Laziest Sunday Ever

So after some work travel, a weekend away, late nights, etc.  I’m back to the blog.  I know, you all missed me so.  Actually, traffic has shot up like crazy from the odd 2-3 hits a day to hundreds.  Now before I go and get too excited it’s all being driven by Kirstie Alley searches.  Maybe she’s become popular again… who knows? 

So I’m going to start in comics.  There’s a shitload going on in comics.  Where to begin?

Let’s begin with the mother of all comic book movies, The Dark Knight.  Beyond smashing box office records and drawing repeat viewers and people who typically prefer Sandra Bullock movies, this movie is getting fantastic reviews.  I have not seen the movie yet, but here are the words of a few who have:

• The AVClub
• Cinematically Correct
• Electricity & Lust
• LOTRKing

Ok, continuing in comics, a lot of quality books have come out in the last two weeks as well. Once again, Captain America is the highlight of my haul. Issue #40 has got me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the hell is going to happen. This book continues to be one of the best written and drawn comics out today. Check out LOTRKing’s review. He also reviews Astonishing X-Men #25. So far, I’m a little unimpressed with it, but I think that’s in large part due to the great run Joss Whedon had on the Astonishing X-Men.

• Also, the AVClub released its Comics Panel.
• Check out an interview with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
• And check out the New York Times writing about the creator of Invincible.

Finally, ComicCon has been going on this week, check out the AVClub’s coverage here for July 23, July 24, July 25, and July 26. Also, the Invincible Super Blog posts the true rumors here.

Whew, moving on to music. I found a few cool reviews and articles this week, including:
Sub Pop records turned 20 years old while I was away. A few people have written about it, including Cinematically Correct, and Electric LustElectricity & Lust’s Tumblr site.

• Also in music, the AVClub reviews Nine Inch Nails new album The Slip. I downloaded it a while back for free.
• I also have attempted my own version of the best albums of each year since my birth. Not an easy task (especially for the lean years of the 1980s).

In literature and books and the such, One Story Magazine dominates this week…

• The editor points out how newspapers are cutting their noses off in spite of their face as they try to stay relevant. The latest cuts? book reviews.
• Issue 106 Safe Passage has arrived in my mail box and landed on my to read list.

Finally, in movies, I have to point to Electricity & Lust’s movies since their birth. I don’t think I’ll try it myself, but I think they have a pretty good list. They also give us a little commentary on The Wackness a movie that intrigues me for some reason.

You might be wondering why I have a picture of ROM in this post…  Well, I heard they’re making a Tron 2 and it led me to wonder why there is no ROM movie??  Ok, that’s all for now. Back to my lazy, lazy Sunday.

Advertisements

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.

Where’s Your Burpcloth?

That’s the big question in my house for the 15th straight week as Sean continues to resemble Linda Blair. This week I’ve actually put a decent dent in my giant stack of comics, watched some Battlestar Galactica, and continued to listen to the new Jakob Dylan album while also listening to the new Mudhoney album (I wrote a tiny bit about it here). So before the baby spits up all over me again, let’s begin…

In comics this week there are a few good things to note…

• LOTRKing gives us a Marvel year in review. Or at least the year so far. I half agree with his X-Men synopsis but can’t argue with the rest of his article. He also digs back into the archives and reviews Fantastic Four #124 from 1972.
• The AVClub features a lengthy comics panel
• Electricity & Lust pointed me towards Peter Travers’ review of The Dark Knight and it sounds quite amazing.
• Zach Smith had a cool free comic called Satan P.I. on his website (it showed up in my reader) but the link has been disabled. When it comes back I’ll link to it, it’s really sharp and fun!

Finally in comics, I believe the comics world is off in Chicago (or about to return). I know the guys at my local shop, Ultimate Comics (as seen in the new Marvel book 1985) are there. I’ve also found the Invinsible Superblog.

In television, thanks to Cinematically Correct for posting the preview of the new season of 24. The question is, will they sucker me in again?

In books and other misc. words, a few things I noticed this week…

• David Guterson, the author of Snow Falling on Cedars has published The Other. The Times reviews it here as well.
• One-Story posted some interesting stuff this week. Their intern released a quite interesting list of his top-10 stories. This was in response to a top ten list published by EW which spurred a discussion here.
• The Times talks about a new e-book reader.

Electricity & Lust has two interesting posts this week. Their Diggin post talks about the New Hold Steady (among other stuff), and they provide the usual great mix of links per usual. Many weeks they help me keep up on stuff in ten minutes instead of searching for hours. I’d add them to my RSS if I were you.

And finally, George Carlin died a week ago. I’ve posted a few thoughts from others below, but my favorite was when Howard Stern asked Gilbert Gottfried if he had any bad stories about George Carlin and he did. Apparently George told Gilbert to get the hell away from him and to leave him alone once.

• Cinematically Correct mentions it here.
• The AVClub here.
• The New York Times here.

Quiet Week

Once I finished the The Corrections it’s been a pretty quiet week. I tried to plow through a bit of my pile of old New Yorkers and basically picked over articles and stories. Nothing too exciting. So here goes nothing:

In short-fiction, I did read a few things. Like I said, I’m chipping away at a pile of New Yorkers and a few One-Story issues. I also started The Boat by Nam Le (so far it’s fantastic).

• Alice Munro’s story Free Radicals was pretty good despite an easy ending. Why you should never open the door to strangers.
• If You Can Hear Me Thinking by Kiara Brinkman (from One-Story) was a great story as well.
• Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice the first story in The Boat was great. Interestingly it deals with writer’s block and the act of writing. It’s really a great story that sometimes makes you think more about what isn’t fully explained or said.

In not-so-short fiction, Shannon tells you to go read The Hobbit.

In music, Guns ‘N Roses’ long awaited album was leaked for like 13 minutes this week on the interwebs. I write a little about it over here.

• Also, I keep meaning to link over to Plain or Pan? a really great music website from a Scot with a huge collection of stuff.

In television, the AVClub interviews Billy West of Futurama and Ren & Stimpy fame. I, however, was introduced to him via the Howard Stern show where he did such imitations as Marge Schott and The Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley.

In links, the following sub-finds…

• I found Wordspy a site that introduces you to newly coined phrases.
• In art, I found a site this week that gives you cheap options for art. It’s called 20×200 and gives you the option of buying a $20, $200, or $2,000 version of the same piece. My problem is that I think some of the pictures from my vacation are better and I can’t figure out how to sell them here!
• Not so much art as photography, I did try a very cool site affiliated with Flickr this week. It’s called MOO and enables you to make postcards, notecards, mini-cards, etc. from your own pics stored on Flickr. I’ll let you know what I think when I get the first pics back.

I’m behind on comics and don’t have anything to report this week. Hopefully I’ll attack the pile this week and have something to report back on.  Hope all are having a good summer.

Happy Father’s Day

I know I’m two days early but the title is appropriate, especially this year. So what’s going on this week?

In movies, Shannon and I are leaving the boy with his grandparents and going to see The Incredible Hulk. Everyone keeps telling me to go see Iron Man, but the Hulk and Spiderman are the two comic books I’ve been reading since I can remember being on this Earth.

• LoTRKing has reviewed it here
• The AVClub reviews it here
• Cinematically Correct is trying to avoid a much worse fate than seeing the Hulk.

In some ways the Hulk gives me a good parenting philosophy. Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

In comics as movies news Leonardo Dicaprio is the new rumor as the movie version of Captain America. I don’t think they’ve come up with a good choice yet.

• More viral marketing for The Dark Knight here. (Thanks to Electricity & Lust for the last two items). They’ve got a GREAT post this week.

Moving slightly from movies into comics…

The AVClub has its regular Comics Panel.

In technology, thanks to Cinematically Correct for introducing me to the search engine that gives you motion sickness… Viewzi.

It’s been a light week otherwise.  Thankfully it’s over.  I’ll share some thoughts on the Hulk once I see it.

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.