| Points to Ponder: The profound thoughts of Alex W________g aka Simon DelMonte |
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Alex W_______g aka Simon DelMonte
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| This Week's Comics |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|05:32 pm] |
Didn't get Wednesday Comics 2 as it was sold out before I got to the shop. DC might have a hit on its hands.
Didn't get Blackest Night because it's a horror comic about zombified and evil dead heroes, which sounds awful to me. I know that this is getting raves, but the reviews I've seen only confirm that I would hate it. Call me if and when some of the dead heroes come back to life properly.
Batman: Streets of Gotham 2 was a big improvement over the first issue. Like with Batman and Robin, the characters of Dick and Damian and their roles come into better focus. We also spend a lot less time bouncing from character to character, which makes for a better flow. I think that Dini will do well here after all. The Manhunter backup was good, but I don't care for the new info about the villain of the story.
Fables 89 tells a tale of Mister Dark's past, with stellar guest art by veteran Jim Fern and Craig Hamilton. Willingham comes out of the Great Fables Crossover in strong voice. Things are very dark indeed, but also quite interesting. |
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| Emmys, In Case You Care |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|12:44 pm] |
Here are all the Emmy nominations. There seem to be about 100 categories. And very few shows I've actually seen even once.
A few notes: BSG got a directing nod, Neil Patrick Harris might be able to give himself his Emmy as he is both up for How I Met Your Mother and the host. Lost is up for Best Drama but inexplicably only got one acting nomination (Michael Emerson, of course) and the only writing nomination not given to Mad Men. And Jensen Ackles (and everyone else associated with Supernatural) was totally overlooked. |
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| Back Home! |
[Jul. 15th, 2009|03:48 pm] |
We have returned from New Orleans, where it's really HOT but where we had a good time seeing family and doing a bit of sightseeing. Unlike my trip there a few years back, this time I really feel like I was in New Orleans. We didn't go to any of the areas I know to be disaster areas still, but overall the city seems to be in pretty good shape, all things considered.
I am, thanks to managing to find WiFi in just enough places, caught up on LJ, though if you posted something since Saturday night that is important, link me anyway in case I skimmed over it.
That is all. |
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| Road Trip! |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|08:55 am] |
On Sunday, Batya and I plan to be off to New Orleans to visit family for a few days. There is a very good likelihood we will not have any sort of net access there. So I will be offline for the most part from this evening at 7 pm till Wednesday afternoon. As usual, I will not even try to catch up on my F-list, and will just ask for links to anything I may have missed when we get home.
That is all for now. |
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| This Week's Comics: Wednesday Comics, Red Robin |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|10:04 am] |
The first issue of the 12-part weekly Wednesday Comics arrived yesterday. It's 15 large format one-page strips with words and art by some pretty big names as well as some newcomers. And it's really huge, larger than most newspapers. At $4, it's a bit pricey, but the art is generally great and some of the strips really offer a lot in one page (and there is only one ad, so they have to make the money elsewhere). The good far outweighs the bad, and everything here is clearly striving to be FUN, though it's really impossible to judge where anything is heading. So I will be back for more next week, and think it's likely I will stick around for all 12 issues.
Red Robin 2 was as good as the first issue. Again, you have to accept the premise and the current interpretation of Tim Drake to enjoy this. But I like the premise and like Chris Yost's take on Tim. I also like the pacing, the art, and the narration. Quite worth my time. |
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| Filkers, Save the Date! |
[Jul. 8th, 2009|10:23 am] |
Batya and I will be hosting a housefilk on Sunday, August 2 from approximately 1 to 5 pm. I will post the usual details about where we are and how to get there closer to the date.
More to come... |
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| The Best Kids' Books Ever? |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|09:23 am] |
On Saturday, NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff, in an effort to encourage kids to read during summer vacation, presented his list of the best kids's books ever. By which he means books for kids who can read, as opposed to picture books. His list strikes me as a bit pedestrian (though is there any chance that any list of this sort will not include Harry Potter any time between now and 2100?). Wisely, he invites readers to make their own suggestions at his blog, which over 2,000 have done so far.
Personally, I think that any list of this sort needs The Phantom Tollbooth and Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. I would throw in the Young Wizards series (which I am only making my way through now). And I don't care if Kristoff left off picture books - I have to include the collected works of Maurice Sendak and William Steig.
Given who reads my blog, I am sure that many of you have your own opinions. So feel free to opine here. Or go to Kristoff's blog and tell him directly what you think. |
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| Robert McNamara Passes On |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|04:45 pm] |
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Surprised that no one has posted about this, but Robert McNamara, widely regarded as the architect of America's involvement in Vietnam, has died at the age of 93. I personally haven't much to say (he stepped down as Sec. of Defense before I was born) but the passing of a man who, for good and for ill, had such influence on his nation and the world needs to be noted. |
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| Ready, AIM, Misfire? |
[Jul. 5th, 2009|07:04 pm] |
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I upgraded AIM. It sent out an e-mail telling people I didn't have their AIM names. I apologize if you got one. |
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| Stuff I've Watched This Weekend |
[Jul. 5th, 2009|05:03 pm] |
- The original Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. A great snapshot of the NYC I grew up in, a surprisingly suspenseful film, and a delight if you like such character actors as Walter Matthau, Tony Roberts, Robert Shaw, Jerry Stiller and Martin Balsam. Matthau is still one of a kind.
- Up. Not as perfect as Finding Nemo or The Incredibles,, but so utterly full of heart and with such wonderful characters that it's impossible not to fall in love with it. Ed Asner, another great character actor and a veteran of voice work for the past 15 years, gives an amazing performance. When I grow up, I want to be Carl Frederickson.
- Two more episodes of The Middleman. It's a shame that this show tanked, because it's really good and really fun. And does anyone else get a Benton Fraser vibe from the title character?
- The men's final at Wimbledon, which ran over 4 hours and was an exciting and very even match between two great players. Hats off to Andy Roddick for elevating his game, and to Roger Federer for ultimately being just a little better and thus more major tennis tourneys than any other man. |
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| Meme |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|05:40 am] |
Taken from all over:
For those I RP with...
PICK ONE OF MY CHARACTERS AND I WILL TELL YOU:
→ why I decided to play this character
→ my favorite scene or bit of interaction concerning this character to date
→ my favorite original aspect about this character (world-building for ocs or head-canon for fcs)
→ the last thing they did "off screen"
→ what their last words would be if they died tomorrow
→ what the next thing I'm doing for them is (narrative, post, shelving, whatever)
BONUS ROUND:
» I will tell you what character of yours I'd like to play mine against
» you may ask me a free question ♥ |
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| Free Spirit |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|09:07 am] |
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As you may have heard, the Spirit rover on Mars is stuck in a clay-like bit of Martian soil. JPL engineers are hard at work trying to replicate the soil and figure out a way to free the rover. They are also happy to keep us updated on their efforts at a website called Free Spirit. It's fascinating to see both what JPL is doing and how it's using the Web. |
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| Soccer? Really |
[Jun. 28th, 2009|03:15 pm] |
Yes. I am watching soccer (or football to the the rest of Earth). Watching the US play Brazil in the final of a major men's tourney. The US has never been in the final of a men's soccer tourney. So it's a big deal. And a lot more exciting than soccer usually is for me. And the US is, near halftime, winning 2-0. Which is amazing. Really amazing.
Anyone else watching?
ETA: Well, it was fun while it lasted. |
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| Two Things for a Friday |
[Jun. 26th, 2009|09:07 am] |
1. This may be a little snarky, but I suspect that Gov. Sanford is secretly glad his scandal has been bumped from most news outlets for a couple of days by Michael Jackson's death. I also suspect that Sanford's days in the media spotlight will last a short time, since I think he is going to have to resign. Maybe he, Blago and Spitzer can form a disgraced governors club or something?
2. Love him or hate him as a person or a performer, but Michael Jackson was "King of Pop" as much as Elvis was the King. And I wonder if we will see any other singer ever have kind of fame. Granted, I don't pay much attention to the pop music scene, but I didn't in the 80s either, and it was clear to me how big he was. I don't see anyone like that. Successful performers? Yes. Talented ones? Yes. Megastars? Not the way it was for Elvis, or Jackson, or the Beatles, or even Bruce. Am I missing something, or has the way we listen to music and react to performers changed in the age of mp3s and American Idol? |
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| Things |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|09:07 am] |
1. Went to Citi Field, the new home of the Mets. There is a lot to like in terms of layout, design, space, size. But there isn't much to love. The lack of anything that really brands it as the Mets' home is part of the problem. The lack of any lifelong memories is also part of the problem. Funny thing is that I found myself missing Shea, even though my last-row-in-the-upper-deck seat was closer to the field than I've been in ages. Ask me again about the new place in 20 years, I guess.
2. At least the Mets won, and did so in convincing fashion. Haven't seen them win in person in over a decade. It felt nice.
3. For the record, I tried to watch the pilot for Merlin, and quit 2/3rds of the way in. It just didn't do a thing for me. Even Anthony Stewart Head was unimpressive.
4. Will "gone to Argentina" become the new slang for "cheating on your spouse"?
5. Next time Sanford goes to Argentina, can he take the New York State Senate with him? And leave them there? |
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| This Month's Comics |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|03:42 pm] |
Yup, it's been a while. Truth is, there is not much that I've wanted to say on a regular basis. But with the slew of new Batman books and a couple of other things of note, I offer the following round-up.
I begin by noting that I've cut back on what I've been buying. With a price increase on some DC books, and with the arrival of a lot of books that sound promising, I am now trying to stick with things that are worth my money. Books that are just OK are off the list (especially since I know that down the line, odds are I can find them collected in the library). So goodbye to Angel and to Booster Gold. Both had their moments, but the current creative teams are just spotty, and the addition of Blue Beetle III (and a higher price) isn't enough to keep me reading the latter.
What have I been reading? ( Read more... ) |
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sdelmonte's journal