in the head as well.
Sweat begins to form on us. She's riding me for all she's worth and yet the gun doesn't move from my crotch. She stops for a moment and breathlessly whispers in my ear "I love to see a man come and go at the same time." I realize that for all my arrogance, all my hubris about women and how great I am with them, I only have a few minutes left on this earth. For the briefest of nano-seconds I think "well if I'm going to go, at least I'll go with a smile". As quickly as that thought leaves my head, the overriding thought of the fact that I will never be able to see my family again enters.
She begins again. I am powerless to stop her since I allowed this freak to handcuff me to the bed. Amid the screaming and moaning, my thoughts drift to my kids. Daniel and Rachel were my greatest treasures on this earth and the fact that I have failed them so utterly as a father and role model fills me with a sadness that drives me to tears. Seeing this, she stops. "Come on, it will all be over soon. Don't worry sugar, I'll make your last time the best ever!" My weeping becomes uncontrollable to the point that things begin to happen.
She climbs off and lays beside me. The gun is now laying on the foot of the bed. She asks if she really is that bad and I tell her that I deserve to die for failing my children. She asks their names and goes to my pants for a picture. Upon gazing at their smiling happy faces, she begins to cry herself. She was happily married herself once until she caught him with another woman in their bed. All of her actions since then have been to redeem herself somehow. Five other men have "come and gone" at her hands (or body). None of them showed even the slightest remorse over her or the women they cheated on. But the kids? They were not even in the picture. She reaches for the gun and again straddles me. She looks at me with the brownest eyes in the world and says, "I'm sorry". The sound of gunfire deafens me into a world of white. I awoke 3 hours later with medics pulling a limp naked body off of me and freeing me from the handcuffs. The police tell me that I'm a lucky man.
I never even knew her name.
Sweat begins to form on us. She's riding me for all she's worth and yet the gun doesn't move from my crotch. She stops for a moment and breathlessly whispers in my ear "I love to see a man come and go at the same time." I realize that for all my arrogance, all my hubris about women and how great I am with them, I only have a few minutes left on this earth. For the briefest of nano-seconds I think "well if I'm going to go, at least I'll go with a smile". As quickly as that thought leaves my head, the overriding thought of the fact that I will never be able to see my family again enters.
She begins again. I am powerless to stop her since I allowed this freak to handcuff me to the bed. Amid the screaming and moaning, my thoughts drift to my kids. Daniel and Rachel were my greatest treasures on this earth and the fact that I have failed them so utterly as a father and role model fills me with a sadness that drives me to tears. Seeing this, she stops. "Come on, it will all be over soon. Don't worry sugar, I'll make your last time the best ever!" My weeping becomes uncontrollable to the point that things begin to happen.
She climbs off and lays beside me. The gun is now laying on the foot of the bed. She asks if she really is that bad and I tell her that I deserve to die for failing my children. She asks their names and goes to my pants for a picture. Upon gazing at their smiling happy faces, she begins to cry herself. She was happily married herself once until she caught him with another woman in their bed. All of her actions since then have been to redeem herself somehow. Five other men have "come and gone" at her hands (or body). None of them showed even the slightest remorse over her or the women they cheated on. But the kids? They were not even in the picture. She reaches for the gun and again straddles me. She looks at me with the brownest eyes in the world and says, "I'm sorry". The sound of gunfire deafens me into a world of white. I awoke 3 hours later with medics pulling a limp naked body off of me and freeing me from the handcuffs. The police tell me that I'm a lucky man.
I never even knew her name.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Family Guy - Best of the Evil Monkey
OK friends it's video time! Time to show you some of the fun things I love. First up: Family Guy. This is my favorite show and this is one of my favorite characters. Enjoy!
Friday, August 3, 2007
A Guilty Pleasure
Summertime TV totally sucks. No real programs of interest. But last summer a cheesy oasis appeared in the dessert. "Who wants to be a Superhero" aired for 8 weeks on the Sci-Fi channel and I was hooked from the word go. The characters were somewhat lame, but some of the contestants really seemed earnest about why they wanted to be a superhero. I pimped this show so hard on the Internet (http://www.cosmiccomix.com/conversations) that it became somewhat annoying to the other panelists. The show did well enough to earn a second season and so far the cheese factor is just as good. Now, don't go looking for deep meaning in any of this stuff. It's fluff of the highest order. But as far as reality shows go ( I hate them all!) this is not bad. It's not a long show, only 8 weeks in length so you don't get tired of the players. There are no major rewards, like cars and trips. The grand prize itself is not really all that special to most people. The winner gets a comic done by Stan Lee, a movie based on their character, and this year, and action figure.
Rusty, my bud who owns Cosmic Comix, tried half-heartedly to get yours truly to sign up and try out for this season. After I told him to go take a rectal exam, I realized why I could never do this show. First and foremost, everything I touch turns to absolute crap. No exceptions. So the idea that I could design and carry through with a costume and character is absurd. I also have the crazy idea that I would give comics fans and more importantly my family a bad name and embarrass them. So I sit on Thursday nights at 9 with the most important woman in the world to me (my wife, not my mom. I am happily married despite being a raging geek.) and shut my brain down for an hour. It is a show that families can watch and maybe some of the younger ones can learn some of the values of being a superhero. If they take that and become doctors, policeman, fireman or any of the real life heroes, then this show has worked.
Rusty, my bud who owns Cosmic Comix, tried half-heartedly to get yours truly to sign up and try out for this season. After I told him to go take a rectal exam, I realized why I could never do this show. First and foremost, everything I touch turns to absolute crap. No exceptions. So the idea that I could design and carry through with a costume and character is absurd. I also have the crazy idea that I would give comics fans and more importantly my family a bad name and embarrass them. So I sit on Thursday nights at 9 with the most important woman in the world to me (my wife, not my mom. I am happily married despite being a raging geek.) and shut my brain down for an hour. It is a show that families can watch and maybe some of the younger ones can learn some of the values of being a superhero. If they take that and become doctors, policeman, fireman or any of the real life heroes, then this show has worked.
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