ADD Online

Happy New Year, LiveJournalers

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:04:59 GMT

I hope it's a good one for you and yours. And me and mine. Time for some new and profoundly better paradigms. I've never been so glad to see a year end as I am 2008. Enough, already!

Bitter End or New Beginning?

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:06:33 GMT

Well, this is it. In a few hours, the citizens of Los Estados Unidos will begin casting their votes, then rigged voting machines will alter the tallies, and then there may be some doubt or even litigation, and within just a few short weeks we may never know who was actually elected president, but we'll know who will occupy the White House beginning on 20 January 2009.

If I sound fed up and cynical, well, I am. Most people with functioning brains and ethical systems are fed up at this point -- a point I reached sometime back in December of 2000, as I never seem to tire of ranting at anyone who will listen. I remember talking to a leftie friend of mine prior to the 2004 election and him, hopeful of a Kerry win (as we now know even Kerry was not), asking me what it would take to turn things around in our country. "Blood in the streets," I said, and sighed, knowing Americans were just too fat and happy to ever get worked up enough to actually resist the ongoing, lawless coup that began in December of 2000 and has resulted in the virtual destruction of our nation's reputation, decency and economy.

Bush and his gang of well-heeled thugs have quite literally brought the United States to the brink of its own end, and tomorrow night we'll see if enough people have seen through their apocalyptic scam or not, and if enough people get out and try to turn things around in numbers so huge that even the widespread attempts at voter suppression will be helpless in the face of the desire for change and a return to the rule of law and respect for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I would love to never feel the need to write about politics or the economy or any of these subjects again. I really don't know if Barack Obama will have the resources and will to turn this country around and make it great again, but one thing is for certain: If John McCain manages to get into the White House, by means fair or foul (and really, I'm being generous allowing that he could win fair and square), then the endgame of our civilization has begun, and sooner or later there really will be blood in the streets. This is a nation that can stand no further tearing down, and that is what McCain and his imbecile running mate represent. The stain and disgrace of a McCain/Palin win will make our country even more of a disgrace in the eyes of a world that, back on September 12th, 2001, had all the respect and love for us that it ever would have. In the past few years Bush and company have not only squandered the goodwill we bought in blood the day the towers fell, but they have cynically and blatantly defiled the memory of those who died on September 11th, and wantonly and with great contempt for every concept of ethics or morals ever conceived, they have gone on to commit more war crimes and atrocities than almost any other regime in human history. It is staggering to comprehend the murder and chaos of the Bush administration, but even more staggering -- almost impossible to believe, really -- that the people of the United States largely stood by and let it happen.

In less than 48 hours, the United States can send a signal to the world that we have seen the error of our ways and want to once again stand on the world stage with dignity and honour, committed to the justice, freedom and equality we have allowed to be suppressed in our grief and disbelief since 11 September, 2001. If Obama wins, we have sent that signal. If McCain wins, we can still send that signal, but it will take much more work, much more outrage, and it will require every decent human being living in this country to take a stand and say NO MORE.

Have you had enough yet? If not, how much further does your nation need to fall? If so, get out tomorrow and start working to make up for all that we've sat back and allowed to happen. If Barack Obama doesn't take possession of the White House on January 20th, then there really is no hope left for peaceful change in the United States, and nothing left to talk about. We can take action by voting tomorrow, or we can condemn ourselves to a much more violent and lengthy period of change, one from which there never will really be a hope of recovery. I'm hoping we can do it in a day, and my wife and I will be up before dawn to do our part.

How about you?

Stealing Roger's Meme

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:11:06 GMT

Stolen from Roger Green.

1. What time did you wake up this morning? 5:00 AM. Slept all night; a rarity.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.
3. What was the last movie you saw? Right at Your Door.
4. What is your favorite TV show? At the moment, The Shield, despite its flaws. All time? Star Trek or Twin Peaks or The Prisoner.
5. What do you have for breakfast? Strawberry pancakes and sausage.
6. What is your middle name? David.
7. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Listening to lots of John Coltrane.
8. What kind of car do you drive? I don't drive much, but my wife has a Chevy Equinox I borrow maybe one day a week.
9. What's your favorite sandwich? Reuben, maybe.
10. What characteristic do you despise? Hypocrisy.
11. Favorite item of clothing? I don't think I have one.
12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Toronto.
13. Favorite brand of clothing? Don't have one.
14. Where would you retire to? New Zealand, maybe.
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I can't remember.
17. Furthest place you are sending this? Everywhere at once.
18. Person you expect to send it back first? No one.
19. When is your birthday? 25 January.
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning.
21. What is your shoe size? 12
22. Pets? Cat, and I think I am allergic to her.
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? No.
24. What did you want to be when you were little? A scientist, then a disk jockey.
25. How are you today! Awake.
26. What is your favorite candy? Peanut M and Ms.
27. What is your favorite flower? Roses.
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? 25 November, my son's birthday.
29. What is your full name? Alan David Doane
30. What are you listening to right now? Wife and daughter argue about how to cook tofu sausage.
31. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza and chicken wings.
32. Do you wish on stars? No.
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange.
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My buddy Boom.
35. Favorite restaurant? GG Mama's in Glens Falls.
36. Real hair color? Dark brown but increasingly gray.
37. What was your favorite toy as a child? Mego action figures.
38. Summer or winter: Winter.
39. Hugs or kisses? Honestly neither.
40. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.
41. Coffee or tea? Tea, and lots of it.
42. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Sure.
43. When was the last time you cried? Does watery eyes from an allergy attack count?
44. What is under your bed? I'm afraid to look. Next to it on the floor, though: art supplies, paper, comic book bags and boards.
45. What did you do last night? Read and listened to music.
46. What are you most afraid of? Pain.
47. Salt or sweet? Both at once.
48. How many keys on your key ring? 3.
49. How many years at your current job? 3.5
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturday.
51. Do you make friends easily? No, quite the opposite.
52. How many people will you send this to? One.
53. How many will respond? None.

100 Must-Read Graphic Novels

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:58:05 GMT

100 Must-Read Graphic Novels -- According to Eddie Campbell, "anyone who thinks there are more than a few dozen so-called 'graphic novels' worth reading is an idiot." Sorry, Eddie, I beg to differ. Here's my list of 100 Must-Read Graphic Novels. Funny part is, I limited most creators to two or three slots, or Eddie Campbell's oeuvre would have made up a good half-dozen all on their own, and the list would have been closer to 200.

100 - Little Nothings: The Curse of the Umbrella by Lewis Trondheim (NBM)

099 - Reid Fleming: Rogue to Riches by David Boswell (Deep Sea Comics)

098 - Real Stuff by Dennis Eichhorn et al (Swifty Morales Press)

097 - The Norm in Color by Michael Jantze (thenorm.com)

096 - Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Drawn and Quarterly)

095 - Life's a Bitch: The Collected Bitchy Bitch by Roberta Gregory (Fantagraphics)

094 - Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

093 - Curses by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn and Quarterly)

092 - American Splendor: The Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar et al (Ballentine)

091 - War Stories by Garth Ennis et al (two volumes) (DC Comics)

090 - A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary (NBM)

089 - Storeyville by Frank Santoro (Picturebox)

088 - All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)

087 - Spent by Joe Matt (Drawn and Quarterly)

086 - My War with Brian by Ted Rall (NBM)

085 - Mad Night by Richard Sala (Fantagraphics Books)

084 - Late Bloomer by Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics Books)

083 - The Collected Hutch Owen by Tom Hart (Top Shelf)

082 - God's Bosom and Other Stories by Jack Jackson (Fantagraphics Books)

081 - Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge (Fantagraphics Books)

080 - Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)

079 - Ripple by Dave Cooper (Fantagraphics)

078 - Conan: Born on the Battlefield by Kurt Busiek and Greg Ruth (Dark Horse)

077 - City of Glass by Paul Auster, Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli (Harper Perennial)

076 - Bone One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

075 - Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

074 - Daddy's Girl by By Debbie Drechsler (Fantagraphics Books)

073 - The Gypsy Lounge: Lunchtime Variety Criminals by Jasen Lex (Aweful Books)

072 - Marvel Boy by Grant Morrison and JG Jones (Marvel Comics)

071 - The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

070 - Waterwise by Joel Orff (Alternative Comics)

069 - Red Eye, Black Eye by K. Thor Jensen (Alternative Comics)

068 - Good-Bye by Yosihiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

067 - Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

066 - The Push Man - by Yoshiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

065 - Shuck Unmasked by Rick Simth and Tania Menesse (Top Shelf)

064 - Paul Has A Summer Job by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn and Quarterly)

063 - Monkey vs. Robot by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

062 - Hellboy by Mike Mignola (six volumes to date) (Dark Horse)

061 - Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie (Top Shelf)

060 - McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13 edited by Chris Ware (McSweeney's)

059 - The Legend of Wild Man Fischer by Dennis Eichhorn and J.R. Williams (Top Shelf)

058 - The Fart Party by Julia Wertz (Atomic Books)

057 - Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (DC/Vertigo)

056 - The Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics)

055 - Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (four volumes) (DC Comics)

054 - Pizzeria Kamikaze by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative Comics)

053 - James Sturm's America by James Sturm (Drawn and Quarterly)

052 - Palestine by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics Books)

051 - Strangehaven by Gary Spencer Millidge (three volumes to date) (Abiogenesis Press)

050 - The Outer Space Spirit by Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer and Wallace Wood (Kitchen Sink)

049 - Top Ten by Alan Moore, Zander Cannon and Gene Ha (two volumes) (America's Best Comics)

048 - The Placebo Man by Tomer Hanuka

047 - We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC/Vertigo)

046 - David Boring by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)

045 - Cages by Dave McKean (NBM)

044 - Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw (Fantagraphics Books)

043 - Crecy by Warren Ellis and Raulo Caceres (Avatar Press)

042 - The Maakies by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics Books)

041 - The Book of Leviathan By Peter Blegvad (The Overlook Press)

040 - Fantastic Butterflies by James Kochalka (Alternative Comics)

039 - B. Krigstein Comics by Bernard Krigstein (Fantagraphics Books)

038 - Jay's Days: Rise and Fall of the Pasta Shop Lothario by Jason Marcy (Hairy Bald Guy Books)

037 - Gødland by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image Comics)

036 - Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley (four volumes to date) (Oni Press)

035 - The Filth by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston (DC/Vertigo)

034 - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)

033 - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

032 - Marbles in My Underpants by Renee French (Oni Press)

031 - Catwoman Volumes One through Four by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, et al (DC Comics)

030 - Bluesman by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)

029 - The Castaways by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo (NBM)

028 - DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics)

027 - Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm (DC Comics)

026 - The Journal Comic by Drew Weing (Self-published)

025 - 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine (Drawn and Quarterly)

024 - The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best (First Second)

023 - It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken by Seth (Drawn and Quarterly)

022 - Street Angel by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (SLG)

021 - Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (DC Comics)

020 - Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (Marvel Comics)

019 - Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (three volumes to date) (Marvel/Icon)

018 - Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (four volumes) (DC/Wildstorm)

017 - Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)

016 - The Complete Peanuts by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics Books)

015 - King-Cat Classix by John Porcellino (Drawn and Quarterly)

014 - Locas by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)

013 - The Frank Book by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics Books)

012 - The Ticking by Renée French (Top Shelf)

011 - Bob and Harv's Comics by Harvey Pekar and R. Crumb (4 Walls 8 Windows)

010 - Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books)

009 - Alec: How to be an Artist by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)

008 - Hey, Wait... by Jason (Fantagraphics Books)

007 - Ghost World by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics Books)

006 - Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Pantheon)

005 - American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

004 - Ice Haven by Dan Clowes (Pantheon)

003 - Louis Riel by Chester Brown (Drawn and Quarterly)

002 - Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner (Frog LTD)

001 - From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)

What do you think? Is Eddie Campbell right, or are there more than a few dozen graphic novels worth reading? I think every book on this list demands the attention of anyone that loves good comics and wants to know all the very best works the artform has to offer, and I think this list is just a beginning.

What's on your list?

The Omnivore's Hundred

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:47:06 GMT

Andrew Wheeler posted this challenge on the Very Good Taste blog...here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Alan's American Variant: I asterisked (*) any items that are unknown to me. Most of the starred items, I have heard of, but I don't know what they are. Pathetic, I know.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea*
3. Huevos rancheros
~~4. Steak tartare~~
~~5. Crocodile~~
~~6. Black pudding~~
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho*
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi*
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses*
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
~~23. Foie gras~~
24. Rice and beans
~~25. Brawn, or head cheese~~
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche*
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda*
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I've had each, but not together; would certainly eat it if offered)
33. Salted lassi*
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea*
38. Vodka jelly*
39. Gumbo
~~40. Oxtail~~
~~41. Curried goat~~
~~42. Whole insects~~
43. Phaal*
~~44. Goat’s milk~~
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
~~46. Fugu~~
47. Chicken tikka masala*
~~48. Eel~~
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
~~50. Sea urchin~~
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi*
~~53. Abalone~~
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle*
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
~~62. Sweetbreads~~
63. Kaolin*
64. Currywurst*
65. Durian*
~~66. Frogs’ legs~~
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
~~68. Haggis~~
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
~~72. Caviar and blini~~
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost*
~~75. Roadkill~~
76. Baijiu*
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong*
80. Bellini*
81. Tom yum*
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
~~86. Hare~~
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
~~89. Horse~~
90. Criollo chocolate*
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa*
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
~~96. Bagel and lox~~
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
~~100. Snake~~

Top 100 Novels

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:55:55 GMT

Grabbed this list from Roger Green. Stuff I've read in in bold.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006) - Loved it. Love his Outer Dark, too.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987) -
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997) -
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001) -
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991) - Haven't read in years, but it was groundbreaking work that any graphic novel reader should tackle.
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996) - I've read some of this.
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997) - no and didn't see the movie either, though I have the soundtrack.
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997) - my wife owns this; have read some.
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87) - Both overpraised and underrated. By which I mean, everybody loves it but the definitive criticism of it has yet to be written, in my opinion.
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992).
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988) - Mean to read this someday.
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990).
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000). - Inspirational stuff. King's fiction tapers off for me pretty steeply after The Stand, but this is a great work of non-fiction.
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003) - Read it and enjoyed it, but I don't know if I ever need to re-read it.
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996) - Read it all and loved parts of it. I wish the art was more consistent.
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000) - Read and mostly loved it.
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000) - Great, moving work from one of the medium's greatest creators.
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) - An early tentpole for the expansion of my social consciousness. Great work.
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006) - As good as you've heard.
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983) - I need to read more Carver.
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984) - I know I read this, but I don't remember a damned thing about it.
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006) - Tried to read this. It's kind of...shittily written?
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995) - Loved the movie. Never read the book.
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) - The book that turned me vegetarian for a couple of years. Scary shit, must-reading.
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004) - Flipped through it, I think. TDS works better on TV.

i added my livejournal to my blogroll

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:19:34 GMT

I could NEVER have done that in 1973!

another goddamned add blog

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:19:09 GMT

posting to my dead livejournal to promote my new blog. irony is alive and well, unlike my livejournal. hi, livejournal pals!

Mike Sterling Wants to Rifle Through My CDs

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:58:16 GMT

All I can say is, he better like James Kochalka superstar, Tool and Green Day. Seriously, Mike was very nice to thank me for naming him as one of my favourite comics bloggers on that Five for Friday thing all the kids love so much at The Spurgeon. Mike's wondering if he'll ever meet any other comics bloggers got me thinking, which ones have I met? (Hey, could this be the birth of a new meme?)

I've met Mick Martin, who was a fellow Earthworld Comics customer when I left some flyers there years ago looking for contributors to Comic Book Galaxy. Me and Mick and our respective significant others eventually went out for dinner 'n a movie and hit it off pretty well, and have gotten together occasionally since then. I also recommended Mick for the terrible, grueling overnight job he currently holds at an Albany radio station, a debt Mick can only ever repay by continuing to contribute to Comic Book Galaxy FOREVER (moo hoo hoo bwah ha ha!).

I met Larry Young at, I think, the first (maybe second?) birthday party for the excellent Northampton, Massachusetts comic shop Modern Myths, whose owner Jim Crocker kinda-sorta blogs on the store's site as well. Larry was very laid back, having a ball talking about the comics, and Jim is a terrific guy as well. I believe I met one other blogger that night as well, I vaguely remember Jim introducing me to someone who might have been Kevin Church, or that other guy, the one with the yo-yos. I apologize for being stupid.

Joe Rybandt doesn't seem to currently be blogging, but that's probably because he was wrapped up in his election campaign. I'm genuinely sorry to see he didn't win, because anyone as nice and decent as Joe is should be able to get elected. I'd have voted for ya, Joe. Joe and I and our mutual families went out for Thai food here in Glens Falls last year when the Rybandts were vacationing in our area. Joe's an incredibly bright guy who knows a lot about comics and is a blast to talk to.

My family spent four fantastic days with Jason Marcy and his family earlier this year. With November almost over, it's safe to say our trip to the Toronto area was the highlight of the year for our family, not least because the Marcys are wonderful, generous people who were a joy to spend time with.

Also on that trip, I got to meet and break (loaded garlic) bread with Christopher Butcher. Chris is one of the brightest guys in comics, knows more about retailing than almost anyone I know, and is one of the few people whose tastes I have learned to trust without question (the other two being Rob Vollmar and Chris Allen, each of whom I have not met, yet, but hope to someday).

I met Roger Green probably a hundred times or more when he worked at the late, much-lamented FantaCo comics shop in Albany, but I am sure he doesn't remember selling me comics. That's all right, the word "blog" was two decades away from being thought up the last time we physically saw each other. We've had some fun e-mail exchanges since he started blogging, though.

I saw Jason Cooley last year when he played guitar during a performance by James Kochalka Superstar, but I was way too intimidated to introduce myself. Stupid me. He still let me interview him, though. Maybe I'll get to meet him now that he's moving back to Vermont, which is much easier for me to make it to than New York City.

I think that's just about everyone; and since it's that time of year, let me say that I am thankful, indeed, to have met such a diverse and talented group of people. It's humbling to be able to spend time, even just a little, with so many people that I respect and admire so very much.

The Comics Journal #272

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 03:21:09 GMT

The new issue of The Comics Journal ships to most comics shops this coming Wednesday, November 23rd. It is supposed to include a review of mine, so I am especially looking forward to seeing it hit the stands, but with or without me, The Journal is always one of the one or two best things to happen to comics in any given month.

The other thing this month is All-Star Superman. I wish they had left the S on his chest off-model as seen in the earliest previews of the book, but Morrison and Quitely get it about Superman in ways that only Alan Moore has ever also explored. It's nice to have a good superhero comic on the stands again, and one that I suspect will be bringing in new readers throughout the entirety of its run and beyond.

I've written a couple of new reviews in the past week, of Zack Soto's The Secret Voice from AdHouse Books, and an NBM graphic novel called Trailers. Both of those reviews are up now at Warren Ellis's The Engine message board, or you can wait until Monday and check them out at Comic Book Galaxy. I'm not bothering to link to either because, frankly, if you know where this LiveJournal is, you certainly know your way to those places. I wouldn't want to insult your intelligence.

Wednesday Morning

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:31:16 GMT

Couldn't sleep after doing some writing this morning, so here I am at 5:30 in the morning. I'm sure I'll be paying for this later. Woke up to a distressing e-mail from a friend who's got himself in a spot of bother, except it's more than a spot and more than a bother. And it's His Own Damn Fault, although I'm sure he knows that. Another friend, a contributor to Comic Book Galaxy, is suspending his regular column due to personal problems. Shit-God-DAMN, as they say -- must be something in the water.

I tried to wean myself off of one of my allergy medicines -- not coincidentally, the one with the $40.00 co-pay -- but my symptoms returned so I'm back up to six daily medications. You'd think I'd feel better than I do, but then you remember none of them are opium-derived. Goddamn it.

Busy as hell at work, due to the upcoming holidays. Lots of extra shit to do, and little or no time for online tomfoolery. My son's birthday is next week, he's turning 10, which means not only are both my kids now in the double-digits, but that I have 22 years of combined child-rearing experience now. Man, I need a nap.

The Indy Film Meme

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 19:05:11 GMT

Grabbed from Roger Green's blog. Films I've seen are in italics, films I own on DVD are in bold.

1. Reservoir Dogs: I probably watch this once a year, and never get tired of it.
2. Donnie Darko: One of my five favourite films ever. I wonder which of the others will make this list?
3. The Terminator: I have T2 on DVD, but don't feel like I need any of the other films in the series.
4. Clerks: I vastly prefer the cartoon to the movie, actually.
5. Monty Python's Life of Brian: I've tried to watch it multiple times. It bores me silly.
6. Night of the Living Dead: I used to own a public-domain VHS copy and wouldn't mind owning a nice DVD of this.
7. Sex, Lies, and Videotape: Haven't seen it since it was first in theaters.
8. The Usual Suspects: I can almost never get enough of Kevin Spacey.
9. Sideways: Very good film, Paul Giamatti is just an awe-inspiring actor.
10. Mean Streets: Never seen it.
11. Bad Taste: Never heard of it.
12. Eraserhead: One of the first films to redefine the medium for me, and still a favourite.
13. Memento: Liked it and would like to see it again sometime. I should write myself a note so I don't forget to rent it again.
14. Stranger Than Paradise: Never heard of it.
15. Blood Simple: Never seen it, would like to.
16. She's Gotta Have It: Ditto.
17. City of God: Never heard of it.
18. Withnail and I: Ditto.
19. Lone Star: I am 70 percent sure I saw this, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it's about.
20. Slacker: Never seen it.
21. Roger and Me: Very good movie, really ahead of its time in predicting the downfall of oil-intoxicated America.
22. Nosferatu: Saw this on PBS a hundred years ago, along with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. PBS used to run good shit like that all the time. Ooh, and The Lathe of Heaven, too! What happened?
23. The Evil Dead: The sequel was better.
24. Happiness: Never seen it, but it reminds me of Peggy Hill's "ha-PENIS!" routine.
25. Drugstore Cowboy: Never seen it.
26. Lost in Translation: Liked it, but like Roger, didn't love it. Something was missing.
27. Dark Star: Nope.
28. In the Company of Men: Meant to see this.
29. Bad Lieutenant Bleak but powerful.
30. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: Really? There's a movie with that title?
31. Pink Flamingos: I seem to be allergic to John Waters movies.
32. Two Lane Blacktop: Never heard of it.
33. Shallow Grave: That was from the Trainspotting guy, right? I think I liked it.
34. The Blair Witch Project: Fucking overrated.
35. THX-1138: Ugh, God, no.
36. Buffalo '66: Never heard of it.
37. Being John Malkovich: SHould see this.
38. Grosse Point Blank: I always like Cusack much more than I expect to going in.
39. The Passion of the Christ: At last, Christianity has its own Leni Riefenstahl. Good on yer, Mel.
40. The Descent: Haven't seen it.
41. Dead Man's Shoes: Ditto.
42. Swingers: Uh, thritto.
43. Shadows: Fritto?
44. Amores Perros: Come on, you're making 'em up now.
45. Mad Max: Don't remember much except piss-poor cinematography, right?
46. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Pretty sure I saw it, but no real memories associated with or about it.
47. Blood Feast: Never heard of it.
48. Cube: Ooh, I liked this a lot.
49. Run Lola Run: Never saw it.
50. El Mariachi: Saw it, liked it. Also the name of a good Mexican restaurant on Washington Avenue in Albany.

The Monday Nothing by Alan David Rorschach

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 12:01:17 GMT

The weekend: Picked up funnybooks in Albany, wrote review for Kochalkaholic, watched Land of the Dead; scallops and rice for dinner last night. Scallops $15.00 a pound. Ate $7.50 worth. Should have stopped at $5.00. Tired beyond words of floppy funnybooks and sad associated weekly habit, even having successfully reduced it to mostly bi-weekly these days. Got new invoice from comics retailer, for the first week in years there is nothing I want to read, much less purchase. Perhaps I will celebrate payday this week with a buying spree at the USS Catastrophe shop. Must send money to friend in California. Work now.

Wednesday Morning

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 11:24:05 GMT

Last night was very strange. I slept much, much better than usual, woke up before three AM to get some work done and couldn't fall back to sleep, which is usually no problem. So I'm wide awake while everyone else in the house -- even the cat, who is in heat, for pete's sake -- is blissfully snoozing away.

One of the things I worked on was a minor overhaul of The Bluesman Project website. I hope you'll head over there and check out the news on the new publisher of one of the best comics currently being published, by two people I respect and adore, Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo.

Great graphic novels recently read: Black Hole (Charles Burns, published by Pantheon); The Push Man and Other Stories (Yoshihiro Tatsumi, edited and designed by Adrian Tomine, published by Drawn and Quarterly); The Freebooters (Barry Windsor-Smith, Fantagraphics); The Complete Peanuts 1957-1958 (Charles Schulz, designed by Seth, published by Fantagraphics); this fourth volume of The Complete Peanuts is noteworthy for really being the first to feel like "the REAL Peanuts" in every strip, just classic, wonderful, moving stuff. My God, I don't think there's been a better time to be reading comics in my lifetime than right now.

I have become woefully inadequate in tooting my own horn these days, but who has the time? It does occur to me, though, that you might enjoy my interview with cartoonist Richard Sala over at Comic Book Galaxy. Thanks to Eric Reynolds for helping make it happen, Richard Sala for answering the questions, and Chris Hunter for making the page look pretty.

Oh, and don't worry, we're getting the cat fixed November 15th.

The Favourite Music Meme

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 19:50:23 GMT

Here's the latest music meme making the rounds, grabbed off of Bill Sherman's blog.

Favorite Beatles song: "I Me Mine," rediscovered in the wake of George Harrison's death. I actually am feeling quite fond of most of his contributions these days.

Favorite solo song by a former Beatle: "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five," by Paul McCartney, off the as-good-as-The-Beatles album Band on the Run.

Favorite Prince song: "1999." Not a huge fan of Prince, but a few of his songs work for me.

Favorite Depeche Mode song: "Enjoy the Silence." Not as well-versed in their stuff as I'd like, but working on it.

Favorite Cure song: "Love Song." As with Prince, not as big a fan as some people are.

Favorite song that most of your friends haven't heard: "Sapphire" by Colin Clary. Discovered this little gem a few weeks back and fell immediately in love with it.

Favorite Beastie Boys song: "Brass Monkey." About the only one I actually DO like.

Favorite Police song: "Invisible Sun." Almost anything from their fourth album works well for me.

Favorite song from a movie: "Theme from Ghost World." Just a great theme that encompasses the feel of the movie and its post-ironic nostalgia perfectly.

Favorite Blondie song: "Call Me." I always like hearing this on the radio, on those rare occasions I hear it on the radio.

Favorite Genesis song: "Follow You, Follow Me." Sappy, but sincere, unlike many of their latter-day sap.

Favorite Led Zeppelin song: "Black Dog." Man, I loved Led Zep in college. Not so much anymore, but this one still holds up for me.

Favorite INXS song: "What You Need." There's a dozen or so INXS songs I really like, and this is the one I like best.

Favorite Pink Floyd song: "Comfortably Numb." An obvious choice, yeah, but probably the best example of how Waters and Gilmour could bring out the best in each other.

Favorite cover song: "The Chauffer," by the Def-Tones, originally by Duran Duran.

Favorite B-52s song: "Roam."

Favorite U2 song: "Vertigo." I also adore most everything from The Unforgettable Fire. I used to be a much bigger U2 fan than I have been these past few years (they're the only band I've seen live twice) -- everything post-Rattle and Hum pretty much aggravated me, but recent songs like "Beautiful Day" and "Vertigo" have won me back a bit. The new Rolling Stone has a great Bono interview, pointed out to me by Chris Allen.

Favorite Who song: "Eminence Front." The sense of time and place in this one is tactile and unforgettable.

Favorite Elton John song: "Empty Garden." A tribute to my favourite Beatle. This and "Blue Eyes" are the only Elton John on my harddrive.

Favorite Clash song: "London Calling." Also like "Rock the Casbah," but this one wins by a nose.

Favorite David Bowie song: "Day In, Day Out." Sentimental favourite. Wish I still had the 12-inch single.

Favorite Nirvana song: "Heart-Shaped Box."

Favorite Johnny Cash song: "Hurt."

Favorite R.E.M. song: "Losing My Religion."

Favorite cheesy-ass country song: "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" by Dwight Yoakam. I listened to this song about 500 times while trying to decide whether to make the biggest, most difficult career change of my life, back in the late summer of 1999.

Favorite Billy Joel song: "Pressure." A high school-era fave.

Favorite Bruce Springsteen song: "Cover Me." The first-person song I believe the record company requested for Born in the USA.

Favorite Beach Boys song: "Sloop John B." This is, indeed, the worst trip...I've ever been on. Sonically perfect.

Favorite Dire Straits song: "Telegraph Road." Moody and evocative.

Favorite Elvis Costello song: "Veronica." Poppy shite, I am sure hardcore Elvis fans would dismiss this as.

Favorite Jimi Hendrix song: "All Along the Watchtower," which the comic nerd in me admits I grew to love in the wake of its perfect use in Watchmen.

Favorite John Mellencamp song: "Paper in Fire."

Favorite Neil Young song: "The Needle and the Damage Done."

Favorite Paul Simon song: "Graceland."

Favorite Duran Duran song: "Do You Believe in Shame?"

Favorite Talking Heads song: "And She Was." Hard to pick just one, though, as almost all of them are wondrous sonic nuggets.

Favorite James Kochalka Superstar song: "Saving My Strength." The apotheosis of Jason Cooley, AKA Jason X-12, the dog with the robot brain.

Favorite Tool song: "Sober." Funny that they didn't go back to this style of song again really until Lateralus, but, I do love me some Tool.

Favorite A Perfect Circle song: "Weak and Powerless." There's almost no APC song I don't like, except for some wrongheaded baloney on their most recent covers CD, but I do like their version of John Lennon's "Imagine."

Favorite Peter Gabriel song: "Mercy Street." Of course, almost anything on So is terrific.

Favorite Blink 182 song: "I Miss You." Awesome pop number.

Favorite Moby song: "Beautiful." I like most of Moby's work, but this is my current fave.

Favorite Coldplay song: "Fix You." I recently did a Coldplay Best of disc, and this one always gets cranked up.

Favorite Green Day song: "Holiday." This song and The Daily Show are the only tangible reminders in my world that not everyone buys into the evil Bizarro World of the Bush Administration and its cronies infecting the media.

Favorite The Church song: "Under the Milky Way." Moody and evocative. I loves me some moody and evocative music.

What I Did On My Weekend Vacation

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 21:15:57 GMT

On Friday I decided that on Saturday I wanted to drive a couple of hours up north and visit Plattsburgh, near the Canadian border. There's a comic shop there called Fantastic PLanet (which I would link to if they had a website, but, they don't) that I visit once a year or so, and last year around this time my son and I drove up there, just us guys, and had a wonderful day. This time I decided to bring the whole gang.

I got everybody up at 7:30 AM and took 'em out to breakfast, then we made the long drive through the Adirondack mountain range, and saw as a bonus some spectacular scenery. Not so much the fall foliage, although there was a good bit of that -- but unexpected snowcapped mountains off in the distance made for a beautiful drive the entire way. It's not really snowed yet where we live, and it hadn't occurred to me that there'd be snow in the mountains -- duh -- but yeah, just beautiful to see the majestic Adirondacks covered in a frosty sheen of blinding white snow.

I had called Fantastic Planet on Friday to make sure they'd be open (and of course, this being comics, to make sure they still existed at all...!). It was a good thing, as I learned in that call that they had moved from their previous location last February. We didn't have too hard a time finding them at their new location (164 Boynton Avenue in Plattsburgh, check it out), which was much larger, brighter, and seemed to have an even wider selection of graphic novels. All back issues were 50 percent off, too, but I only found an issue of Duplex Planet that interested me enough to buy -- it had a one-pager by James Kochalka. Ended up spending just under one-hundred dollars in total, including $25.00 on a present, the newest Complete Peanuts volume for Aaron's 10th birthday next month. I finished my copy of this volume last week, and it's the first volume that sings as "real Peanuts" from start to finish. Aaron loves the strip, so this should be up his alley. He and I both also salivated at the mall Borders in Plattsburgh over the Complete Calvin and Hobbes books, set up in a nice display with one of the volumes on a pedestal to make you drool even more. On sale, but still 120.00. Didn't buy it...and now I don't need to, as when I told Chris Allen about my interest, he ordered it for me from Amazon at a steep discount and told me I could pay him back whenever. Ladies and gentlemen, he is either a very, very good friend, or perhaps drunk. Maybe both! But, thanks, Chris. This is a set I know I'll be sharing with my kids for years to come.

After lunch in Plattsburgh, we did something a bit out of character -- instead of hopping back on the interstate and heading home like the boring people we are, we took the ferry across Lake Champlain into Vermont, and went into Burlington, my first non-Kochalka visit to the city. It was supernaturally easy for us to find our way right where we wanted to go (the Church Street Marketplace), and Aaron and I browsed Crow Books (scene of last year's Kochalka concert and signing) and I found some neat artcomix, stuff by Matt Madden and others that I'd never seen in a comic shop before; ended up spending another 50 bucks on GNs including Sketchbook Diaries Vol. 4 for Aaron, which he picked out of their fairly impressive (understandably) Kochalka collection.

Also walked to the other end of their no-car open-air marketplace to hit the local comic shop, where I picked up the first two issues of the new Black Widow mini drawn by Sean Phillips and overpoweringly inked by Bill Sienkiewicz. Well, I should have KNOWN that would be the case...!

We got home about 8:15 PM, not even getting lost on the circuituous back-road route needed to get home from Vermont (taking the ferry back to Plattsburgh and driving down the interstate would have seemed a defeat, and also cost another 15 bucks), ordered a pizza, and went to
bed. Best day in a long, long time.

Tonight my wife is grilling chicken outdoors for dinner, and I rented The Shining (the Kubrick version) for us to all watch for Halloween. I haven't watched it all the way through since its original release, and am eager to see how the kids like it...and if they can handle it. The last time they tried to watch a Stephen King movie, Pet Sematary, they ran screaming from the room. So, we shall see...

Inside The Center for Cartoon Studies

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 11:28:02 GMT

Over at Kochalkaholic!, I've posted an interview with a student at The Center for Cartoon Studies. Among other things, she talks about what it's like to have a class with James Kochalka as the teacher. Click on over and have a look.

Sunday Morning Notes

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:20:02 GMT

I picked up David Rakoff's Don't Get Too Comfortable yesterday in Albany -- Christopher Butcher has lauded Rakoff's work, and his (Rakoff, not Butcher) appearance on The Daily Show had me uinterested in reading his work. It's a sardonic and propulsive tour through the Age of American Excess, witty and well-written. I love Rakoff's downbeat loathing of all things sunny and cheery, it resonates pretty well with my own worldview. As such, I would definitely recommend you at least pick this up at your local library. I bought it new at The Bookhouse, and having now been entertained by it for over 12 hours, definitely feel I got more than my money's worth, especially if you contrast it with the cost-per-minute of the average funnybook.

Speaking of funnybooks, as noted at my KOCHALKAHOLIC! blog, Super-F*ckers #2 is shipping this coming Wednesday. Don't miss it. And also, speaking of KOCHALKAHOLIC!, I should have a new interview up by this time tomorrow.

Me and the Comics Industry

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:03:50 GMT

Here I am shooting my big mouth off again at Alex Ness's Pop Thought, on the state of the comics industry. Other commentators include Mike Gold, Alan Coil, and other folks.

Diabetic Stories Website

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:05:59 GMT

I'm diabetic. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes on Friday the 13th of November, 1998, and have been living with it ever since, usually pretty well.

Today I discovered Diabetic Stories, a website devoted to the life stories of people who have lived with this incurable disease.

Whether you have the disease, or just know someone who does -- and few people fail to meet at least one of those criteria, sadly -- you might find this site of interest. The transcripts reveal a great deal about the lives and humanity of the people profiled, and if you choose you can even listen to audio files of their stories.

Diabetes isn't something I enjoy, or even enjoy thinking about, frankly -- but this site is amazing, and the stories are fascinating.

The Monday Nothing

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 11:08:43 GMT

A friend sent me an e-mail last night that asked how my weekend was -- I hadn't thought about it but really, not much happened. The highlights were probably a trip to Earthworld to pick up the new Comics Journal, and discovering that the new comic The Science Fair by Jasen Lex is out. Lex used to (and still may, for all I know) share studio space with Street Angel's Jim Rugg, and Lex's The Gypsy Lounge is probably the best superhero graphic novel since Watchmen. So I was delighted to see The Science Fair in the shop, and picked it up along with the Journal. That was Saturday.

Sunday I finally gave in to the voices in my head and bought the Firefly DVD set. I know I'm going to want to pick up the Serenity movie when it comes out, and I've had an itch to re-watch the entire series since even before we saw the movie a few weeks back, so getting the series DVDs was probably inevitable. My wife and I watched the first disc and an episode off the second one yesterday afternoon, and there are far worse ways to spend a lazy, blustery, fall Sunday. I called the weather "autumnal" at one point and my wife commented that she likes the words I use.

Hey, that's why I make the big bucks as a writer. Except for the part about the bucks, and the big.

Oh, there's a couple of new items up at Kochalkaholic, if you're interested.

Enjoy your Monday.

Best Blog Post in...Well, A Long Time

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 20:53:38 GMT

It's been a long, long time since a blog post on any comics blog has been good for more than a momentary diversion, if even that -- I'm sure I'm not the only one that's noticed the past few months that comics blogging is essentially dead in the water.

Now, Neilalien has gone on the record on the death of comics blogging, examining the various places that comics bloggers have disappeared or transformed themselves into.

The most fascinating is Neil's mention of the secret "Fight Club"-type private mailing lists -- I know of one that includes dozens of big name industry pros, retailers and commentators. I know of it because I created it, a couple of years ago, in response to a personal attack on my private life that was carried out by a pair of disturbed individuals who were outraged at my willingness to publicly discuss my opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

I'm not in the "Fight Club" anymore -- I assume Neil is including this one in his thoughts, because at one point I invited him to join and he politely declined -- and I am sure there are many others out there too, hidden and unknown, occult in the truest sense of the word.

I disassociated myself from the one I started long ago, but I know it's still around and kicking, and that many former and some current friends and acquintances still particpate in it. So I know that Neil is right, that intelligent folks with interesting things to say about comics are, in large part, saying those things privately. Perhaps some of those thoughts are later developed into public essays and columns, so not all is lost, but man, the glory days of the comics blogosphere are seemingly well and truly over, at least for the time being.

I mean, really, where's today's Journalista? Who is today's Sean T. Collins? Sure, he blogs, but -- nothing against you, Sean, if you're even reading this -- he doesn't blog about anything I am remotely interested in. The same goes for Tim O'Neill and When Will The Hurting Stop. I'm sure he thinks his remixed comics covers and out of context Mark Trail panels are hilarious, but I don't even visit his blog on reflex anymore. It's that dead to me.

Now, Neil posits that people use LiveJournal for the privacy factor -- and I know at least one comics blogger who, apparently, does shield off some posts from public viewing -- but I've never done that, and I don't know that I ever will. If I want to share private thoughts with that small of a group of people, well, there's always e-mail, is there not?

As someone who once had what seemed to be one of the most prominent and popular comics blogs -- I can only wish today that anything I am associated with could manage the hits the ADD Blog got in its glory days -- I do mourn the passage of what was a truly fascinating couple of years on the comics internet. But it seems like the fad may indeed be over, and the best comics bloggers are either writing about stuff that mostly isn't comics, or are writing about comics in other formats, like The Comics Journal. Which, by the way, will apparently have one of my reviews in it in the next issue (#272, I think -- whichever one is shipping in November or December). Of course, the review was written something like a year ago, so I am far from excited to finally see it go into print, another aggravation with non-blog comics writing, the delays -- but it remains an honour to be in the Journal in any form. It is, in fact, a lifelong dream, just one I wish was being fulfilled a little more often. But I know I'm no Tom Spurgeon or Rich Kreiner, and am, in fact, lucky to be invited to the party at all.

But Neil's thoughts on that other party, the comics blogging one -- those interested me. Check them out. And thanks, Neil, for grabbing my interest on a subject I thought long ago exhausted of any intellectual power at all.

More Bitching About Health

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 13:52:15 GMT

Had a tough time sleeping last night as my bicipital tendonitis started acting up in my right arm. This is a fun condition that I have that seems to flare up about once or twice a year in which it feel like someone is drilling through my bicep with a dull drill. And it also makes it hard to lift my arm, say, to turn on the light in the bathroom or adjust the showerhead. Why is it that it's always on the weekends that this stuff rears its head? The first time I had this problem was on a weekend, and it was a weekend of absolute living hell that went unrelieved until my doctor prescribed Vicodin. Thankfully it hasn't gotten that bad since then, but these occasional flare-ups are aggravating and inconvenient, and of course an insulting reminder that I am now down to mere weeks before my 40th birthday.

What else, what else...?

Finished up reading Absolute Watchmen early this morning. I hadn't re-read it in a couple of years, so it was nice to come to it somewhat fresh -- one of the surprises at the end still actually took me by surprise. And you know, for all the talk over the years about how flawed the end reveal is, you know, now that I am -- as mentioned -- just a few weeks from 40, it doesn't seem as hard to swallow that someone would do so much harm in a wrongheaded attempt to save the world. In fact, it seems surprisingly relevant, although of course the villain of Watchmen is about the opposite of George W. Bush in every way imaginable. Except maybe, Bush probably has action figures of himself on his desk, too.

Ticking Down to Friday

Thu, 13 Oct 2005 20:05:16 GMT

Not a bad day. The most exciting thing was hooking up the artist of one of my favourite comics of all time with one of the biggest comics publishers in the country, with the hopes of putting a collection together of one of the landmark superhero series of the 1970s, long out of print. Keep your fingers crossed if you love great comics.

Been tired as hell all week, probably due to the cold/flu/Captain Trips I've had, which has also played havoc with my diabetes, as illness is wont to due. Damn illness. Damn diabetes.

That reminds me, no idea what's for dinner tonight. And did I mention I am tired as hell? Tired+Payday+No idea what to make=take out, almost certainly. Did I mention I am really tired?

Oh, really weird dream last night, that I was back working at the country radio station I worked at in 1987, also known as My Worst Radio Job Ever. I had to put a song into the antiquated DOS-era computer animation system, could not remember how to do it, and woke up quite disturbed about the whole thing. And yes, this dream has a clear connection to current-day events, although it's nothing terribly disturbing to think about, except when I am asleep, apparently...

Not Calling it a Comeback

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 11:02:44 GMT

Posted some brief thoughts on possible future content at Kochalkaholic!

Jeez, it's been like 12 days since I updated there. I suck!

Well, I am trying hard to get some content up. Need some cooperation from others to make that happen. Keep your fingers crossed.

Gotta shower and get ready for work. Always work, work, work. Gah!