Thinking About Batman

[Note: This was written on Wednesday, so, if the zombie horde has since taken over, please disregard what I have to say.]

I just finished reading Batman #683 and I feel that, it and #682 are easily the best issues of Grant Morrison's run since the three-issue Club of Heroes storyline last year. [SPOILERS AHEAD] In these two issues, we're shown what has happened to Batman since he was strapped into the machine in Final Crisis #2 (or was it 3), essentially, Desaad and Simyan have been beating all of the pain and rage out of his psyche and feeding it into their artificial soldiers to essentially give them an army of Angry Batmen. Fortunately, the pain he has endured over his life is so extreme that not only is it too much for creations of Apokolips to bear, but he can also wield it as a weapon against psychic attackers. This is one of those cool, clever ideas that Morrison has become known for, and really haven't been seen a lot in this series.

Along with all that, we're given some closure as to what happened to Batman after he plunged into the Gotham River with Dr. Hurt at the end of #681. The only real problem here is that, with Batman breaking free at the end, we get a big "TO BE CONTINUED IN FINAL CRISIS #6!" Now, I'm sure this is going to piss a lot of people off (and it already has on the internets), but it doesn't really bug me. Mostly because I'm already reading that series and it seems appropriate that if Bats is going to do something big in FC, it should happen in the main series. The big problem a lot of people are going to have is that the "end" of Batman R.I.P. isn't happening in Batman. I can kind of see their point, but let's face it, this is the nature of big event comics, if there's going to b a major change to a character, it's going to happen in the big event book d'jour. The only place that this hasn't happened is when Marvel showed an uncharacteristic amount of restraint in letting Captain America getting shot in his own book. But anyway, it is what it is, and I, for one am excited to read it when it happens.

Favorite Things: Coda

Hey all, I just wanted to thank everyone who has read all, or even just one of these posts. It was a lot of fun, and not a little bit of work. I still have four or five half-written posts so I'm thinking that I'm going to make this a continuing series.

But anyway, thanks again to everyone who read and commented, I look forward to staying on a more regular posting schedule in the new year. Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday and I'll talk to you when I'm back from vacation in a few days.

Favorite Things: Christmas Day

Finally, one of my favorite things in the world is the beach, because, barring flight delays, that's where I'm on my way to right now. Ha ha ha suckers!!!

OK, for reals, one of my truly favorite things is Christmas Day. While I am no stranger to the seasonal melancholy and the nigh-unbearable stress that the holiday season loads upon us all, somehow, once the day itself dawns, that all washes away. Suddenly it's a flurry of wrapping paper and smiles. Once the first-thing-in-the-morning insanity wanes, it becomes a more relaxed day of playing with toys, drinking coffee and moseying on over to a family-members house for comfort food. I realize that's not everyone's experience (especially if you're hosting), but I think the best way to put it is as Ira Glass said on a This American Life Christmas special, when he said, "Christmas is the time when everyone is the same person that they normally are, but only more so." That pretty much sums it up, we're all good parents, or siblings, or sons and daughters, only more so. And fortunatley, very few of us are truly miserable bastards. So, on this day, I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful, relaxing day with your family. If you celebrate it, I wish you all a truly Merry Christmas and if you don't, I wish you a happy holiday of whatever type you choose.

Favorite Things: Day Twenty Four

Almost to the finishing line here, so let's go with a more traditional, year-end post here. So here are some lists of my official Favorite Things of 2008.

Favorite Movies of 2008 (Theatrical):

1. The Dark Knight: Easily the best movie of the year, and quite possibly one of my favorite movies ever. There's not much to say that has not already been said elsewhere, but this is just a perfect movie.
2. Wall-E: Another perfect movie. Visually beautiful, incredibly intelligent, absolutely unflinching in its indictment of wasteful consumerism, all wrapped up in a package that is perfect for all ages. The amount of information and story this movie expresses in its first, almost dialogue-free hour, should be shown in film-classes for years to come.
   
3. Speed Racer: Fun. No other description applies, this is just a plain fun movie, the likes of which just doesn't seem to get made much anymore (you can check out my original review here).

Favorite Comics of 2008 (Collected Editions):

1. Starman Omnibus Vol. 1: My love of this book has been well-stated before, but now that DC is re-releasing the series in lovely, over-sized hardcovers, I'm falling in love all over again. Just a great package, and though the book is not without its faults, it's still probably the best thing DC put out in the 90's.
2. Invasion!: Pure 1980's stupid fun. It's rare that I can read a book that I loved when I was 14 and still find the same amount of fun in it 20 years later. Shit, I feel old now.
3. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!: Definitive Collection: It's rare that you get to read something "fresh" these days. I never got a chance to read this series back when it came out, and since then, it was never collected in any meaningful way, so I jumped at the chance to pick up this new edition (at 50% off at DCBS), and it was pretty much as great as everyone had always said. On top of that, it was just a beautiful package, just a brick of a hardcover, a little more trim than the standard size, perfect for carrying on planes and clubbing attackers.

Favorite Comic Series in 2008:

1. Criminal: See Day 22.
2. Captain America: Again, see Day 22.
3. Blue Beetle: As the character-creators Keith Giffen and John Rogers left the book, the very able Matthew Sturges took over...and the book was promptly cancelled. Once again, despite the "fans" bitching that there aren't any teen-skewing, fun, non-continuity laden comics out there for the proverbial "kids" to read, they didn't buy the fucking book that was pretty much exactly what they were asking for. Sturges and continuing artist Raphael Albuquerque came on the book and did, what I thought to be, a very good job despite being doomed from the start. It's to bad really, with the push the character is getting from Batman: The Brave and the Bold TV series, it would have been nice to see if they would have gotten a sales bump off of it.

Favorite Live Music Shows of 2008 (in no particular order):

1. David Byrne (performing the songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno) at the Civic Opera House: Just a beautiful, fun, rollicking show. Playing songs from throughout his career, Mr. Byrne was just plain entertaining.
2. Kraftwerk: Saw them in Milwaukee, don't remember the venue, but it was fantastic. I was doubtful going in, but I had been assured it was one of those shows you have to see and they were right. I really can't explain how good the show was in words, since it was essentially watching four German dudes, sitting behind laptops, playing pre-recorded music, but it was magical. Just fantastic.
3. The Pogues at the Riviera: Yet another one of those "have to see them before you (or Shane McGowan) dies" shows. And once again, it was absolutely perfect.
   

So that's what I have for now, I'm sure I'll have some more comprehensive "best of" stuff in the new year. Anyway, be back tomorrow for THE FATEFUL FINALE!!!*

*Well, not really but hey, some hyperbole was called for.

Favorite Things: Day Twenty Three

Home stretch time, and here's a two-fer Tuesday for you. These are two of my favorite discoveries of the year, bands that I had not paid any mind to, but through the power of some very strong releases (and eMusic making musical risk-taking much easier on the budget) I found some bands that I hope to follow for a while.

First up is Cut Copy and their excellent album In Ghost Colours that has found its way onto many year end lists*, but let me tell you, there's a reason for that, pretty much perfecting the melding of indie-pop and dance music into something that just appeals to me more than I would have thought possible if you had explained it to me beforehand. Here's a video** for Far Away:




Another find (for me) this year were The Mates of State. This husband and wife team makes beautiful indie pop music together and it's just a whole lot of fun. It's pretty much perfect music for my commute home to help shake off the workday. Though they did release a very good album this year, Re-Arrange Us, lately I've been enjoying Bring It Back which features this little slice of fried pop gold, Fraud in the 80's:



*Two list in particular of note are Poor Ditching Boy's Best Songs of 2008 List(featuring Lights and Music) and Kevin Church named Hearts on Fire his #10 track of 2008.

** Though not an "official" video, someone added the song "to the final race scene in cult classic 1986 BMX movie Rad". God, I love the internet (see also: Day Seven).

Favorite Things: Day Twenty Two [UPDATED]

Oh man, 22 days in ad I've completely blown through my cushion so this is starting to become a bit of a grind. But fuck it, I've got this far and I'm going to do my best not to get completely lazy these last four days till the finish.

Anyway, today's favorite thing isn't a thing at all, it's a person, or rather a writer, of comics books. Ed Brubaker is probably the best guy writing superhero comics right now. let's go down the current murderer's row of titles he's been writing:

Captain America: Forty come issues in to his run on this series (with artists Mike Perkins and Steve Epting) he's managed to not only make Cap matter for the first time in over a decade. He managed to kill his title character and have it feel real. And making a main character's death feel real in superhero comics is quite a feat.

The Immortal Iron Fist: Co-writing with Matt Fraction, Brubaker took a character that hadn't had much done with him since he was created during the kung-fu mad late-seventies and turned this book into one of the coolest, funniest most action-packed books on the shelves. While he and Fraction have since moved on, they set the stage for this book to be on of the true gems that Marvel is publishing.

Daredevil: I'll be honest, I'm a little behind on this book, but his first year on the book, spent straightening out the clusterfuck left behind after Brian Michael Bendis moved on was probably my favorite run on the book since Frank Miller's original run. One of these days, I'm going to have to do a post on those twelve issues alone.

X-Men: Yeah, I haven't been reading this. Except for Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, I don't think I've actually enjoyed a new X-Men book in 20 years, so I'm too afraid of being disappointed by his take as well. Maybe when the first trade of his (and Matt Fraction's) run is released, I'll give it a try. Unfortunately, they have Greg Land doing the art, or, when it comes to him "art". His "traced-from-porn" penciling style just leaves me bored.

Criminal: Not a superhero book, but easily the my favorite comic right now. Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips's excellent little crime book telling inter-connected tales of the various low-lifes that populate a nameless, ugly American city is so good, that I find it hard not to just sit in the car ad read it in the parking lot after picking it up from the shop. But it's not just their stories that make this book so good. The back of the book features articles or reviews by some of the best crime writers (and fans) around, often with illustrations by Phillips. Usually, right after I read this book, my ext move is to update my Netflix queue with whatever movies they're talking about. Easily the best value-for-money book around.

And that's just what he's currently writing. Brubaker also wrote one of my top-three books ever, Gotham Central (which I've go on and on about too many times before) and his first work with Sean Phillips, Sleeper is another excellent book (which could possibly become a movie too).

***Update*** Also, looks like teh trailer for Bruaker's new web series is up, go ahead and check it out:

From Crackle: Angel of Death: Coming soon to Crackle

Favorite Things: Day Twenty One

You know what one of my truly favorite things is? Waffles. No, not the crappy toaster waffles that have been foisted upon us since childhood (and I now foist upon my children), no honest, made in a waffle-iron waffles. Those are one of the few things that make waking up prior to noon on a Saturday or Sunday worth it. Anyway, if you don't believe me, drop the $15-$20 on a waffle iron and make some yourself. The absolute best recipe for these is from the Joy of Cooking, a book you really should have on your shelves, even if you don't cook that much. Seriously, if they sell it at your grocery store, most likely, there's a simple, easy recipe in there to make something delicious out of it. Here's the recipe:

Basic waffles

(adapted from the 1997 version of The Joy of Cooking)

makes 12 6-inch waffles

This recipe is adaptable: you can use as little as 4 tablespoons or as much as 16 tablespoons of butter. You can also add more eggs and reduce the milk for even richer, lighter waffles. One-half cup of raisins, ripe banana chunks, nuts, crumbled bacon or berries can be added after the wet and dry ingredients are mixed.

1 3/4 cup flour

1 T. baking powder

1 T. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, well beaten

8 T. butter, melted

1 1/2 cup milk

Step 1: Preheat the waffle iron

Step 2: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Step 3: Whisk together the eggs, butter and milk in a second bowl.

Step 4: Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir briefly. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Err on the side of undermixing.

Step 5: Spoon 1/2 cup batter onto the hot iron and spread it within 1/4 inch of the edges with a spoon.

Step 6: Close the lid and bake until steam stops emerging. Keep warm as above or serve immediately.

While the recipe states that it is adaptable for the amount of butter you want to use, really, if you love yourself, you'll go with the full, two sticks of butter. Even as your arteries clog you'll have a beatific grin on your face, knowing the shortened life span was worth it.

Favorite Things: Day Twenty

Hey it's Saturday! You know what that means, kids, yet another (somewhat) lazy post. Since we're getting closer and closer to the big day, and I already enumerated on my favorite Christmas Album earlier, let's do a quick run-through some of my fave Christmas/Holiday songs.

Let's start with A Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (w/ Kristy MacColl)


Next up, let's go with Calling On Mary by Aimee Mann , just a beautiful song (great album too).

And finally, Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC, because it just ain't Christmas without it.

Favorite Things: Day Ninteen

Here's an easy one, tonight, one of my favorite Christmas movies is on Turner Classic Movies, Christmas in Connecticut. It's the story of Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) a magazine columnist who is pretty much the 1945 equivalent of Martha Stewart, only she has no clue how to cook or do any of the other things that she writes about. When her magazine's owner decides that she should host a heroic Sailor at her farm (which she does not actually have) for Christmas, hijinks prevail while she tries to get it done and not lose her job.

While that all sounds very stupid, believe me, it's all done very well and very smartly. It's on at 8:45 EST and I think it's great, here's the trailer:

Favorite Things: Day Eighteen

OK, I had originally planned on posting this yesterday, but after a 3 hour commute, I was just too wiped to go ahead with some writing. Anyway, let's pretend that this one is a follow-up to Monday's Middleman post, as we're sticking with the theme of comics being turned into TV shows. So, Fables, which has recently been picked up by ABC for development into a series, has long been a favorite of mine.

Imagine if all of the story-book tales we were told as children were real, and they lived elsewhere, on their own worlds. well, they do, and some time ago, a great Adversary began taking over these lands and subjugating the Fables under his power . A good deal of these Fables fled to the last free world, the mundane world, our own. And that's where the story begins, in present-day New York City, where Snow White's in charge and Bigby Wolf (a.k.a. the Big Bad) keeps the peace.

For the first few collections (which is how I've been reading the series), it's rather episodic, the first, a murder-mystery, the second the tale of a revolution at the up-state farm where the non-human Fables are exiled. That is not to say that they are not excellent, but they grow the cast and the concept of the book so well, that, when around issue 50, the grand arch of the entire book kicks in, you're hopelessly involved. This really comes down to the characters, writer Bill Willingham manages to take the archetypes of so many characters we've known, or thought we've known, so well over our lifetimes and invests them with human foibles that they jump off the page. He is ably assisted on art by Mark Buckingham (and a talented stable of guest artists) and no discussion of the book can be had without mentioning the amazing covers by James Jean. Hell, it's taken me almost an hour of going through them on comics.org (gallery here) to pick out a good one for this post, and while I went with the most seasonal of the bunch, I had to include another one below.

Recently, the book passed what was to be the planned ending of the book, the final battle between the Adversary and the Fables, but it has continued and I'm glad for it. Though I'm only collecting the book in trades, it's nice to have a big, thick block of the book to read every few months.

Anyway, as I had stated above, ABC has picked up Fables to make into a pilot for next season, and, while I have very little faith that it'll go to series, much less be any good, I am still hopeful The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan wrote a very good article recently laying out the reasons why it could be a very able successor to Lost.

As with everything I've been talking about this month, I can't recommend this book enough. Oh yeah, here's the other cover I couldn't resist, still seasonal, though.

Favorite Things: Day Seventeen

If you've been around me the last few months, especially if I've been drinking, you've no doubt heard me evangelize about how much I love Feed the Animals by Girl Talk.

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be enjoying an album that features a mash-up of "In a Big Country" and "Whoomp! There it is", I probably would not have believed you. But Greg Gillis manages to take 40 years worth of disparate music and boil it all down to their barest pop materiale. Essentially, this album is a bomb of pure, concentrated pop, and it is beautiful. I really can't say more without repeating what many people have said on their own "best of '08" lists (as Kevin Church does a good job here), so I'll leave you with one of my faves, "Like This":

Favorite Things: Day Sixteen

Today I decided to talk about The Middleman. Over three mini-series (all helpfully collected now in one volume), Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine created one of my favorite cast of characters from the last few years. The set-up is thus: The Middleman, a freelance operative who deals with all of the weird shit that abounds across the Earth. Along with him are his trainee, Wendy Watson, and their bitchy robot secretary, Ida. While that sounds all well and good, it's the whip-smart dialogue, the ingenious use of just about every genre convention (talking monkeys, ninjas, Mexican wrestlers, etc.) and the general insanity of the book that rises it above.

But, the creation of a fantastic new comic series wasn't enough, so they made a TV show out of it, and I love it. In fact, it's easily my favorite new show of 2008. I'll be honest, it seems to take a different tone to the comic series, where that was more of an "X-Files meets Bond movie" vibe, the TV series, is more of a "X-Files meets 1960's Batman TV Series" mixture. Matt Kleesar brings a much different note to the character of the Middleman, giving him a much more clean-cut demeanor than the one that seemed to be portrayed in the comics. But it works, and it's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they're going to get a second season order, but at least there should be a DVD release of the 12 episodes that were aired, so we hav ethat going for us. Anyway, here are some of the PSA's that they recorded to support the series, they're a hoot.

Favorite Things: Day Fifteen

Today's post is a little different that most of what I have put up here, mostly because it's not something I can link to from Amazon (and possibly earn precious pennies to assist Santa in filling his bag o' toys), instead, it's one of the highlights of my weekday, when I get to drive my two boys home after I pick them up from daycare. While my two year-old usually uses this time to zone out, my five year-old treats it as if it is Question Time for the PM. Occasionally he;ll ask me deep questions about death and exactly how old he will be when he will die, and sometimes it's full of simple declarative sentences, such as, "I can run real fast." However, the other day, we had an exchange that cracked me up greatly, it went like this:

Set-up: We're in the car, listening to sports radio when a commercial for the Official Barack Obama Victory Plate comes on.

Jack: "Dad, what's a Barack Obama?"

Me: "He's the new President of the United States."

Jack: "Is he the first President."

Me: "No, he's the 43rd President."

Jack: "Who was the first President, Daddy?"

Me: "That was George Washington."

Jack: "Who was the second President?"

Me: "I believe it was John Addams." - (totally guessing here and disappointing all of my elementary school Social Studies Teachers).

Jack: "Have you been President, Dad?"

Me: "No Jack, I have yet to be President of the United Sates."

Jack: "That's OK Daddy, you can be President next time."

Me: "Thanks Jack, your vote is important to me."

Favorite Things: Day Fourteen

OK, it's Sunday and I'm feeling lazy, so here's a short one. Cartoon Network''s series, Chowder is a pretty funny series, but they play this one clip before just about every Cartoon Network show I get On Demand (and since I have two kids, that's a lot), and it cracks me up every time:



The full scene is here, in case you're interested.

Favorite Things: Day Thirteen

The Ravonette's Lust, Lust Lust is an album that I liked a lot when I first got it, but I didn't even realize that it was one of my favorites of the year until I realized that it was probably the only album that didn't leave the rotation all year. The way that I can describe their sound is that it is relentless, just a wall of sound that moves forward like a shark. Anyway, since writing about music is like dancing about architecture, here's the video for the lead single, Aly Walk With Me:



If you like it, the album is available on eMusic and Amazon.

Favorite Things: Day Twelve

I'm kinda taking a mulligan today, since it's been a pretty hectic week and last night was my office's Christmas party. No shenanigans took place, just a long evening of awkward conversations between people who have little in common, yet who spend approximately 50 hours each week together. Anyway, here's one of my favorite pin-ups ever, from Kevin Maguire an Joe Rubinstein as it originally appeared in (I think) DC's Who's Who:

(click to embiggen)

This image, and many other fine other like it is available in the just-released Justice League International Volume 3. I also heartily recommend volumes 1 & 2.

Favorite Things: Day Eleven

Today's a two-fer, but these are two albums that are hard for me to think about individually. Both were released in the summer of 1994 and they were both "borrowed" from the University radio station soon afterward, becoming a solid part of the soundtrack to my Junior year in college.

The first is Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices, the band's first album on Matador and their break-through to a national audience. This album is chock full of Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout's two-and-a-half minute (or less) indie pop masterpieces and it made me fall in love with the band. Here's the video for I Am A Scientist, which is just fantastic:


Please note, this is the "single version" of the song, which is not the same as the album version, it can be found here and here.

Next up we have Sebadoh's Bakesale, their first album after founding member Eric Gaffney left, and despite the fact that most of the music press seems to look at their previous two (III and Bubble & Scrape) as being the "classics", this is my favorite. Anyway, it's late and I wish I could better put into words my love of this lo-fi rocker, but I can't, so here's the video for Rebound:

Favorite Things: Day Ten

Let's stay with music today on my run-down of favorite things. Elvis Costello has long been a favorite artist of mine, since my big brother pressed a copy of King of America into my hands lo, so many years ago. While I own many of his approximately 3,012 albums, which run the gamut from merely "Good" to "Oh my fucking God, all people should be issued this album at birth in order to spread good taste", I must say, live is the way to experience the man's music. I've seen him at least four times and my favorite of the group seeing him at the Arie Crowne Theatre in Chicago on one of his tours with Steve Nieve (the keyboardist for his original band, the Attractions). The format was just Elvis with an acoustic guitar and Nieve on piano and it led to a pretty free-wheeling show, and one with lots of banter. That Mr. Costello is a pretty chatty guy, there's a reason they just gave him a talk show. Anyway, the tour he did before the one I saw was recorded and released, in part, as a series of EP's in the box set Costello & Nieve. I'll be honest, when the box came out, I hemmed and hawed while looking at it at the record store (Rock Records in downtown Chicago, the worst record store in the city, to be precise), but I eventually took the plunge, and I'm very happy that I did (doubly so now that it's out of print). Anyway, here are two excellent tracks off of the disc for the Boston show, the first a great run-through of a classic. The second, Little Atoms, was a song that I didn't care for when it was on All This Useless Beauty, but the live setting flushes it out well, and it also features some of Mr. Costello's rapier wit.

Costello & Nieve - Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes

Costello & Nieve - Little Atoms

Favorite Things: Day Nine

In my estimation, Tuesday is generally the lamest day of the workweek. Though we've been trained from childhood by the tyrant garfield to hate Mondays, you at least still have the pleasant memories of the just past weekend to keep you going. Wednesday, is the middle, so you know by getting through it, you'll be on the back-nine of the week (plus, new comics!). Thursday gets you one day closer to the weekend, and, if you're age 18-25, Thursday night is pretty much a warm-up for Friday night. Finally, there's Friday, and I really don't have to explain that one to you.

Anyway, back to Tuesday, sad, crappy Tuesday, it's often the hardest drive into work that day. So how do I get through it? Well, as 80's movies-montages taught us, the best way to motivate yourself for anything: Pop Music!

Here's one of my favorite early-morning-commute toe tappers, the appropriately named Tuesday Morning by Tommy Keene:

Tuesday Morning - Tommy Keene

This song, and the excellent album that features it, is available at both Amazon MP3 & eMusic . You know, if you'd like to pay for it.

Favorite Things: Day Eight

So in lieu of my regularly scheduled post for today (which still may be coming), yesterday's Chicago Tribune reminded me that today could be a very special day, today, Ron Santo could get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Santo, former star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs, and their long-time radio colorman is very much a love him or hate him type of guy. Not so much for his play, which by all rational measures, more than qualifies him for the Hall, but his radio work, which if you've ever heard it, pretty much defines homer-hyperbole. Since I became a Cubs fan in my early twenties, it was during the hunt for the National League Wild Card in 1998 that I really came to love Ron Santo's radio calls (along with probably the best play-by-play man in the business, Pat Hughes), an early favorite was in a game vs. the Brewers, with I believe only three games to go in the season, the Cubs just had to win one game to clinch the wild-card. Of course, that's when Brant Brown dropped an easy fly ball in the outfield and gave way to one of my favorite radio calls ever, the text is below, click here for the audio.

HUGHES: "Two down, the Brewers have the bases loaded, and a 2-2 count on the hitter. Here's the pitch. Swung on. Fly ball to left field. Brant Brown going back. Brant Brown ... drops the ball!"

SANTO: "Oh, nooooooooo!"

HUGHES: "He dropped the ball!"

SANTO: "Nooooooooo!"

HUGHES: "Three runs will score, and the Brewers have beaten the Cubs."

I will say though, I owe Brant Brown for that one, without that drop, I would have never gotten the chance to go to the one game playoff between the Cubs and the Giants to decide the wold-card slot. That was easily, if not the best, the most fun, exciting game of baseball that I've attended live. Of course, that's helped by the fact that every post-season game I've attended since, has been lost by the Cubs.

Anyway, due to his....rather overdone calls, Ron catches a lot of shit. Admittedly, he also tends to miss a lot, and he's not always up on what is actually going on in the game, but it's like going to a game with your crazy uncle, most of the time, he's well, crazy, but some days, he's fucking on. Anyway, I love Ron Santo, and in an age when we're all bitching about the assholes who are getting into the HOF, here's a guy who clearly deserves to be in there, and if the veteran's committee has any sense, they'd let him in.

To learn more about Ron Santo, I' recommend checking out the documentary This Old Cub, which details his baseball career, his quest to be inducted into the HOF and his battles with diabetes.

Favorite Things: Day Seven

Well, it's still the weekend, and I'm still lazy, so let's give some props to one of the single-greatest time-wasting inventions of the internet age: YouTube. In order to do so, I present you with two recent finds that may tie into tomorrow's post.

Fist, here's "The Star Trek" Rap by Prime Directive and Galaxy Class (NSFW).



Next up, we have Captain James T. Kirk's (original flavor) reaction to his replacement:



There's ten minutes of your day you'll never get back, wondrous.

Thanks to BeaucoupKevin and AlertNerd for bringing these to my (and the internet at large's attention).

Favorite Things: Day Six

Well, it's Saturday here at Phoning It In Industries (NYSE: PI3), and we're taking the lazy way out by just posting a bunch o' videos by a favorite band of mine. Today, here's some great tunes by The Wedding Present. I've spoken about them before, most recently when I made the unfortunate decision to skip their concert in favor of watching the Cubs embarrass themselves live in the playoffs (I keep having visions of the old knight from The Last Crusade shaking his head at me and saying, "You have chosen....poorly.")

Anyhoo, here we go:

I'm From Further North Than You

Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk

Kennedy

And finally, here's a seasonal cut:

Stepping Into Christmas

Oh, and hey, they just did another Holiday song, here's their newest:


Holly Jolly Hollywood

Favorite Things: Day Five

Yes, it's Friday, so along with the fightin', I think I'll take it easy today, so let's go with something I've already talked about last month. Without a doubt, hitting winged, mutant gorillas with a mace is one of my favorite things.

And that's for real

This, and other visions of man-on-simian violence can be found in the ape-tastic DC Goes Ape trade paperback.

Favorite Things: Day Four

Well, I've gone three days and not descended into anything too geeky, well today, let's not just cross that line, but blow by it at mach 12. I give you the pinnacle of 1990's fan service, JLA/Avengers


Produced at one of the rare times when the two major comic companies weren't in a pissing match about who can make the less coherent "event", they rounded up the two perfect creators, writer Kurt Busiek and artist George Perez to produce the end-all, be-all teaming of the biggest supergroups on the planet (short of Damn Yankees). Astoundingly, it pretty much meets or exceeds all expectations. While Perez's hyper-detailed art is ostensibly the biggest draw, Busiek's handling of such a gigantic cast of characters makes the book just sing. Really, if you enjoy your super-heroes, this is high-concentrate crack (now finally available in paperback).

Favorite Things: Day Three

Well, since we're into the holiday season, we'd best get into the spirit, and the best way to do that is with Christmas music. When it comes to Christmas albums, one album stands head and shoulders above the rest, A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector.


This record is not only the best Christmas record ever, it's easily one of the best pop records ever. Seriously, this thing stays on my iPod all year long ad when it comes up on shuffle, it's rare that it get skipped over. Now I understand that seeing the frayed, fright-wigged, crazy, possibly murdering old man that Mr. Spector has become makes it difficult to drop some cash into his pockets, but seriously, everyone needs to own this. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love is one of my top ten pop tunes ever, and I'll leave you with that:

While ACGFY is available as a stand-alone album, I'd highly recommend picking up the Phil Spector box set Back to Mono, which includes it in its entirety, that box is a must-own for any lover of pop music (which I just realized is out of print, that's just stupid).

Favorite Things: Day Two

For day two of my on-line advent calendar, let's go with another all-time favorite, Bone.

Jeff Smith's epic tale of the little bone brothers, exiled from Boneville and their adventures in the Valley is a book I pull out at least once a year, and usually devour in a (rather sleepless) weekend. Beginning as an Disney-like, slapstick short, it soon develops into an epic tale of stolen kingdoms, hidden princesses and realized prophesies that is something that stays with your for quite some time. It's one of those books that I can't wait to share with my kids.

I really can't recommend this book enough, it's currently available in a cinder-block sized one volume edition, plus the lovely, new colored editions that Scholastic has put out.

Favorite Things: Day One

This is the first in a series of posts I'm going to try to do each day this month, counting down some of my favorite things (both of all-time and from the past year) to one of my favorite days of the year: Christmas.

Anyway, by random choice (as it was the first thing to pop into my head), today's topic will be one of my top-five favorite movies, North By Northwest.

I've loved this movie for so long that I can't even remember the first time I saw it. It had to be after the advent of video, so sometime after I was six years old, but I've gotta say, as a little kid, Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) rated up there along with Indiana Jones, James Bond and Han Solo as one of the coolest motherfuckers on the planet. Not because he was an action-hero, because he was the pitch-perfect "wrong man" for this Alfred Hitchcock picture. Thornhill, implicated in an international spy-plot, by the scenery chewing James Mason (in the closest role he ever got to a Bond-villain) exemplifies himself in one of my favorite quotes:

Now you listen to me, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself "slightly" killed.

I love this movie so much, that I cannot be objective about it in any way. It's like a perfect pop music album, it's all candy-coated and rather fake, but at the same time, you don't give a shit cause you're just bobbing your head along with the rhythm. Anyway, if you've never seen the picture, you really owe yourself to see it, if only to count the number of set-pieces that The Simpsons have stolen from it. Here's Mr. Hitchcock himself to sell you on it:



So that's the first of (hopefully) 25 for the next 25 days. I hope you'll tune in!

Happy Thanksgiving

Not all turkeys are lucky enough to get to be my delicious, delicious Thanksgiving meal, some get pardoned by the President:



Thanks to Jake Bell for reminding me of this.

Presidential Politics: The Chicago Way

"They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!"

Found: One Helping of Shame

While digging through boxes in the basement, searching for Christmas music, I found this CD:



16 year-old me, I hate you so much right now....

Quantum of Solace

This is the most excited I've been about a new James Bond movie, probably ever. Casino Royale was my favorite movie of the last five years, maybe ten (note I didn't say it was the best, just my favorite). Since I bought that movie on DVD last year, I've probably watched it every few weeks and thoroughly enjoyed it every time. So, having narrowly survived the Great Geek Disappointment of 1999, I prepared myself to be sorely let down by QoS. Fortunately, that was not the case, while certainly not the revelation that Casino Royale was, it's a solid, entertaining movie that finishes what CR began by showing the beginning of 007's career.

The first thing you notice about the movie is that it is a true sequel to the previous film, beginning minutes after that one ended and following up on the organization behind that movie's villain. From there, it becomes a much more conventional Bond flick. Bond globe-trots to several stunning locales and uses what has to be one of the worst investigative techniques ever, the old "kill a random dude, take his place and see where that gets you" trick, but it always seems to work for him (see also: Diamonds Are Forever). They also bring back the 21st Century version of SPECTRE, QUANTUM. Unlike SPECTRE, this group seems to be more about making money than chaos, but it does make me wonder, how much more money could a secret organization make rather than a regular, corrupt multi-national corporation. Honestly, they can't be any richer than Exxon, can they?

Anyway, Bond moves through the organization's layers, trying to figure out both what their ultimate plans are (this time at least) and also find out whether his lost love, Vesper, betrayed merely her country, or him too. By the end of the movie, these questions are answered and dealt with in satisfactory fashion. In that lies this movie's strength, as it shows us the evolution of how Bond became the guy we've known all of these years.

However, there are weaknesses here, the biggest for me were the action sequences. They were all very quick-cut and closely shot. This seems to be something that happens when a director is making their first action film, as another good example of this were the fights in Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan framed those fights very close up and you couldn't really tell what was going on and it always kind of irked me. You can't tell whose fists were whose, and it was very confusing. Now, this could have been the directors' intent, wanting to establish that fisticuffs are confusing and jarring, but it's just not pleasant viewing. The other thing was the very tight framing of the characters in the action scenes, when you're filming a chase across Siena, Italy's rooftops, it helps if you back off a little to establish where the individuals are in reference to each other. I know, this sounds like little shit, but it bugged me.

Oh yeah, there were also plot holes and implausibilities so big, you could drive a truck through, but hey, a Bond flick without those just wouldn't be a Bond flick. Anyway, here are some quick bullet-points with some of my more random thoughts about the movie:

• It was nice to see Bond go back to the old Walther PPK instead of the P99 he's been carrying since Tomorrow Never Dies. Thus is the curse of my existence, I notice this shit.
• Yeah, I have a feeling I'm not the only guy who was thinking about mixing up a "Vesper" after I got home. One of these days I'll remember the ingredients when I'm at the liquor store....
• I really don't get all of the hate for the title, I mean really, is it any worse than Moonraker? Also, at the end, it did make sense, didn't it?
• And oh yeah, while the title sequence (by MK12) was pretty sweet, that song by Jack White and Alicia Keys, killed me. It wasn't awful, but it was the kind of song that's going to sound dated by the time this movie hits video that we'll all be wondering what they were thinking.
  

Also, some non-Bond related bullet-points:

• No Star Trek trailer!?!?!?!? Seriously, I thought about complaining after the movie. I'm really pissed that I didn't get to see it on the big screen.
• So that Sprite commercial comes on, the one where the dudes "dive" into the basketball court? Older dude behind me says, "Oh yeah, like that could happen." You think?
• Listen lady, Liz Claiborne went out of style in 1995, and if you're wearing enough of it to burn the nostrils of a guy sitting a full ten feet away from you, you may have over-applied.
  

So I liked this movie quite a bit, though I'm not in love with it yet. I have a feeling that I'll be catching this one in the theatres at least one more time (especially since there's a rather weak slate of films this season), so we'll see if it will overtake Casino Royale in a year's time, when it's ten o'clock and I'm looking to turn off my brain for a few hours.

Friday Night Fights: The Return

Bahlactus put out the call for someone to take up the mantle.....and SpaceBooger has answered!

TONIGHT!
CAPTAIN MAR-VELL VS. SUPER SKRULL

A punch so powerful, Mar-vell is knocked into the next panel!

Image taken from The Essential Captain Marvel, which, to be honest, is a little bit of false advertising. Originally published in Captain Marvel #2.

Inexplicable Things

I was going to save this for Friday Night Fights, but some things just can't wait. Such as: Hawkman hitting a winged, mutant gorilla with a mace.



Image taken from the recently-released DC Goes Ape trade-paperback. This book also features one of my all-time favorite, out-of-context panels. Unfortunately, Chris Sims got to it first.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Thanks to BeaucoupKevin for bringing this to my attention.

Yes, We Did

Though not my picture, this is pretty much my exact vantage point on the action last night. President-Elect Barack Obama was barely larger than a pin and I could only catch glimpses if I stood on my tip-toes. But damn, was it worth it.

We didn't head down to the rally until close to 8:00 and, though we had to wait in a line that snaked almost completely around the whole of Grant Park itself, everything moved rather quickly. We finally made it on to Hutchinson Field just when CNN declared Virgina for Obama. Maybe ten minutes later, they called the election and the place exploded. It was an amazing moment, an out-pouring of pure joy from over 100,000 people at the same exact time and that moment will be an experience that I will treasure.

After that, we stood at rapt attention while Sen. McCain delivered his gracious concession speech. The crowd was very respectful and there were very few boos. Though, the petty bitch in me took schadenfreude at the fact that Sarah Palin could barely hold the fake-smile on her face, watching her moments in the lime-light tick down to zero.

After that, I lit up my victory cigar and began the interminable wait until PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA began his victory speech. The speech was well done, but by the time it came, the crowd was almost spent, and Obama looked like he was too, he poured every iota of energy he had into this campaign and he's more than earned his exhaustion (and hopefully twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep).

I could babble on more, but just suffice to say, I had an experience unlike any other last night, and though my legs are killing me, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. For the first time in a very, very long time, I'm excited for the direction our country is headed in.

What're You Doing Today?

Whatever else you're doing, I sincerely hoping it includes voting, even if it's not for the obvious choice and instead for the Accursed Richards.

Anyhoo, later this evening, I hope to overcome my innate laziness and love of the booze to go on down to Grant Park to (possibly, hopefully) experience some history first-hand:

Either way, get on out there and get your civic duty on!

More Thoughts on Captain Marvel Jr.

So, after yesterday's post, I'm fairly certain you're wondering to yourself, "Did Captain Marvel Jr. only beat up on the Japanese during WWII?" Well, as an answer, let's go to this page of Cap Jr. facing down (the completely useless) Captain Nazi:



*As with yesterday, this page is from Shazam! Family Archives Volume 1, a book that makes you cringe from its use of both race and grammar. However, man, that Mac Raboy was a fantastic friggin' artist.

Thoughts on Captain Marvel Jr.

Have you ever wondered to yourself, "Captain Marvel Jr., he's cool, but is he bad-ass?" Well, thanks to Shazam! Family Archives Vol. 1, I have an answer for you.

First, after finding out that the Japanese plan to bomb a secret American base in Alaska*, he then proceeds to beat the shit out of the Japanese airplanes:



But wait, that's not enough for our young Marvel. After defeating the airplane armada, he then goes to town on the pilots as they parachute to (relative) safety:


Bonus Racism:

1942, Ladies and Gentlemen! That's why they call them the greatest generation, not the "classiest" and certainly not the "most racially sensitive". Always leaves me feeling a little dirty when I see shit like that.

*He finds this out after cracking a, frankly, insanely stupid plan by Japanese spies to communicate their "secret" plans through the use of secret-coded birthday balloons. What a bunch a' maroons.

Friday Night Fights - Ladies Night Round 12

One Last Time, Tonight:
The Spirit vs. Silk Satin

And in the end, the only winner is love.

As this is the final round of the final Friday Night Fights, a huge thank you goes out to Bahlactus for all of the laughter...and the violence.