"Here We Are In The Middle Of The First World"

Just what the hell have I been doing with myself?

1. Teaching. Apparently it's something that can be time consuming. Who knew?

2. Tutoring. Two to three nights per week and Saturdays, I'm sitting at a table surrounded by knee biters, tutoring the crap outta them. It's different enough from my day job to keep me at least halfway interested, though it does make some of my days rather long.

3. Music. A lot of good stuff's come out in the last couple of months. More than I've actually been able to keep up with, as a matter of fact. The new Ryan Adams isn't too shabby (far superior to last year's Easy Tiger, for certain), and I'm absolutely enamored of the Gaslight Anthem. I should have a list of my top ten or so albums of the year by the end of next week, so hurray for that.

4. Reading Comics. Lots of stuff here lately. Been trying to follow the happenings in the Batman titles, what with Batman supposedly dying and all. But mostly I do trade paperbacks, since they're more economical and I get to read a whole story in one go. I finally got all of BPRD (well, all the stuff that's been collected so far), all the new Blue Beetle trades, and a couple of odds and ends. Some of Keith Giffen's Justice League stuff (I Can't Believe it's Not the Justice League and Formerly Known as the Justice League), which is hysterical and exactly what a comic should be, I feel.

5. Waiting for Winter Break. I mean, seriously, I'm freakin' exhausted from work. Even when I get a full night's sleep, I don't feel very rested. I am ready for 2008 to be over.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Submarines, "You, Me, & the Bourgeoisie"

"I Am A Warrior"

So a pencil company, Mirado, makes a pencil called the Black Warrior.

Personally, when I think of the term "Black Warrior," I think of this:



That's totally not what you get in the store, though.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello, "Carpetbagger"

"Hungry Like The Wolf"

I have only become more of a geek as I've aged. I mean, I wasn't really sure it was possible, but compare me ten years ago to me now, and it's pretty clear that the geek quotient has risen considerably.

Me Ten Years Ago
Played Magic: The Gathering (25 Geek Points)
Watched anime, including Dragonball Z (50 Geek Points)
Owned all the Star Wars films on VHS (10 Geek Points)
Read sci-fi/fantasy books for pleasure (20 Geek Points)
Read roughly 50 webcomics on a regular basis (50 Geek Points)
Total Geek Points: 155


Me Today
Play/Game Master a Star Wars Role Playing Game at school (40 Geek Points)
Own an entire bookshelf of Comic Book Trade Paper Backs (50 Geek Points)
Own all of the Star Wars films on DVD (20 Geek Points, 'cause I re-bought them)
Watch the DC Animated Universe shows (Batman, Superman, Justice League, etc.) (25 Geek Points)
Read roughly 20 webcomics on a regular basis (20 Geek Points)
Watch Doctor Who (25 Geek Points)
Total Geek Points: 180

Okay, so maybe not as wide a gulf as I thought, but it's still there. And I traded in some lower geek interests (Magic) for some higher ones (comic books).

Speaking of comic books, I've started following a few titles in their actual monthly issue format rather than waiting for trades. I'm trying to keep the number of titles I follow to a minimum, 'cause I feel that paying $3 for a 26 page comic is a bit expensive. But here's what I've been reading...

Wonder Woman: Mostly 'cause Gail Simone is writing, and I love her stuff. The first story arc she wrote was great, the second one was okay, but the third one left me a little cold. It was too scattered and disjointed, and I felt that, while Simone's got a great grasp on the character of Wonder Woman, she's not really sure what story she wants to tell with the character yet. This month's issue, though, with her boyfriend Nemesis meeting her mother, was pretty great. The second half of the story with the movie thing and all was pretty cool, too. This is the sort of story I was expecting out of Simone.

Secret Six: Speaking of Gail Simone comics, I'm also digging Secret Six. The first issue just came out, and it maintains the spirit of the original six-issue miniseries pretty well. The relationships of the main characters, while pretty screwed up, make a whole lot of sense in the context of their world. I'm really excited to see where this series is going.

Final Crisis: The only reason I'm reading this is that I have great faith in Grant Morrison. I'm not following any of the spinoffs, nor do I have any desire to. Our Lord and Savior Grant is enough for me.

Invincible Iron Man: This is a great title. I've just started getting into Matt Fraction's work (his run with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja on Immortal Iron Fist was awesome), and this book is absolutely great. The tone and story are excellent, the characters are spot-on, and it's significantly more interesting than any of the other Iron Man titles currently available (I'm looking at you, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.). The only thing that bugs me is the art. You can tell that, especially in certain places, it's all based on photo references. The people feel too stiff. And the digital coloring doesn't help much. Everyone kinda looks...fake, I guess, but not cartoony. Like plastic people, I guess. When it's Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit, though, it's just fine (though there was an image in issue #1 where he was flying against a cloud background, and the background just looked like a photograph, while Iron Man looked like a drawing. It really bugged me).

So yes, my geekiness knows no bounds, it's true. But I'm content with it.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Walkmen, "Four Provinces"

"And For Her I'll Go Back"

So, long time no see. A lot's been happening since last I posted:

1. We're nearing the end of the first quarter at school, thank God. Michelle's been run almost ragged by all the stuff on her plate, but she still seems to enjoy the job well enough.

2. The weather's been yo-yoing back and forth all month. The first half of October felt more like June, but the past week has been nothing but cooler temperatures and rain. Lots of rain. Oh God, the rain. And tonight it's supposed to get down into the 30s.

3. I got an iPhone.

4. What more do you want? iPhooooone.

I'm really happy with the iPhone. I was skeptical about the things for awhile there; I mean, I knew Apple stuff was pretty damn awesome (I still love my MacBook Pro and iPod), but the thing seemed gratuitous. Then Michelle got hers about a month ago, and playing around with it convinced me that this was a device worth having. 'Sides, I still needed a new cellphone since mine was dying.

We've got a Halloween party at school on Wednesday. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to go as. If I can find a Green Lantern shirt, I may try to do something with that (we've been watching a whole lot o' Justice League this past week) (yes, we're tremendous dorks).

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Josh Ritter, "Me & Jiggs"

"Flame On!"

I never saw the first Fantastic Four movie, just as I never saw the Daredevil or Electra or Ghost Rider flicks. I haven't really ever been all that impressed with most of Marvel's main heroes or teams (okay, I dig Spider-Man and the X-Men), and the movies based on those properties have been (with the Spider-Man flicks and the first two X-Men flicks aside) pretty damn horrible. Sure, people go to them, but I think we (by which I mean the geeks who dig comics) should demand better comic book movies, not this pappy crap.

That being said, why does Jessica Alba always look like a rather stunned squirrel? I swear, she's got this vacant expression that says, "I could be replaced by CGI all the time instead of most of the time and it would have been a better casting decision."

Seriously, why was this movie made? I didn't think the first one did well enough to warrant a second effort (if you can call it that).

Like I said, I haven't been that impressed with Marvel's offerings of late. Granted, I'm not much of a Marvel fan in generally usually (I do like Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men, and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men is pretty groovy). My tastes run to DC's Vertigo imprint, mostly (Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Matt Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theatre, Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan, etc.). But even when I go for a superhero comic from one of the Big Two, it's usually a DC title (and usually Batman, for some reason). Maybe I just prefer their style more. Maybe it's the pulp tradition that seems to creep into their work more often. Maybe it's the fact that the angst isn't so teenagery (Marvel's heroes always struck me as kinda whiny).

All of this is by way of saying that I'm really not going to go see the new Fantastic Four movie. I don't think that makes me less of a geek (especially since I've spent most of the evening reading comic books).

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Arcade Fire, "Neon Bible"