Health Care, Limbaugh, Breitbart

Thankfully, the Blunt Amendment was voted down.  Unfortunately a lot of people voted in favor of it.  Can we just be clear that the "Blunt Amendment" was never about religious liberty? It wasn't even about contraception? It was a Trojan horse to gut health care reform and sour people's opinion on the program. After all, if any employer can deny coverage based on "moral" grounds", then what's to stop all employers from coming up with all sorts of "moral grounds" upon which to deny coverage for services.  What if your employer is Christian Scientist?  Well, one can only imagine after a few years of that people will say "oh, Obamacare is terrible, we should repeal it".  Which is precisely the GOP goal.

The main thing this ridiculous situation has further illustrated to me is how stupid it is to link access to health care with employment status.  Seriously, other than the fact that it is a historical accident, why should your employment status have anything to do with access to health care?  Why should the identity of your employer have any connection with the sorts of services you can receive?  Why should your employer have any say at all in your health care?  I've yet to hear a good answer to this.

On the Rush Limbaugh front, I'm enjoying a tremendous amount of schadenfreude regarding the hot water into which he's gotten himself.   He's such a repugnant character, and gutless too - once he started getting pressure from advertisers, he retreated (pursuant to a pathetic non-apology) to his "I'm just an entertainer" line.  Pathetic.   Also, ill informed.

On the death of Andrew Breitbart, I would just say that this is a man who said the following about ted Kennedy when he passed away. Wow.  Classy. So, I'm sorry for his family (and I'm sure he was nice to have dinner with, good to his mama, loved kittens, etc.), but I won't begrudge anyone who has nasty things to say about the guy. 

My Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics Collections

So, I decided to put together a list of my favorite graphic novels and collections of comics.  Most of these are pretty well known.  All are worth checking out for various reasons.  I've of course enjoyed a lot of other stories, but these are some of my favorites.

Kingdom Come - Mark Waid and Alex Ross - Possible my all-time favorite story.  The story itself is fantastic (in the future, older heroes come out of retirement to get the new ones under control and to teach them what true heroism is), but it's the art that pushes this one over the top.  Alex Ross could paint a grocery bag and it would look amazing, but what he does here, with these larger than life heroes, is truly stunning.

Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - A pretty obvious choice.  This is the alpha and the omega of graphic novels.  This book, as far as I am concerned, really does deserve all of the praise heaped upon it.  Sometimes the imagery/symbolism is over the top, but mostly, what you are reading, is an incredibly intricate (watch-like) piece of storytelling which some people say is a deconstruction of the superhero genre.  I don't know what that means, but I do know is a towering achievement.

The Ultimates and The Ultimates 2 - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch - The name "Mark Millar" will show up again on this list.  If you have any interest in a well-written, big time superhero team book about heroes taking on big threats, this is the book.  Seriously, this is the $%^&ing book.  In a lot of ways, the Marvel Superhero movies are based on these books more than they are on the traditional Avengers books.  These are fun, accessible books with a real cinematic feel to the artwork.

The Authority: Relentless and The Authority: Under New Management - Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar and Frank Quitely - If you're looking for another big-time superhero book with wit and style and with a fantastic, cinematic feel to it, this is another place to look.  The first 2 volumes involve fighting invaders from another planet, terrorists, the entire Marvel Universe of superheroes, and a giant creature that is essentially God.  Plus, you have to love Midnighter and Apollo where the authors basically create Superman & Batman analogues that are romantically involved with one another.  Brilliant writing and artwork.

Superman for All Seasons - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale - this book is pure magic.  If you're looking for a straightforward, relatively family friendly story, this is the place.  If you're looking for a beautifully told and illustrated story about the early years of Superman with humor and heart.  This is the place.  In fact, this book basically inspired Smallville (which I loved).  The team of Loeb and Sale will show up again on this list.

All-Star Superman (generally sold as 2 volumes) - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - Up there with kingdom Come for the definitive take on Superman.  Beautiful art (seriously, some of Frank Quitely's pages are just ridiculous), compelling and wonderfully written story, this is the whole package.  This presents a larger-than-life, thoughtful, intelligent Superman.  Also, they get points for effectively conveying Superman's origins in one page.  One page!  That's all you need.

Superman: Red Son - Mark Millar - Mark Millar must be my favorite artist, because in addition to these items I've already mentioned, he also wrote a bunch stories that would be in my next tier of stories that I love like Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Wolverine is the only surviving hero as an old guy, and the bad guys have taken over), and Marvel 1985 (real Marvel superheroes and villains show up in a town in 1985), both of which confirm what I love about Millar, which is that he gets what comics should be a about - big, ridiculous, fun ideas.  Now about Superman: Red Son, the concept is simple: Superman lands in Russia instead of Kansas.  That's all you need to know.  The book is insanely fun, and has great twists on what you know from the regular DC universe.  Read this book.

Wanted - Mark Millar and J.G. Jones - Mark Millar again.  Love that #$%^ing guy.  In this one, the Supervillains secretly control everything, and this loser finds out he's actually the worlds greatest killer and joins the secret society of supervillains.  Like Harry Potter or the Matrix, but about a bad guy.  Crazy fun.

Astro City - Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross and Brent Anderson (multiple volumes) - This is a fantastic series, but I'm not sure which book in particular to point a reader to.  I'd start with the first collection, "life in the Big City".  It provides a nice overview to the world of Astro City.  These are stories from a world where there are lots of superheroes, and you see the world both from the perspective of the Superheroes and from the perspective of regular people.  Or, low-level grunts in a super villain's organization.  The writing here is top-notch, the stories are moving, funny, sad, dramatic and everything else.  The concept here is kind of a continuation of the idea that Busiek and Ross first came up with in Marvels.  

Batman: The Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale - Loeb and Sale come together again to make magic.  This story is so very good, and the art is over the top, but in a very enjoyable way.  A long, good mystery for Batman to solve early in his career.  Also great if you like "Godfather" references.

Marvels - Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross - Alex Ross is the man.  Seriously, even if the story is crap, his art could make it worth getting.  However, here the story is wonderful.  It's a retelling of the early history of the Marvel universe, from the perspective of regular people who experienced it.

Planet Hulk - Greg Pak - Hulk is sent away by the superheroes to another planet and he meets a new, memorable group of warriors and has awesome adventures.  All you need to know.  Well, also the art is fantastic, I really like this characterization of the Hulk (not stupid, but not the "merged" brainy professor Hulk either, very much aware that he is a savage force of nature), and the story and action are really compelling.

The best album of the past 10 years? And some other thoughts.

Slate had an article recently suggesting that the Strokes "Is This It" is the best album of the past decade.  So, I said - challenge accepted!!  First, right off the bat, I reject the central thesis of the article.  I'm on a quest to figure out what I think the best album of the past 10 years is, but I'm pretty sure that the answer to the question, "is this it?", is no.  I listened to the album this evening, and what I will say is that it's a really solid rock album. Very catchy, good listening. It's a fun album. But it's not a transcendent album. I have to believe, for myself, that the best album is something that you listen to and you feel changed. For me at least, the Strokes don't do that. But I will keep them in consideration, out of deference to the author, and the fact that it is a really good record.

Also, it is of course worth making the obvious point that art is totally subjective.  I get that, but I also know that everyone loves making lists.  So, using a quick and dirty analysis of the songs in my iTunes collection, here are some of my favorite albums of the past 10 years:

The Top 10 (probably):

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Muse - H.A.A.R.P.
Green Day - American Idiot
Bad Religion - The Process of Belief
Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
Beck - Guero
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Wilco - A Ghost is Born

No surprise if you know me - I'm pretty clear that I think Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the best album of the past 10 years.  Actually an easy question for me. 

Here's a bunch of others I really liked:

Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Cave In - Antenna
The Strokes - Is This It
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
Wolfmother - Wolfmother
Black Mountain -In the Future
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Jane's Addiction - Strays
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Yo La Tengo - I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
The Black Keys - Brothers
The White Stripes - Elephant

One other conclusion to draw is that some of the bands I loved in the 90's (Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, R.E.M.) did not have as strong decades in the 2000's.  Anyway, I have more to say about music (and bands that have disappointed me recently), I'll save that for another post.

Comics Reviews

I've been reading a ton of comics recently, and wanted to get down some of my thoughts on issue 2 of the "New 52" issues, along with some excellent Marvel stuff I've been reading recently.  I also think that it generally takes more than 1 issue to really assess whether you want to read something.  So, unless I thought something was not very good (or just didn't speak to me at all), I'm reading a second issue of it.

Action Comics #2  - Another fun issue.  I'll definitely keep reading.  One thing though, I'm actually not crazy about the art.  I actually think it's kind of inconsistent in places.  Lois looks sort of heavy in one shot, and then not in another.  Still, very skillful storytelling going on, and I want to keep reading to see what Grant Morrison has planned.

All-Star Western #1 - A big, fun surprise from the New 52.  I had no intention of picking this up at all, but I heard some good things about it and I'm really glad I read it.  I'm not at all familiar with the Jonah Hex character, but I get it (gunslinger with mysterious past, emotional and physical scars).  It was a really well told story; I'm not a particular Western fan, but the idea of taking this Western character in Jonah Hex, and putting him in the industrial early Gotham was an interesting choice, and made for a really well told story.

Batgirl - like a bunch of other issues this month, this is an improvement over issue 1.  Issue 1 was good but not spectacular, and Simone really steps up here.  Very strong characterization of Batgirl, and she develops a sympathetic villain.  Good stuff.

Animal Man - This is another very strong issue in a very good, and creepy series.  I'm not sure if I'm in for this long-term, but I definitely think it's some interesting stuff.  Art is strong (and, like I said, creepy and unsettling), and Buddy Baker and his family are pretty well realized, and realistically written characters.

Batman and Robin - I read it twice, and I'd say it's a book definitely worth reading.  Strong characterization between Bruce Wayne and his son Damien (Bruce is not going to win any father of the year awards).  However, that being said, I can only read so many books and there's a ton of stuff which intrigues me more than a second or third Batman book (I'm probably just going to stick with Scott Snyder's "Batman" for now).

Batwoman - Now this book is freakin' great.  The art is really just stunning, and the story feels nearly as strong (which is high praise considering that the art really is incredible stuff).  I'll definitely keep reading this.  It has a real sense of atmosphere, a strong, distinctive, female protagonist who is powerful and sexy but is not once perceived as a sex object (you ought to check that out, Judd Winick and Scott Lobdell), and a real voice that comes through.  This book is a real winner in my mind.

Demon Knights - Fantastic stuff.  Not to sound like a broken record, but there really is a ton of fun stuff this month.  The new DC books continue to impress.  I wasn't particularly sure I would like this series (I'm not necessarily a huge medieval swords and sorcery type person) but the writing is terrific and the book, thus far, has been an insanely entertaining story, so as long as it keeps being really good, fun stories, I will keep reading.

FF - Overall, this was a pretty strong issue even though not that much happened.  It felt like a little bit of a break before the next series of big battles/adventures.  I've been enjoying this series overall, and as I've said previously, I'm a big fan of Jonathan Hickman.  This series has mixed big action and brainy ideas, which is pretty much Hickman's stock-in-trade.  It looks like they might be bringing back "Fantastic Four" in a few months, so I'm curious to see what role this series will play.  I'm not sure I can read both books if they end up being 2 separate books, but we'll see.

Frankenstein - Another ridiculously fun series, courtesy of Jeff Lemire (who is also writing Animal Man).  This one, although involving monsters as well, is more fun than Animal Man in that it's more absurd and over-the-top action, as opposed to just plain creepy and unsettling imagery.  I like the tone of the story, Frankenstein (shouldn't it be Frankenstein's monster?) is a great character as well.  I might just read the first arc on this one (as I feel like I've got a lot of supernatural monster/creature/horror comics on my plate) but it's definitely worth checking out.  It has a lot of great and absurd ideas.

Green Lantern - Here's the thing with Green Lantern.  It has been one of my favorite books the past 2 or 3 years, but I think I'm pretty much ready to drop it as a book.  I like Hal Jordan's character, and I really like all this Sinestro, but there are so many new and different books out there, and I feel like I've seen the Green Lantern (and other color stories) go as far as I need to see them go.  I am, to be honest, sort of bored with the character, and I'd rather read Geoff Johns' take on other characters, like Aquaman, or his overall take on the Justice League.

SHIELD - This was a weird issue.  There was almost no dialogue in the issue, which involved the celestial space baby causing a lot of damage to the eternal city underneath Rome.  Yes, you read that right.  I love this series overall, and it's big, heady concepts, but this issue sort of lost me and didn't feel like it advanced the plot all that much.  I hope the next one is better, since there's only 3 issues left in the series.  Overall though, I still love this series - I love the idea of a secret history of the world, strong stuff.   

Stormwatch -  Now this is what I was hoping what the series would be.  This second issue was a BIG improvement over the first one.  I'm not totally sure why it is such a big improvement, but it really feels like in this issue Paul Cornell finds his way here, and this is what I was hoping for from a Stormwatch series - big characters, big action, crazy villains, big excitement.  So, assuming this keeps up, this will be a strong buy for me.

Superboy - This was another interesting issue.  Scott Lobdell is definitely capable of strong stuff, so I don't totally understand why "Red Hood" was so weak of an issue.  I like what they're doing here with Superboy - you don't know how heroic he really is, and you're seeing thing through his eyes but you can't totally trust him yet.  It's interesting stuff, very science-y.  One gripe already about the new DC universe - how many different secret organizations are there?  There seem to be a lot.  I do have to cull down the number of titles I'm reading, and I could see myself dropping this one and maybe reading it later on in trade form.  It's a strong series, but not necessarily a must-read on a monthly basis.

Superior - I love Mark Millar.  Seriously, I just love the guy.  Nobody knows how to truly entertain a reader like he does.  He just \writes great, straightforward, entertaining stuff.  Superior is the story of a disabled boy who magically gets turned into a superhero, and it is completely awesome.  I love it.  Seriously, read this book.

Swamp Thing  - A very strong series overall.  I sort of see this story as a complement to Animal Man.  Animal Man is concerned with “The Red” (animal life) and Swamp Thing is concerned with “The Green” (Plant life).  Both have a supernatural horror feel to them and you have to remind yourself that they take place in a world with “regular” superheroes.  Scott Snyder delivers another very strong issue here.  I don’t totally know what’s going on, but I’m very interested, and he makes you care about these weird, plant creatures.  That’s good writing.  This is another one though where I might consider picking up the trade later on.  I’m not sure.  I will say the art is outstanding here, and there is some seriously creepy, unsettling imagery.  Also, a little heavy on the exposition, but it works reasonably well because Scott Snyder is a skillful writer.

Teen Titans - This was an enjoyable first issue.  In the new DC universe, I can't tell if the Teen Titans were ever previously a superhero team, or if this takes place in the past as opposed to in the present day.  I wish they would be more clear about that.  This was a fun, fast-paced, and very entertaining issue though, and I thought it worked pretty well.  It is also very much of a piece with Superboy - the stories kind of seem to go together as different sides of the same story.  Not totally committed to this, but if you're look for some straightforward superhero stories, this seems pretty promising.

Ultimate Comics Spider Man – I wasn’t particularly interested in this one to start, but on a recommendation from someone whose opinion I really trust, I picked it up and have really enjoyed it.  It’s actually a nice change from all of the supernatural DC stuff I’ve been reading, in that it takes place in the “Ultimate” Marvel universe, which, for a universe full of superheroes, much more closely resembles the “real” world.  Everything her feels very real; strong characters, strong dialogue (a Brian Michael Bendis hallmark), and believable motivations.  And I really like the fact that Marvel takes place in actual cities you've heard of, and people live in places like The Bronx, as opposed to made up cities.  Plus, it’s a fresh take on Spider-Man.  You gotta like that.  There’s only so many times the Peter Parker origin story can be told.

My final tally on the DC comics relaunch

Here's where I came out on those of the new 52 that I read.  Overall, like I said in my prior post, I thought there were some pretty strong comics.  Even the "maybes" had some good issues in them.


Strong Yes:


Action Comics
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batman
Batwoman
Swamp Thing
Wonder Woman


Conditional Yes:

Batgirl
Flash
Green Lantern
Justice League*
Supergirl**
Superboy**

* The first issue was not spectacular, but I have a good feeling that Johns and Lee are going to bring their "A game" to this title
** Realistically, probably only going to stick with one of these


Maybe (but I'll still read issue 2):

Batman and Robin ***
Captain Atom
Demon Knights
Detective Comics***
Frankenstein
Justice League Dark
Stormwatch****
Superman

*** A Fine issue, but I am only going to subscribe to 1 Batman comic
**** This the one I most wanted to love, and I'm really hoping it gets better

Probably not (but I might check in from time to time):

Deathstroke
Firestorm
Green Lantern Corps
Justice League International
Nightwing

Thanks But No Thanks (1 issue was plenty):

Catwoman*****
Men of War
OMAC
Red Hood and the Outlaws

***** I actually am sort of curious about this, but there's a lot of comics out there that I liked that I don't have huge problems with.

DC's new 52, Week 4

So, this is the final week of DC's new 52.  Overall, I've really enjoyed it, and I'm going to be mostly picking up DC books for a little while because there have been some strong offerings (but there's been some very strong Marvel work I'll discuss another day).  However, I think that there has been some valid criticism of the relaunch as a whole.  I know this was not a complete reboot, but I think maybe it should have been.  Maybe they should have completely just blown up continuity and started from scratch.  That might have been better.  Additionally, there are a lot of genres of comic books, and the fact is they're trying to tell those stories, but maybe not enough.  Every comic takes place in the shared DC universe, including the vampire ones and medieval ones and supernatural ones and war ones and western ones.  You have to wonder if the writers might have felt more freedom if they got to tell these sorts of stories in a completely independent universe.

Also, not to belabor this point too much, but if a something is labeled as a #1 issue, it should be easily accessible to new readers and not make you feel like you've been dropped into the middle of a convoluted story.  A person with no prior knowledge of that series should be able to pick it up ad figure out what's going on and enjoy the book.  I think the results were kinda mixed on that front.

Aquaman - Loved this!  This was my big surprise of the week.  Johns and Reis make Aquaman fresh and interesting like they did years ago for Green Lantern.  They take the fact that Aquaman has been seen as a joke head-on, and address it with wit and humor.  I was reading this because I like the creative team but I wasn't expecting that much, necessarily; but now, I'm on board.  This really is good stuff.  They're actually making Aquaman seem cool.
  

Justice League Dark - I really like the idea here; there are some threats to the world where super strength, super speed or super detective work aren't going to be enough, that being the magic/weird/supernatural corner of the DC universe.  I have to confess, I am almost completely unfamiliar with the characters here (Madame Xanadu, John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man, The Enchantress), so anything that happens here is new to me.  I know that a number of these are Vertigo characters that they're re-integrating into the proper DCU.  So, this first issue was interesting; the Enchantress has apparently gone crazy and the regular JL are not equipped to deal with it.  So, enter the weird magical type characters.  I'm not totally sure what's going on here, but I am interested.  I'm not totally sold that this is the book for me, but the writing is good here, these characters seem weird and interesting, and it's worth sticking around for at least a little while.

Superman - After the exciting, fresh take on Superman contained in Action Comics #1, I was intrigued to see how this translated into what will be the current-day adventures, and Superman's new status quo.  This was certainly an action and information-packed issue but ultimately I was a little disappointed.  I appreciate how much information was conveyed here and I think it was not an enviable task, but there was some stuff here that didn't quite work.  I felt like I got more out of this issue regarding the status quo of the Daily Planet and the adjustment to a new media world, than I did regarding what's really going on inside Superman's head.  What's funny was that even this was a new comic showing Superman's new status quo, this comic felt kind of old fashioned and sort of dated to me.  So, here's what I did like from the comic - I like that they're reckoning with the fact that a newspaper wouldn't be the most new, vibrant place to be, so apparently the Planet has been bought by a News Corp type place.  This could make for some interesting stuff, potentially. I also like that they're messing with what you think you know about Superman, by upsetting some of the expectations.  On the he other hand, I sort of liked the old fashioned part, where it was Superman protecting Metropolis from monsters that only he can fight, and balancing his life as Clark Kent.  Not sure what to think about the fact that George Perez is off this series after issue 6.  I wasn't totally sold on this, but there's enough here that I'll monitor it and see where it goes, particularly if it ties into Stormwatch in an interesting way.

Firestorm - Not sure about this one.  This is one that really feels like a genuine reboot.  I was not overly familiar with the Firestorm character, but I know there have been many iterations over the years.  I get from \what I read that this is a real change to the origins of the character.  I didn't love this though.  I thought that the dialogue (and issues they tried to address with the dialogue) were kind of heavy-handed, and I didn't think the art or story were so great that I feel compelled to keep tuning in.  I was sort of surprised given that I have liked a lot of Gail Simone's other work.  Frankly, there's been a lot of stuff I enjoyed a lot more than this, so I'll probably skip it unless I hear it gets really awesome in later months.

The Flash - Now this was a pretty strong first issue.  For someone who doesn't know that much about any of the Flashes (Wally West or Barry Allen) this was still a pretty good introduction.  He's really fast, he's apparently not married to Iris West, he works as a CSI type person in the police department, and he's working on a case that appears to hit close to home.  It was a very accessible first issue, and frankly, the art is just stunning.  I'm not overly familiar with Francis Manipaul's work, but there's some genuinely beautiful and clever artwork, art that legitimately tells a story (which the art doesn't always do).  I'm intrigued by the "villain", and this is another one where (like Aquaman) I was just trying it out, but I'd like to see where it goes.

Justice League International - A fun story.  If you liked previous incarnations of he JLI then you'll like this.  This is a super team that will be a little more light-hearted than the "big" Justice League, and has a slightly more goofy quality.  This was definitely an entertaining issue, but not really something I need to read month to month.  If I hear the story is good I'll pick up the trade at the library.

Other comics I'm reading

I realized I've been writing a lot recently about the DC New 52, but I've been reading a lot of other stuff as well.  I thought I might highlight some of the noteworthy independent or non-superhero stuff I've read recently.  These are just a few.  I'll mention some others periodically.

The first writer I want to highlight is Jonathan Hickman, who is probably my favorite writer right now.  Mostly you would know him from his amazing run on Fantastic Four (now FF), and for his work on the SHIELD mini-series.  That is a totally mind-blowing series, which pulls in heady concepts and all sorts of historical figures.  But, as many comics fans know, Hickman got his start doing his own work at Image Comics, with The Nightly News.  This is a totally kooky series about people wronged by the media who take some pretty decisive action against it.  Hickman did his own art here, and he's got this gonzo, stylistic art style that totally works for the subject matter.  Some thought-provoking and unsettling stuff.  Another one of his books I really loved was Pax Romana, which hooked me in immediately because it's a time travel story involving the Roman Empire.  Brilliant stuff, really thoughtfully written.  I'm also reading his current mini-series The Red Wing about a war being fought across both space and time.  I don't totally get the time stuff sometimes, but I don't mind that at all.  I like having a writer address heady concepts.

Also want to give a shout out to American Vampire by Scott Snyder.  He's just a fantastic writer, and he's pulled off the incredible task of actually getting me to really like a vampire story.  Anyone who knows my taste in comics and sci-fi will know that I'm not a horror person at all, I'm specifically not a vampire person.  I thought that the movie Interview with the Vampire was tedious, and what little I've seen or read of the "Twilight" stories makes me want to run in the opposite direction.  Plus, it always seemed like ridiculous goth people were into vampires.  So, creating a story involving vampires that I actually enjoy is no mean feat.  How does he do it?  First off, by making them actually scary, as opposed to pouty and glum.  His main character is a really bad guy who's not afraid to do bad things.  At the same time, he creates a number of other more sympathetic characters and manages to do interesting things with them.  So, if you're like me and are wary of vampire stories, try these out as they're scary and really well-written.

Something I read last year but still sticks with me is I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly.  This was very powerful book, and a fantastic usage of the visual medium to convey emotion.  I won't give too much away, but will say that this is an incredibly compelling illustration of how a young person would deal with a life full of challenges.  Really worth your time.

DC's new 52, week 3

Some thoughts on reading some of DC's new 52, week 3, or, as some people might call it, gratuitous sex and boobies/disgusting "Saw" level violence week at DC comics!  In all seriousness, I have two young girls at home (6 and 3) who are starting to get into Comics.  Thank goodness for Tiny Titans and Archie Comics, because there has not been a single comic DC has put out in this new 52 initiative that I would be at all comfortable giving to my girls.  Definitely not any of the stuff that came out this week.  I don't understand.  Don't they want kids reading comics?  If they do, give me more comics that I can comfortably share with my children!

As an aside, I do read comics other than DC Comics, and I look forward to reviewing both some Marvel books and some independent books I've enjoyed recently.  Let me know what you're reading and what you liked (or what you hated)!

Batman - Very good comic.  Solid introduction to the new universe/status quo, even though it really is a continuation of the previous stories.  The story is pretty engaging, and they show a Bruce Wayne who is feeling pretty good about life and not quite as psychotically obsessing about his parents' murder.  Art is fine, but I'm not a huge fan.  It's a little too cartoony for me.  I also share the minor complaint that they made Dick Grayson so much shorter than Bruce Wayne.  If he really filled in as Batman for a year, he should appear to be a grown-up, and not a head shorter than Bruce Wayne though.  These are relatively small quibbles though, as I really trust Scott Snyder as a writer.  He seems to have a good handle on the characters, and I'd like to see where he takes this story.

Captain Atom - This was a nice surprise.  I was completely unfamiliar with the Captain Atom character pre-relaunch.  All I knew was that it was the character that Dr. Manhattan was based on.  Also, I remember him a little from the old Justice League International, where he never seemed particularly interesting to me.  However, this was something interesting and different.  Seems like, while he is portrayed as a superhero, this will be also something of a sci-fi comic.  I like the artwork, it's different from your standard Superhero art (a little more pencil-sketchy).  I'm not sure I'll keep reading this, not because I don't like it but because I have to make some hard choices. Also, Captain Atom's powers are pretty similar (as far as I can tell) to those of Firestorm, and I'm really curious about that comic, coming out next week and written by Gail Simone (who I really enjoy).  That being said, this is an interesting story and one worth watching.

Catwoman - Oy.  Here we go.  This is the first of two comics I read this week that make me want to wash my hands afterwards.  I don't want to just parrot a lot of the sentiment that has been expressed elsewhere on the Internet; I'll get to the problematic stuff later.  First, the stuff that was good in this issue.  Judd Winick is pretty good at characterization, and I actually thought that Catwoman was a pretty likable character.  However, if she is a master thief, how is it that people are frequently able to figure out where she lives and blow up her apartment?  I thought she was really good at what she did.  The art is good, clearly the artist wants us to know tat Catwoman/Selina is a "sexy" character.  Really hard to miss that point.

Which leads me into the problems in the issue.  I have no problem with the idea of a "sexy" comic which gets at the idea that these characters are adults and have, you know, feelings and urges.  However, there's a difference between sexy (which some of the best characterizations of Catwoman have been) and this book, which is best summarized as boobies boobies boobies, Catwoman and Batman have sexy time.  Seriously, you don't even see her face for a little while, just gratuitous T&A shots.  This is really just not what I'm looking for in a comic.  If I read a comic book involving Catwoman, I want to see her pull off some really clever heist, not her clothes.  If I read a comic involving Batman, I want to read about him solving crimes or defeating bad guys, not making the "oh" face.  So, thanks but no thanks.

Deathstroke - Deathstroke is a badass.  A major @#$%ing badass.  I know because they tell you, repeatedly in this issue.  I know there's been some strong dislike for this issue on the web, and I understand where it's coming from.  This issue does have kind of a dated, 90's feel to it, and for the world's greatest badass, his costume just looks stupid, like some Image comic from 1994.  All that being said, I actually didn't think this was a bad issue.  It definitely had appeal like a B-level action movie, and some fun moments.  However, I won't be picking this up regularly.  The end makes clear that Deathstroke is out to prove to everyone that he is the biggest badass on the planet.  If each issue is just him proving that, then that's not really much of a story for me to follow.  However, I'll check in on this one periodically.

Green Lantern Corps - So, to cut to the chase, I like Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps, but I'm only going to follow one of these books and I prefer the Hal Jordan character to Guy Gardner and John Stewart, even though they're both fun, good characters.  This was a pretty good issue, and I thought that Peter Tomasi did a good job of catching new readers up and continuing things from the last story.  This was a well-written issue, and if there weren't so many other comics I was excited about I would consider it.  However, further to a point I made above, this is a really violent comic.  Some of it is just gratuitous - I know there is violence in a world of super heroes, but I don't really want to see entrails and beings getting sliced in half.  I also think that with Blackest Night and Brightest Day and the War of the Green Lanterns and all of the color corps, I may just have Green Lantern fatigue.  So, thanks but no thanks.

Nightwing - Very solid issue.  Good story, really enjoyed the art.  Another one of these stories where past knowledge of the current continuity might be helpful, but the writer (Kyle Higgins) does a solid job of letting you know the current status quo (used to be Robin, then Nightwing, then Batman, now back to Nightwing). His Dick Grayson is a very likable character; sympathetically drawn.  We spend a lot of time in his head, but he's a well-drawn character.  The violence here is present, but not grotesque, and it sets up an interesting situation which seems to tie in to the storyline in Scott Snyder's Batman.  Not sure I'll subscribe long-term, but only there are already so many solid Bat-books out there, but this one is worth watching.

Red Hood and the Outlaws - Yikes.  Another comic that made me feel a little gross reading it.  The characters and story are not strong enough to overcome the fact that Starfire is depicted as an amnesiac sexbot, and the T&A is just ridiculous.  I get that she is a hot alien that comes from a clothing-optional planet, but I would be embarrassed to be reading this comic around other adults.  If I was a 12 year old boy I would really enjoy this comic though, what with all the T&A, objectification of women, and shooting.  However, neither Red Hood nor Arsenal are particularly interesting characters to me.  This was disappointing, as last week's Superboy (also by Scott Lobdell) was a pleasant surprise.  This, however, is something I can definitely skip.

Supergirl - The surprise of the week.  I haven't read much Supergirl and wasn't really expecting much of anything here.  Prior to the relaunch, the Superan franchise was in real need of a reboot, and this issue works extremely well.  Unlike pretty much everything else I've read (even Action Comics starts 6 months in to Superman's super-career) in the relaunch, this comic begins at the very beginning of Supergirl's arrival on Earth, and the writer (Michael Green) nicely portrays Supergirl's arrival on Earth and her confusion about everything.  Yes, it is an entire issue spent in a fight sequence, but I think it really works.  I want to know how she interacts with her famous cousin and see how this develops.

Wonder Woman - Fantastic.  One I'll definitely keep reading.  This is a really strong entry into reading about Wonder Woman.  She's actually more like a supporting character in this story, but Brian Azzarello really pulls you right in to a world of gods with amazing powers and mysterious motives.  This feels like a supernatural mystery, which is not normally my thing but it is strongly written.  You get that the stakes are high here.  Wonder Woman is a little bit of a mystery here, you don't really get any of her internal thoughts or motivation, but you do get a sense of her larger than life (both figuratively and literally, someone finally realized that if the is an Amazonian, she should be really tall) presence, and that she is heroic and more than human.  This was one that I was most curious about, and I was not disappointed.

DC's New 52, Part 2

Another week, another batch of mostly very good comics.  Again, I'm not reading all of DC's new 52 because of (i) money and (ii) no desire to read certain comics (looking at you, Rob Liefeld).

Anyway, before I get to the new reviews, I want to say another few words about Stormwatch.  I reread the first issue, and I want to like this book.  I mean, I really want to like it.  So why don't I like it more?  I'm not sure - it's got a lot of the characters I love (Apollo, Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor), it's got big, high-concept stuff (the moon turning into a claw, existential threats), but there's something about it that's just off.  The relationships between the parties isn't clear, the art is slightly off, it feels a little jumbled.  I think I will read it a little longer, but it's definitely on my bubble list.  There's too many excellent comics out there to read something I'm not sure about.  With that, here are the reviews of what I read this week:

Batman & Robin - Very good effort.  I like how they establish the new status quo, and the fact that Bruce and Damian are clearly going to have to learn how to work together and are going to establish their own dynamic.  Damian is a real prick to his father in this issue - another reviewer (maybe at IGN?) pointed out why it made sense that Damian was being so obnoxious to Bruce, because Damian is having a hard time adjusting to his actual father, as opposed to the idealized version of his dead father.  The story was fine, but it was the characterization of the relationships that's the real hook here.  Very strong issue.

As an aside, I'm struggling a little bit with my decisions about what books I will subscribe to, as there are a number of strong contenders.  I liked last week's Detective Comics, but the truth is I'm probably only going to subscribe to one Batman book (not including Batwoman or Batgirl), so I'm not sure why I wouldn't just get this instead of Detective Comics.  I'm also expecting that Scott Snyder's Batman book will be very strong (I just read one of his American Vampire volumes and it was extremely good stuff).  So, we'll see.

Batwoman - No surprises here, I thought this was fantastic.  My pick of the week.  The art is, just to state the obvious, quite stunning.  J.H. Williams seems to have picked right up from his and Greg Rucka's run on Detective Comics.  There was a lot jam-packed in this issue, plenty of threads to unfold over the next year or so.  A very promising series.  I also have to ask myself whether I want to subscribe to both this and Batgirl.  I agree with those who have said that Batgirl #1, while good, was not Gail Simone's best work.  We'll see.  Barbara Gordon is an extremely likable character, and I've definitely enjoyed Simone's work in the past.  Given the number of titles out there, I'm not sure how many Bat-family titles I can subscribe to.

Demon Knights - This falls into the category (like OMAC) of "really fun read, not sure I'd subscribe".  I was entertained by the story, and I like the idea of doing a book with a medieval setting where the events and characters will have repercussions that will be felt today.  I'm very unfamiliar with the more fantasy-oriented aspects of the DC universe, but I thought that the idea that this guy Jason Blood has the demon Etrigan trapped inside him was a pretty interesting one.  I'm not sure about this one.  I'll read another issue at least.  I'd hate to see Paul Cornell go 0-for-2 in my reading list.

Frankenstein - Really fun stuff.  Another strong issue from Jeff Lemite, with a very different feel than Animal Man, but still dealing with the supernatural.  This one had some real humor, and it definitely felt like a Hellboy-ish comic.  Some of the stuff was random (like his boss looking like a little Japanese girl) but it was overall very entertaining and I think the character of Frankenstein (shouldn't it be Frankenstein's monster?) is a strong one.  A monster with a very old fashioned sensibility and a real moral sense.  I like it, definitely enough to pick up the next issue or two, at least.

Green Lantern - I have to admit that over the past year or so, I was pretty close to dropping Green Lantern from my monthly pull list.  I really loved the Sinestro Corps war, and I also really enjoyed Blackest Night, but I thought that the endless bickering among the different colored corps and the ongoing stuff with the Guardians was just kinda boring.  So, the new status quo (which I know is a plot progression from the prior stories) really does feel like a breath of fresh air to me.  I think having Sinestro back as a Green Lantern is a terrific story idea.  I love his character and I hope they keep him as part of the GL corps for a while.  I also love the stuff in here about Hal dealing with the consequences of flying around the galaxy for months at a time. So, they've got my attention again, and I feel like this issue was a necessary jump start for the series.

Superboy - My biggest surprise this week.  I really enjoyed this issue a lot.  Even though not that much "happened", plenty actually happened, and we got a lot of interesting setup.  This new Superboy, we still don't know a lot about his motivations, but we do know that he knows more than his captors think he does, and that he has a pretty impressive power set.  I'm very curious to see where they go with this - partly I assume where it is going is right into Teen Titans.  That was not a title I was planning on picking up, but I just might based on my interest in the character.

My thoughts on some of DC's New 52

When I first heard about the DC relaunch I was pretty excited.  I was always a Marvel person growing up. Honestly, in 1984 or so when I first started reading comics, Marvel was so much cooler than DC.  Marvel had Spider-Man and the X-Men, they had Secret Wars, and most importantly they had comics adaptations of G.I. Joe and the Transformers, which were the most important things in my life at that time.  DC had a Superman that worked at a TV station, and was all kinda boring.  I knew the DC characters because they were so iconic, but NOBODY I knew was reading DC comics.

I got away from comics for many years, and only around 2007 or so did I start reading comics again.  In that time, I've done a ton of catching up on both Marvel and DC (along with a lot of independent books), and while I haven't enjoyed everything I've read, I have approached this relaunch with at least some knowledge of the Dc universe.  That being said, even though I have read many DC stories over the past 4 or so years, DC has still felt fairly impenetrable to me.  There's just so much continuity, and continuity seems to matter more in DC than it does in Marvel, or maybe they've just handled it better.  I'm not sure.  So, like I said, when I heard about the relaunch I was pretty excited.  They were going to keep stuff that worked (most of Johns' GL run, the current status of the Bat-books) and revamp things that didn't (like in the Superman books).

Just as an aside, I agree it was time to blow up the Superman stories a little.  I enjoyed Johns' run on the book when it involved Brainiac and New Krypton, and was pretty excited about the concept of a whole new world of Kryptonians, but that whole concept really didn't end up working like I'd hoped (and I read the whole New Krypton series).  Maybe it's just hard to come up with good Superman stories.

So I wanted to get my thoughts down with respect to each of the new DC #1 issues that I am reading.  I am not going to be reading all of them, and I don't think I really have the time to do detailed reviews, but wanted to share my thoughts on what I've been reading.  So, here we go!

Action Comics - Loved it.  Thought this was a genuinely new take on Superman (even though I realize that it harkens to his earliest days).  It makes sense, too -  a character created by two Jewish kids in the 1930's would of course have some socialist/fight the oppressors and on behalf of the common man type ideas.

Animal Man - Wow.  Very impressed with this first issue.  I'm not really familiar with Jeff Lemire's other work, though I knew he was a respected indie creator.  I certainly want to check it out now. I loved the intro with his interview in "The Believer" (which I actually subscribed to for a time) and thought the story and art here were both terrific.  It's definitely not traditional super hero art, but that seems right to me, as it is more of a supernatural/horror comic than it is "man in tights".  Really enjoyed this, and look forward to seeing where it's going.

Batgirl - This was a lot of fun.  Gail Simone is good at both dialogue and characterization, so I immediately felt like I was in Barbara Gordon's head.  The very last panels didn't exactly make sense to me (no spoilers here), but I found her characterization of Barbara who is not yet comfortable being a "super hero" again to be very believable.

Detective Comics - Good story, very intense/dramatic ending.  Tony Daniel is a great artist but is not yet a great writer (and suffers a little in comparison to Grant Morrison, Paul Dini or Scott Snyder) but he is improving.  This felt like a pretty regular Batman story, not necessarily like a whole new world.  I liked it though, and would be interested in seeing where it's going.

Justice League - I liked this, but wouldn't say I loved it.  I enjoyed the banter between Batman and Green Lantern, I like who their setting up as the big first villain, and enjoyed the end.  I also loved the Jim Lee art.  What's my issue then?  Mostly, it felt like not very much happened in this issue; I think they could have compressed it a little more and provided nods to a few of the other JLA members.  Still, I definitely enjoyed it and will check out further issues.

Men of War - Thought it was fine, but don't think I'll be subscribing.  The idea of telling a story about soldiers (or other "regular" people) in a world where superheroes exist is a good one, and one that has been well explored by Kurt Busiek in Marvels and Astro City.  Additionally, "Gotham Central" is a great telling of law enforcement trying to do their jobs in a crazy world.  Like Gotham Central, I get that the soldiers here seem to view the superheroes as a distraction to their jobs, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the author here is a fan of Garth Ennis' "The Boys".  All that being said, I thought the story and art were fine, but felt a bit generic.  Maybe I'm just not a fan of war comics.

OMAC - My biggest surprise so far.  I loved this!  I don't necessarily think I'll subscribe to it, but this was probably the most fun read I've had in a while.  If Kirby-esque can be used as an adjective, then that's what I'd say this was.  Clearly written in a style meant to evoke Kirby's fourth world and other concepts, this issue read like an old-school adventure comic out of the 1970's.  It didn't much seem to relate to the larger DC universe, but was a real joy to read, as I thought it was full of good, ridiculous fun.

Stormwatch - This is the one that disappointed me the most.  That is not to say that I disliked it, because I thought it set up a lot of interesting stuff, and I absolutely LOVED Ellis' and Millar's runs on the Authority, so I am predisposed to like any book that has Apollo, Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor, etc.  However, I wasn't crazy about the art (I thought the engineer just looked sort of odd), and the story just didn't grip me like I thought it would (which surprised me, given that Paul Cornell is writing), but I will give this another shot next month because I like generally where they're going (making this group into an analogue of Hickman's SHIELD).

Swamp Thing - Another awesome comic.  As with Animal Man, I have only read the most classic runs of these comics and am not overly familiar with them, but this issue made me want to know more about the Swamp Thing character, and to try to understand the complex relationship between Alec Holland and Swamp Thing.  There's some pretty compelling story, a general air of dread and unease, and some pretty horrifically compelling images near the end.  Scott Snyder FTW!

Godwin's Law and Sinister's Corollary

Godwin's Law - "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1".

Sinister's Corollary to Godwin's Law - "if someone invokes Hitler or the Nazis as an analogy or comparison to anything other than (i) actual Nazis, or (ii) people committing genocide or ethnic cleansing, then I will cease to take seriously anything they say, even if I might otherwise believe it." This Corollary applies across the political spectrum, to the left, right, center, and anyone else. No one group has a monopoly on making ridiculous and stupid Nazi analogies. Here are a few examples of application of the Corollary:

Example A: This clown compares Republicans to Nazis. Even though I agree that Health Care reform should not be repealed, I can no longer take anything he says seriously.

Example B: Glenn Beck has compared so many people with whom he disagrees to the Nazis that Lewis Black cleverly said he has "Nazi Tourette's". So, with regard to Glenn Beck, I will paraphrase Chuck Lane talking about Stephen Glass, and say that if it was sunny outside and Glenn Beck and I were both standing outside in the sun and he came to me and said, ‘It’s a sunny day,’ I would immediately go check with two other people to make sure it was a sunny day, and then I'd go get an umbrella.

Cars, Part 2 - Toyota RAV4 and the Canyonero

Last night we took a test drive of the Toyota RAV4 and we really liked it. It felt very car-like, and although it's a somewhat compact-looking car, felt plenty spacious on the inside. The model we drove didn't have the third seat installed, but one can assume that it's best left for children. So, RAV4 is looking like the top choice at this point since we are now pretty committed to getting a car with AWD. I'd like to take another drive of the Kia Sorento, as I think they're very similar, and also so that E has a chance to drive that one.

We also, just for fun, sat in a Toyota Sequoia in the showroom, which is the real-life embodiment of the Canyonero. You could probably fit the RAV4 in the back of a Sequoia (like if you have a huge frame backpack that has a little detachable day-pack, that's the RAV4). Needless to say, we're not getting the Sequoia, even if it does seat 35.

all the joyful people

Today I was walking on Newbury and there was a woman screaming at a guy in a car that she was going to find out his address and kill his wife. Pretty sure they were arguing about a parking spot. Boy that holiday spirit doesn't last long anymore.

My Somewhat Comprehensive Guide to Pretty Much Everything that's Wrong with the Star Wars Prequels

So, I've previously discussed my disillusionment with the Star Wars movies, but because of the grassroots groundswell of lobbying and activism, I've decided to create my list of everything I hate about the Star Wars prequels. Not exactly listed out by movie, but generally so. If you think of others, let me know.

1. Idiotic political "intrigue". Taxation of trade routes? Eh? I'm not sure what little kids thought in 1999 when The Phantom Menace ("TPM") came out. I already had the goodwill from the original trilogy saved up by the time the new ones came out, but even I was starting to get wary when they were re-released in 1997 and Lucas made all those stupid changes. One can only imagine that kids, for whom this was their first exposure to Star Wars, were bored silly by all of the political talk. Lucas had 16 years to write a story in between movies, and TPM is what he came up with? I really wish he had taken Spielberg up on his offer to direct the first one, b/c at least Spielberg might have done some interesting things with the material (on the other hand, based on what I heard about "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", those two together are not quite as magic as they used to be).
2. Offensive ethnic characterizations. I deal more with Jar Jar (Jamaican Sambo stereotype) later, but he fits into this category as well as the Trade Federation (cowardly Asian stereotype), Watto (grimy, haggling middle eastern shop owner), and the Banking Clan (um, they control the money and have big noses, why not show them eating space-bagels too). Apart from finding these incredibly insulting, they seem just so lazy and generally inexplicable. Seriously, couldn't you have just given them all voices that weren't stereotypes? Was George Lucas channeling Archie Bunker?
3. Jar Jar. Apart from the racist, offensive shtick, Jar Jar is possibly one of the most annoying characters ever created. His only function is to be essentially useless and to get himself into "funny" trouble. Wow, way to come up with compelling characters to fill screen time.
4. The Pod Race. I'm sure the race is meant to be exciting, but whenever I have seen the movie I have fast-forwarded through the pod race. Even at fast forward, I find it tedious. I know it's supposed to be there to show what a talented pilot Anakin is even when he's just a kid, but I'm thrown off by the fact that there's a "funny" two-headed announcer, and the scene just goes on too $%^&ing long.
5. Jesus Skywalker. Anakin was the product of a virgin birth. Of all the ham-handed analogies, they just had to go there. Couldn't they have just made Palpatine the father? Apparently he was the result of a high concentration of midi-chlorians (which maybe the mom caught somewhere). Which leads us to.....
6. Insertion of Pseudo-Science. I expect fake science in my Star Trek (dillithium crystals, etc.), but there was something magical about "the force". They didn't need to explain it, it was meant to be understood as an Eastern-religion style concept and worked fine as mysticism. But no. They had to go ahead and insert blood tests, and we learn that being strong with the force is actually something in your hemoglobin or whatever.
7. Anakin. The kid who plays Anakin in TPM is sort of whiny and you don't really get much of a sense for him, and is not much of an actor. But he's 8, so you let it go. Hayden Christiensen, however, gets no excuses (well, he gets one excuse, but we'll get to that later). So, here's what we know about Anakin Skywalker from the original trilogy: (a) Obi Wan considered him a good friend, (b) he was a great pilot, (c) he was corrupted by the dark side. Fine. But then you meet Anakin as a teenager, and he is whiny, petulant, sullen and not particularly likable. Seriously, he sulks like a pathetic emo-boy, not the future Dark Sith Lord that he will become. We're supposed to understand that he was really good before, so we should like him and care about him, and his fall from grace should be a big deal. Problem is, we don't like him that much. We also don't see why Obi Wan likes him at all.
8. "Dialogue". This is the part that's not Hayden Christiansen's fault. The dialogue is just terrible. Seriously, put aside any love you have for the series (I know I've had to work hard at this), and just listen. There's some real clunkers in these movies (the "I hate sand" speech, any time they try to talk politics, any time they talk to the Gungans, etc.). They make even really good actors seem wooden, which of course is not just the dialogue but the direction as well. I don't know what happened to Lucas between the first trilogy and these movies, but he should really go back and look at the original ones. There are some real moments of tension and humor in those movies, and some memorable dialogue.
9. "Special" Effects. I won't say a lot here, as there's a lot of cool effects in these movies. I will note, however, that TPM came out in the Summer of 1999, the same time that the Matrix came out. While I enjoy CGI futuristic cityscapes as much as the next guy, the Matrix was a game-changer, and it's hard to look at not just things like bullet-time, but the whole ethos of TPM and wonder why George Lucas wasn't pushing cinema forward with special effects. Some of the CGI looks fake, as well, and you wonder why Lucas didn't use more models since almost all of the scenes from the original series still hold up, and those used models.
10. Random Stupidity #1. In AOTC, Obi Wan goes to what appears to be a 50's-style diner and an alien they might as well call "Big Al" (who appears to be the owner) talks with him. There's a robot waitress who they might as well name "Flo" . The whole sequence is just terrible, and you're wondering why somebody thought to create a "diner" in the middle of the @#$%ing Star Wars Universe? The alien is sitting there with Obi Wan talking and scratching his ass, which is supposed to be "funny", but the whole sequence takes you out of the movie.
11. Random Stupidity #2. General Grievous has a cough. Seriously. The CGI character has a cough throughout the whole movie. You're just waiting for him to ask one of his droids to bring him a cup of tea . He's supposed to this scary bad-ass, and they give him bronchitis . Why? Who knows. Seriously, did it advance the plot at all? Should he have stopped off somewhere for some Robitussin ?
12. Random Stupidity #3. In ROTS Padme dies because the "lost the will to live". Padme just gave birth to twins, so she could have sustained trauma during child birth. Additionally she sustained a "force" attack by Anakin, so that could have done irreversible damage. But no, even though she was medically perfectly healthy, she died because she lost the will to live? She just had 2 kids! Wouldn't she have had the will to live to raise the kids?
13. Lucas and His Audience. These movies are pitched to 6 year olds. This is particularly true of TPM, less so AOTC and ROTS (that one in particular has some pretty dark stuff). Jar Jar, the scatological humor, the goofy "humor" of the announcers at the pod race. This is stuff which is pitched to little kids, but in the most cloying and heavy-handed way (weirdly though, TPM is the worst about this AND about the boring political intrigue).
14. The Waste of Padme. In Episodes I and II, Natalie Portman does a fine job as Padme, bad dialogue notwithstanding. She's active, she's involved in the fighting, she's resourceful, she bares her midriff - she's what you would expect Luke and Leia's mom to be. But in ROTS, her jobs are basically to get emotional, have babies, and die. That's pretty much it. Serious waste of a character.

Ok, that's it for now. There are probably others, but this is what I've got for the moment. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like in these movies as well (and I will make a list of things I like at some point as well, to be fair), but some of these just can't be forgiven.

March to HDTV/First look at Cars

As an update to the previous post, we've gotten the toddler bed situation going (I mentioned that today), and safely grounded the outlet in the living room. Only 52 more steps to getting a big-ass TV.

On another note, we're starting to look at new cars in case the current one is on the way out (sadly we think it is). Our main criteria (other than wanting a car that is safe, reliable, doesn't get terrible gas mileage and is not gigantic) is that we want three rows of seating. Not that either of us really want to be carpooling kids around (because seriously, who wants extra children around, your own are plenty), but it just make sense to get the extra flexibility. Yesterday I test drove the Hyundai Veracruz and the Kia Sorento. I liked both of them, but I think we're probably going to eliminate the Veracruz b/c it is a little bigger (and we'd like something not too big) and it is also about 5K more expensive. It's a very nice car though, but we want to keep costs down and the Sorento felt slightly more car-like to me, and we don't want something that feels too much like a truck. Those third row seats are not exactly something I'd want to sit in for a 200-mile drive, but them seem serviceable for giving rides to kids, or just for extra flexibility. Next up, the RAV4 (which is absolutely ubiquitous) and the Mazda5 (which is kind of a mini-mini-van), both of which we are expecting to like.

My 2010 Favorites - Movies

Everyone does year-end "best of" lists so I would be remiss not to get into the act. Honestly, I didn't see that many movies in 2010 but I saw some good ones. I think it's hard to say "best" because I don't know what it means when it comes to art, but I'll say my five favorite movies this year were:

1. Inception

2. The Social Network

3. Toy Story 3

4. The Town

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

The real decision for me as between Social Network and Inception at #1 - the rest of them, I could switch around the order and not have it be a huge deal. I had to go with Inception because for several days afterwards I kept having disturbing thoughts and dreams because of it, and felt like it #$%^ed my mind up, in a good way.

I'm sure there are a ton of good movies I haven't seen, so I know this list is anything but exhaustive.

Needed an electrician for this one

Yesterday morning the day started out pretty badly. We just moved Kid2 into Kid1's room, and it was her first night in a toddler bed (this of course means we did one of the previous things on the list, buy toddler bed). It went ok except that they were so excited about this arrangement that they got up extremely early (4:45 or so) and we're only resting periodically after that.

I had the bright idea (around 6:30) to change the kitchen light bulb which had burnt out. Not our main lamp, but the secondary lamp. Apparently I had never changed this b/c I didn't know how to change it. In the process of trying to open up the lamp to change the light bulb, I pulled the whole lamp out of the ceiling so that it was just dangling by electrical wire. I don't know much about these sorts of thing, but it seemed unsafe to me. So, I scrambled around frantically, woke up the LW (lovely wife), and eventually called 4 electricians. Thankfully one was available. He was not at all impressed with what the previous person had done when installing this lamp, and he secured it to the ceiling in a much better way. Next time, I will know how to take the relevant glass part out w/o pulling the entire fixture out of the ceiling. Even better, next time I will not try to be ambitious before 8 am.

Coming soon, I reveal my list of favorite movies, music and books this year. Also, I discuss my first trip to test drive cars.

Buying a TV

We've decided to finally take the plunge and buy a HDTV. Now all we need to do is:

1. Buy a toddler bed for kid #2 and move it in to kid #1's room (now they will share, we'll see how that goes).

2. Disassemble crib in kid #2's room and either give it away or throw it out.

3. Move desks, computer and table from play room/office/guest room up to what will be the new office

4. Have cable company come and assess whether we can get cable connection in new office upstairs.

5. Assemble train table which was Hanukkah present for the girls and put it into the play room.

6. Get rid of the old entertainment center and TV or theoretically move it to the downstairs play room. If move it to the downstairs play room, find out from cable company how much it costs to add a second cable TV connection.

7. Have electrician come and figure out whether we can safely connect an HDTV to living room non-grounded outlet.

8. Buy new entertainment center for TV.

9. Finally, buy TV.

Seriously, it'll be April before I actually see this TV.

Vote Cuckoo McNutty for Congress!

Hi, I'm Cuckoo McNutty, and I'm running for congress. Let me tell you what I believe.

I think that America needs to cut taxes severely in order to make our country stronger and more fiscally sound, because a government with no revenue, and which can support any government programs, is way stronger. Also, we need to look at cutting waste fraud and abuse. Now, my opponent has said things like "you haven't come up with a single concrete example of an actual program you would cut" - well, that kind of "evidence-based" thinking is just elitist and un-American. Also, I am in favor of fiscal responsiblity - sure I didn't say anything about it when George W. Bush was president, but, completely coincidentially, it became an issue for me on January 20, 2009.

Also, I am strongly in favor of liberty for everyone - well, except for the gays. Also, except where reproductive rights are concerned. I'm also in favor of religious liberty, and want people to be able to exercise their religious liberty in schools and on public property all over the place. Well, I mean, not all people, obviously. People who are the same religion as me. I mean, it's not like the constitution prohibits the government favoring one religion over another, particularly when that religion is the one true religion, right?

Also, no science in the schools. Because the constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom of science. I don't want my children learning that we humans are descended from monkeys. Do you see any half-human, half-monkey people walking around? It's a dangerous road, allowing your children to be exposed to things like "facts" and "evidence".

Also, think of me like a mama grizzly bear. Even though I'm a dude and totally manly. Nobody better get in between me and my grizzly cubs! Now, maybe you're wondering what the practical implications of all this grizzly bear talk is. You might think, "oh, you support programs that have been shown to be a huge benefit to kids like Head Start, and sCHIP, and public safety regulations that protect kids". Nope! I don't support any of that socialist nonsense. I support being able to protect my kids from all kinds of socialism and liberalism. Liberalism and progressive thinking are the biggest threat to liberty since, well, since ever!

Also, I hate the elites. Like doctors and scientists, who think they understand medicine or science better than you and I do just because they spent years studying in those fields and have earned advanced degrees. Well, I study too, at the feet of Professors Beck, Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Palin. They tell me everything I need to know. I take my advice from them, not from some group of wealthy, unelected commentators.

Also, I support free speech. But I hate the liberal media because they're always picking on me and askuing me questions I don't know the answer to.

Also, I hate tyranny, in all it's forms. Like that ObamaCare - wow, is that tyrannical! Seriously, there's no difference between ObamaCare and the gas chambers. After all, both are government programs, right? And all government programs are inherently tyrannical. Therefore, the president and all liberals are actually Nazis. Now some people say, where was your concern about "tyranny" when George W. Bush was president, with things like warrantless wiretapping, and extraordinary rendition, and detention of US citizens without habeas corpus". Now, I don't know what any of that means, but it sure sounds like more liberal lies to me.

My 25 all-time favorite science fiction movies (at the moment)

I was listening to an episode of "On Point" yesterday, and the topic was "greatest science fiction movies of all time." After listening to the podcast, which was a lot of fun, I said - "I accept your challenge!" I thought the world would benefit from knowing my all-time favorite science fiction movies.

I am very deliberately not calling this list "greatest movies" because these lists are inherently subjective and I'm just listing my own personal favorites. A few notes:

• I am keeping out movies based on comic books. While most of these would qualify as science fiction, I see them as their own category (and a list for me to work on for another day).
• I am singling out individual movies, not just series (which makes it more challenging in a good way) - so I will not just say "The Star Wars movies"
• These are my own personal favorites. There are many movies out there that are regarded as "great" that I haven't seen, or was not so impressed by; this list is only meant to cover my personal preferences.
• I can't just do top 10 because it ignores too many movies.
• If a movie falls into another genre but is also clearly science fiction, I am including it.
• It has been so long since I last saw Blade Runner, I suspect that once I re-watch it, my list will change
• If given another day, or two days or a week, I could probably monkey around with the order of the movies on the list (other than the top 5), so other than those, the order only reflects what I felt at the moment I hit "Publish Post".
• I have not included animated films. If I did, Wall-E would probably make the list somewhere.
• I have a suspicion I'm really going to enjoy District 9, but haven't seen it yet
• About Star Wars Episodes I and II, each of those movies has a lot that I enjoy, (for example, the light saber duel at the end of Episode I is my favorite in the entire series of movies) and it is hard to separate out all of the affection I have for them as Star Wars movies, but I felt that overall, they were not good enough to make the list.
• Avatar - one of the most visually stunning things I ever seen. Doesn't make the list. At least not today. I'm not sure how much I actually liked the movie, apart from the 3-D visual spectacle of it.

With that in mind, my list is as follows:

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars
3. The Matrix
4. Back to the Future
5. Terminator 2
6. Return of the Jedi
7. Dune
8. Star Trek: First Contact
9. Minority Report
10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
11. Children of Men
12. Star Trek (2009)
13. Galaxy Quest
14. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
15. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
16. Twelve Monkeys
17. Gattaca
18. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
19. E.T.
20. Donnie Darko
21. Starship Troopers
22. THX 1138
23. Inception
24. Brazil
25. Robocop