Happy 5th

Well it’s the holiday weekend. I was going to post yesterday but I got lazy on the couch. So I’ll just jump in before I drift into a nap again.

First, in comics, I’ve made yet another trip to the comic book store. My local shop was having a sale on sets and I got the coolest thing… I found the entire run of Jack Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur. I had the last issue when I was a kid and it’s quite beat up by now. It was a great price and a nice addition to my collection. Even better, Sean will have it around and get to read the entire series. It’s really kind of mental and interesting and strange.   I also picked up Astonishing X-Men #25, the first in a new story arc with a new creative team. I doubt it will be as good as Joss Whedon’s run, but I’ll give it a try.

Also in comics:

• The Super Invincible Blog highlights the week that was in July 2. I’ve picked up some of these issues as well, including the freakout issue of Batman.
• Click here for a Comics report card. I agree totally with their thought that Captain America is the best book around.
• LOTRKing reviews both Captain America #39 and Mighty Avengers #15.

In movies/DVD, the AVClub reviews Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. I wrote about it earlier this week here. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth the time.

• The AVClub also reviews The Wackness, a new film about 1994. I’m intrigued by this movie but will wait for it to hit HBO or Netflix. I’m also curious to see the Ben Kingsley/Olsen twin thing.

In music, Plain or Pan directs us to quite possibly the coolest Dylan spoof ever.

In links, Electricity & Lust has its regular mix of cool stuff to check out. Especially interesting were the Liz Phair, Batman, and Zach de la Rocha articles. I am so glad they’ve got the time to go out and scour the interwebs so I don’t have to. They always find the best stuff.

Well, I’ll be back next week with the roundup and I’ll mention anything else I come across in my journeys. Enjoy the hotdogs and hamburgers this weekend.

Heat Wave, Tearing Me Apart

Well it’s only 102 degrees here today, tomorrow, yesterday, for the week.  We’re in one of North Carolina’s freak June heat waves that seems to be hitting us every three years.  The only positive is that Señor Bebe is sleeping all night.  Yes, that means we put him down at 10:30pm and he wakes up in the morning like a human boy.   So while he’s napping and I’m watching Double Whammy, here’s the week as I saw it:

Let’s start in comics. I’ve got a new pile sitting next to me, but the first thing I tore into was Secret Invasion. Once again, we have a winner of an episode. At this point I have no clue who to trust.

• Spoilers abound, but check out LOTRKing’s Commentary here.
• I also have to mention Marvel’s new book, 1985. One of the coolest things is that the comic book store guy in the beginning. He’s the guy I buy my comics from. That’s right, Ultimate Comics, my friendly shop is drawn in all of its glory. Go say hi to Jon.

In movies, I have one film to talk about and I know there’s something wrong with me. I think that You Don’t Mess with the Zohan actually looks funny. Maybe I’m insane but the commercials make me laugh. At least it will likely come quickly to HBO (so I know I won’t pay to see it) AND Robert Smigel is one of the writers. However, I’m not the only person to be thinking about it:
The AVClub interviews Robert Smigel and reviews the movie.

• The New York Times reviews it here.
• Also, my Bizarro Jerry, Mr. Cinematically Correct doesn’t seem to hate it.

In music, two things to note. First, I went to see Jacob Dylan live in Raleigh last night. It was a great show and his new album, while quiet is pretty good. It’s hard to beat seeing a musician of his ilk play in front of less than 300 people in a tiny club. Something though from the show bugged the hell out of me. The opening act, a local band named Wrecking Season had an iPod that they used to play in background synth music. What kind of bullshit is that? If you can’t play live without extra production, pack it up.

• As a result I’m considering starting a music only blog to express my displeasure. I’ve even got the name for it: Rockist.

In books, more love for The Boat and V.S. Naipul has a lot to say.

Finally, in links, one of my favorite aggregators of links Electricity & Lust, pointed me to some fantastic stuff this week, including:

• Short Fiction from Nabokovin the most recent New Yorker. I really need to attack my pile of them that dates back to February.
• An author I love interviews a band I like as Tom Perrotta interviews the Hold Steady.
• My music hero Bob Dylan likes Obama. As my father in law would say, it’s best to not know what people you like stand for or what they’re like in their private lives. Needless to say, I’m trying to find reasons to vote for Obama now that Hillary is out of the race (yes I’m one of those Democrats!)

I’m off to watch Cloverfield on Pay-per-View, attack a new (and old) pile of comics, finish up The Corrections, plant some cucumbers, watch the end of Battlestar Galactica Season 1, watch X from the Directv live series, and all the normal stuff for a weekend. Unfortunately I won’t be going to the Mudhoney show this week at the Cat’s Cradle.

You Maniacs, you blew it up! Damn you! God Damn you all to hell!!

Sorry, the baby went a little crazy today thus the title. Lots of screaming, yelling, crying, blotchy face, etc. So now that things have quieted down, here are some of the items I noticed this week.

I’ve got to start with television this week.  Of course the only thing worth mentioning is LOST.  Holy shit was it something else! Two hours of twists and turns and a plot that is racing towards… well something! I think the big surprise is that Jacob turned out to be the Dharma Initiative Organutang! Who would have thought that? Well it’s not true. We got more questions than answers again, but to be honest I don’t care. As usual, I’ll let other people share their thoughts…

• Cinematically Correct will be depressed for the summer.
• LOTRKing has plenty of spoilers here in case you’ve got it on TiVo.

Also in television, the AVClub tries to decide just what is the worst sitcom of all time?? My initial reaction includes Small Wonder as mentioned in the article, It’s a Living (I’ve actually stayed in that hotel, it’s a dump), Will & Grace likely the one I hate the most, and My Mother the Car, which while horrible is, in a strange way, quite amazing.

In Bob Dylan (yes I’m treating Bob as a category), I saw two things this week:

• An AVClub critic has never listened to Bob Dylan! I find it interesting though that he considers being 34 middle aged. God I hope not!
• The Times writes about Dylan as an artist.

And to mop up the week in links, books, comics, etc Electricity & Lust, everyone’s favorite (or at least mine) clearing house of links points out some really cool stuff including an interview with Jeffrey Tambor and the new trailer to the film adaptation of Choke. Also, some clips are on YouTube, check them out here while they last.

In other books to movies news, the Times also covered the filming of the movie version of The Road. I’m sure it will be the feel good movie of the year!

In books, the Times highlights the the best travel books so far this year.

In comics two things:

• A new book about Jack Kirby is reviewed today.
• The AVClub has a great, and I mean great looking slew of items in its comics panel.  Lots of Iron Man stuff.

Finally, One-Story has an intern. Apparently they’ve also started a Facebook page. Personally, I’d much prefer to see them on Twitter. I don’t have time or energy for that social networking page nonsense.

Catching Up

I’ve been behind on blogging lately as my wife was in her ninth month of pregnancy and then had the baby a week ago.  As a result, my reading and viewing habits have been lazy lazy lazy.  Here’s a taste of what I’ve been consuming…

Starbuck’s, yes the coffee company has put out a great CD of music handpicked by Bob Dylan. Find it here. It’s a nice listen of blues, bluegrass, country, reggae, etc. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Let’s not forget comics. It’s been a big few weeks for comics (and I’m still behind). First, I want to AGAIN mention my love affair with Captain America. Every issue gets better, James as the new Cap is fantastic, the writing is entertaining, and the art is wonderful. I’m curious to see how the entire Sharon Carter thing plays out. I’m also interested to see the new Cap start meeting other members of the Marvel Universe. The one question I have is, what’s going to be up with Steve Rogers during this whole secret invasion thing? While I don’t believe he would have sided with Tony Stark during the Civil War, would he have found a better way to resolve the conflict? Is he a Skrull? I guess we’ll see…

The other book I’ve been enjoying is Fantastic Four. Two issues into Mark Millar’s story arc, I’m enjoying the conflict that is being set up. I suspect that the new creative team is going to bring us along on big adventures and can’t wait.

And finally (in terms of comics) is the Hulk books. The Incredible Herc has been fun and Hulk Red has been interesting too. I suspect that we’re not too far off from the Hulk coming back in style. I like the subtle touches such as Clay Quartermain being around. I just wish he was a little more like the character from 10 or so years ago when he, Rick Jones, and the Hulk were on the road.

In terms of books, I just finished Generation X by Douglas Coupland. Boy, he was ahead of his time when he wrote that book in 1991. Reading it today I feel better. I’m not as weird as I thought I was…

Current reading includes Gentlemen of the Roadby Michael Chabon, The Last Defenders, Northlanders, and some New Yorkers and National Geographic Travellers. I’ve also got a CD wish list that I plan on cycling through. I’ll let you know if I hear anything good.