She's crazy....and a liar?

Bridge to No where? and she kept the money....

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed7/idUSN3125537020080901

Lied about selling a plane on ebay?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/05/sarah-palins-strange-ebay_n_124097.html


Rape Kits?

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-health-and-money/2008/9/10/sarah-palin-and-the-rape-kit-question.html

Trip to Iraq?

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2008/09/15/sarah-palins-iraq-trip--all-the-way-up-to-the-border.html


Here's some daily show: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184481&title=Sarah-Palin-Won't-Blink.


And the word from Colbert:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/184928/september-15-2008/the-word---how-dare-you-

I also want to note that McCain -Palin -reformers: McCain, who was a great war hero, became a reformer after almost getting brought down in an awful scandal, and Palin spent $452 million dollars on crab porn (among other things). Also, from the people who want small government we hear a lot about government oversight and regulation, as well as more money for the defense. (which is all off-budget....can't wait till that shoe drops)

It's been a while...but i am back baby....

And boy, do I have a lot to say.

First of all some links we all need to watch:

Me on TV:
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/Obama-supporters-gather-to-watch-a-milestone-in-American/1219983116.html

Some Daily Show: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184095&title=sarah-palin-vet-this

and

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card&tag=generic_tag_restoring_honor_and&itemId=184220

and

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184114&title=the-best-f#king-news-team-ever

and

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184113&title=john-mccain-reformed-maverick

and

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184111&title=john-mccains-big-acceptance

And Matt Damon being very concerned: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/09/matt_damon_wants_to_know_if_sa.html


and a little NY times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/opinion/12krugman.html?ex=1378958400&en=c086f0651fb9c71b&ei=5124&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook



So now onto thoughts: First of all, a friend of mine sent me an article that compared Batman from the recent and kick ass Dark Knight movie to G.W. Bush. This made me wanted to do two things: punch my computer in the same way that "Waiting on the World to Change" makes me want to punch the radio. Also to drive to this guy's office and give him every Batman comic I have. Batman, while rich and a WASP, is not a Republican. Let's talk why. He hates guns. He does not support capital punishment. He understand the greys of the world. He is open minded and open hearted. He is not a crazy Evangelical Christian. He understand that the world isn't good guys and bad guys, that poverty and greed by everyone can create the situations where classes tend to fall to certain types of crime. Those are just a few. In fact, if there was one character in that movie I would compare to our esteemed President Douche bag, it would be Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two Face. Bush's worldview of fairness, black and white, good guys and bad guys, cowboys and indians, us vs. them is something that would much more akin to Two Face, though he is much more like able, tragic and better spoken.


Also some thoughts from the RNC:

1. How dare community organizers work in tough areas of the country, trying to make the world a better place. Like me, giving a year of my life in a peaceful community enrichment program when I was 22 when I should have been in a beauty pageant.

2. I love how the Republicans blame the last 8 years on the 'liberal' media and San Francisco when it was their party in power. Also, i think someone needs to explain to them that corporations own the media, and those corporations are hardly ever liberal. And yes, that Fox news is very much to blame.

3. Cindy McCain's outfit was worth more money that I have ever made. Ah, the party of the 'regular' people and fiscal conservatives.

4. If you live in the city, you don't have God, morals, principles or values. Republicans want to the world to go back to 1950's small values. Like racism, sexism, hate of gays, rampant alcoholism and spousal abuse. Ahhh the good old days.

Event Horizon

So this summer, as much with the last few summers, the comic book industry, the the big 2 in particular (Marvel and DC) have decided to do large event comics. In recent years, these event, which are usually miniseries, often have an unbelievable amount of tie-ins, which have come at great cost to the readers. However this year, we have something a bit different. In the Marvel universe, we Secret Invasion. Basically, an group of religious alien shape shifters believes that Earth is rightfully theirs and for the last few years, have infiltrated our society, and this is their first strike in their war. It involved the Avengers mainly, with 4 mini-series tying a majority of other big super-hero teams such as the Fantastic Four and X-men, some once shots and few new series launching out of the war. It will cross over in many books, and the main two Avengers titles, will not focus on the Avengers but on the back story leading up to the main mini-series. Now, while this does seem like a lot, it is much less than other years, and the two Avengers books as well as the min-series are all being written by the same writer, so it should be interesting. From what it looks like, certain charades will be found out to be skrulls, some skrulls maybe did not even know that they were skrulls, and some heroes will either be dead or have been in stasis for many years. It also looks like, that even if both teams of Avengers get their collective heads out of their asses, the new Captain America, Thor and Nick Fury will be the saviors of the day.


As for DC, they are basing their event on the recent Sinestro Corp War storyline in Green Lantern. This was a massive storyline that effected the DCU but only was in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corp and had one other issue tie in. Their Final Crisis will be culmination of the 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earth, Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns. (If you couldn't tell Marvel likes the words 'War' and 'Secret' and DC likes 'Crisis') Here the idea is the for as long as we can remember, these evil and good gods have been fighting, and evil won. Every time our heroes have faced off against these gods, we had the good ones helping us, but not this time. This is the day evil wins in the DCU. The event has maybe 5-6 total issues of tie-ins, 3 mini-series and 4 one-shots. Almost all of mini-series or off shoots are being written by 3 writers, all of whom worked together on the landmark weekly mini-series called 52. And maybe the most exciting part of this, is that it looks like the savior of the DCU might be the same character who was their first official saint, the one who died in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, running so fast to blow up a devastating weapon that he became one with the universe. Barry Allen is back, to deliver one of those nick-of-time saves.

Now I grew up on Marvel and I love the recent Captain America book, enjoy the Avengers books and am looking forward to Secret Invasion and the new Captain Brittain and MI:13 books, Marvel, at times, reeks of arrogance. Forever they put their universe in a few hands, who were capable but always thought of themselves as the best. Joe Quesada, especially has shown this, especially of late when he decided to reverse 30 years of history by taking away Spider-Man's marriage. He didn't want this perennial hero to be divorced, so he rather him make a deal with the devil for the world to forget his marriage.....huh?

DC on the other hand, has of recent years, made plenty of mistakes (Countdown being one of them) but has done a more humble, more team approach to their books, and SCW and Crisis being a signal of it, have done more for the fans in not making their event book being something in which you have buy 80 comics to understand.

And let's face it, with Marvel we might get back ape-like Beast or might find out that Hank Pym has been skrull, and you might get Fury and the classic Avengers beating back an invasion, but DC just brought back Barry Allen for one of those nick of time saves....And as the show Firelfy once told us:

Mal: Well look at this. 'Pears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoë: Big damn heroes, sir.
Mal: Ain't we just.

And the next morning, something kind of amazing happened. The sun came out again.

Indeed.

It's been a while dear friends and readers....why? Well, work, school, vacations, getting the coche fixed, and women. That's why. But I'm back, and writing to you with the all pieces of my broken heart.

Heard a song the other day- James Blunt- You're Beautiful. And i was overwhelmed with memory and a fantasy at the same time. A fantasy in a good way- how i would tell someone about this special person if she were in the room listening. The song (and yes, he is a depressing English man who literally sings just about women) but it reminds me of the one time, the very one time, that i ever met someone out of happenstance and we both were caught up in what could only be called a romantic movie like moment. Now those who know me well, know that i look for situations like this all the time, but right there on the London tube, I had just seen a face as the Beatles would say.

An initial conversation was followed by a fantastic dinner and drinks, with me leaving the next day, follwed by intense, passionate and open emails, and the both of us re-meeting for an amazing evening in New York City, the heart of passion and love and romance and whatnot (for us American's at least) after the both of us had just left a relationship. And why may you ask did this amazingly Capra-esque romance not work? Cause I pulled a Chasing Amy. And since then, since letting the ex, the distance, the craziness of life get in the way, she has moved on, met someone and is happy. Am I happy for her? Of course. But a part of me, especially with all the bullshit of my current situation, man what i wouldn't give to go back and change it all. Ya know? And yes, things are 20/20 in hindsight, and yes it was probabaly the distance and the realities that stopped the magic of us from happening, but there are days, where i would give anything to be with her. To defy the odds, to defy gravity if you will, and rise above all the crap, all the insecurities and the problesm and the temptations and to make magic happen. But no, cause she is happy, and that is what is important. Right?

A Moment of Hope.

This was written a few days after September 11th.

"In The Midst Of The Horror... Something wonderful happened. I found out that I'm not as cynical and pessimistic as I had thought. Here's why: The passengers who chose to attack their hijackers, likely saving thousands of lives. The policemen who haven't slept in two days. The firefighters who pleaded from their hospital beds to be allowed to go back to the scene to help. The endless line of people in New York volunteering to do something. Anything. The people around the world donating money and blood, even from countries in desperate need. The health care personnel who walked to the scene unasked, to help. The emergency service workers who rushed back to the scene despite the danger of buildings around them in danger of collapse. The non-Muslims who refused to give in to bigotry and racism. The websites that started donation drives that are collecting millions, a dollar at a time. The Red Cross, never more deserving, never more tested. The journalists who occasionally worked through tears to keep us informed. The grief counselors who took the savagely difficult task of being with the loved ones of the victims when it was most needed. The massive support of the governments of the world. If there was a sign of hope for the future, this is it. Those common people in virtually every country in the world, who left flowers and prayed and lit candles and sent letters to the US in memory of people they'd never known. The huge group of people cheering for not only the policemen, firefighters and EMTs at the scene, but for the Con Ed workers and those who handled the debris. The politicians who suddenly rose above our expectations to do the right thing tirelessly and selflessly. Those people who opened their homes to the stranded. The National Guard, who know that they'll be called when things are at their worst. The men and women in the towers and the Pentagon who aided those around them who had fallen, to get them to safety, at great personal risk. The NATO leaders, who said we do not stand alone. Voices in every language saying, "I'll give blood. I'll give money. I'll give support. I'll give food. I'll give a place to stay. I'll give my time. I'll give. I'll give. I'll give." There can never be a full accounting, from quiet heroism that will never make the news, to those who sacrificed their lives after forty years of public service. I find myself with a new understanding of what it means to be an American, and what standards that means I should live up to. I find myself proud, not ashamed, to be a citizen of the world. The list of victims is long. The list of those who want to help in any way they can has more than a billion names on it. The people who committed this atrocity thought that they were striking at the heart of America. They missed." -Gail Simone

Without getting too much into politics, this piece makes me sad. It spoke to the great hope that is born out of tragedy, and after the last 7 years, that hope has been dashed by the politicians both Democrat and Republican, who has been in charge. Their list of faults are long, some more obvious that others, but what I truly blame them for is in a time for leadership, they could not be more than politicians, and not leaders. And that is sad.

Getting Busey'd

This is a clip from the Oscars this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDoAUJDcKU

My question: How did Gary Busey get invited to the Oscars?

Also- my favorite win has to be Glen Hassard and Markéta Irglová who one for Falling Slowly from Once. If you haven't seen this movie you should - here is their clip from the Oscars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YmnXGGFZY

The Question

One of my favorite superheroes. The man with no face, who only asks questions. He is a possible nihilist, a fan of western and eastern philosophy. He knows martial arts, he wears a fadora, trenchcoat, suit and tie. He is a journalist, cab driver and mystery man. He died last year, in the fantastic and landmark series 52, of cancer, and before succumbing outside the mystical city of Nada Parbat, he chose and trained a succesor. Still, for many of us, the original Question will always be our favorite. Will the new one do well or will they bring the original back? And next to other heroes, is their enough interest into a pulp noir/philoshpical super hero? That's the question, isn't it?

A Quote to Mull Over

Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up a whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life... You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' or 'how very perceptive' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. I hate love.

- Neil Gaiman


How sad, but true.

Bad DJ's and Vicodin

A couple of comments on this weekend:



Besides my ongoing quest to become fit, I have decided not give up alcohol (which I have done before) but to commit to drinking responsibly and no getting drunk. This weekend helped since I rolled my ankle and suffered a severe sprain. How severe, you might ask? Well my ankle was the size of a large apple, and now my whole foot is shades of blue, purple and green. Bad. So bad, I went to the ER. I think they liked me cause I was polite and nice, and not an old person with a hearing problem and who expected to be waited on hand and foot. Anywho, I was sent home with a new ace bandage, crutches, told to be buy ibuprofen, and a prescription for vicodin. So, with my ankle throbbing, I got home, to prop it up with a lot of ice, and over the course of the next 10 hours, took 3 vicodin. As we prepared for the party (at which I drank soda and water), I switched to ibuprofen, which I took for the next two days, excluding one vicodin I took the next day.

Why would I care to write about this? -Well because upon telling folks this, three drunken people then lectured me on the addictive properties of vicodin.





I'm gonna let that one sink in for a bit. Yes, three drunken people, whom I was heartened to learn, were concerned with my well-being, lectured me about that it could be addictive. As can alcohol.

Also - bad DJ's. Dude, please do not talk, make 'whoop, whoop' sounds, bad puns or do the mash up songs, so I only get to listen to half of' Shook Me All Night Long' or a medley of Michael Jackson songs. Not cool, dude, bad form.

I gave her my heart, she broke my teeth....

A 'Good' memory from the days in Belgium. After getting drunk due to a girl breaking my heart...I woke up with three broken teeth. After getting them fixed and no serious damage to myself, Brian Oliu with the assitance of John Wixted and Adam Shook made this. A public service announcement to you all!

Anna was the Enemy

Something quick today, but more this week on this past weekend.

Check out these guys: www.myspace.com/foolsandhorses or www.foolsandhorses.net

Fantastic band, quality fellas and good friends. Selfish and Anna was the Enemy are my two favorite of their new songs. Anna was especially dedicated to me, and Matt and Timmy always remind me that I speak for you all! Please check it out and remember to give smaller bands a chance!

Youtube Music Videos from Europe...

So i spent about 5 minutes confirming and re-confirming my email so that i could download this and it didn't work. any who, for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvtQPlqvxxs

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoLB_U0YPOg

By the way, these two were huge in Europe a couple of years ago.

Validating my vote...

Well, this just validated my vote.

Memory....

I'll probably be talking a lot about comic book creators here. Cause I'm a dork. Anyways, something reminded me of a stellar issue of Hellblazer I once read. By the way, for all of you who saw Constantine with Keanu Reeves, well the comic book is leaps and bounds better. Written by some of the best writers of the British isles, created by Alan Moore, and for the first time written by an America, Brian Azzarello, is about a British magician/con-man who often is a complete 'git' as the Brits would call him, and only ever does the right thing often to save his own skin or to screw with someone who screwed with him. He is not a surfer, he is not Neo and he is not an exorcist. Anyways, this was a filler issue between arcs, setting up back round story of which I never learned. However, as our protagonist settles down for a beer in an Irish pub in his cross country tour of America, he re-counts, with someone he both knows and does not know, about memory. How memory is both amazing and awful. How it is what keeps us sane and yet could drive us insane at any moment. I thought of this, when randomly, a song that reminded me of a love that is now loss came on. 'Tuesday Morning' by one of my favorite small Irish bands (www.scythianmusic.com) and who are itunes, is a great song that reminds me of this girl whose heart I broke, and in turn she broke mine. I remember (without wanting to) the times at Fado where she was surprised that civilized people came from Alabama, of how we met, going to Ikea(like we were married) to buy her bead, the day I fell for her in her car, as her red hair (pulled back in a pony tail) bobbed to a Ben Folds song. And this happens, every time I hear this song, and even after a fight on the phone, an unbelievable hurtful email and no contact for will probably ever, I can't help to both smile and be sad. Those were good times, with good things said to one another, smiles and laughter, and not matter how sad I am that we are not friends, and no matter how hurtful her words, those memories will always make me happy and sad. And she can never take away those memories, but she did take away their meaning.

'Just remember, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and I know the sour.' - Vanilla Sky


And that will probably be the last time I quote a Tom Cruise movie. Unless he makes Battlefield Earth 2. Or Kindergarten Cop 2 with Dikembe Mutombo or Leonard part 5
.

The New Captain America

Thoughts? Concerns? Do you like the costume? Should Cap carry a gun and a knife? Do you think Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, John Walker or Josiah X should have been Cap instead?

City of Destiny...

Just a quick thing before works starts today...

The conversation between my father and me last night after the super bowl.

Me: Congratulations!
Dad: Thanks. Hell of a game. where are you at?
Me: I'm at a party where there are lots of patriots fans so i came outside to call you. By the way, the city of Boston, is totally quiet. they don't know how they just lost to the Giants.
Dad: You mean the city of Destiny?

Yes. Other reasons why we thought they lost in the car ride home. Righting the cosmic ballance. You don't plan your parade as if you've already won. You don't screw with super-tuesday. Hubris, which always wins in the end, or so the Greeks taught us.

Music today: A lot of Frank Sinatra

My first post....

Wow....well that was easy. Anyways, my name is Mike and I'm creating this blog to revive my writing skills. I hope to get some stuff published in the comic book industry. Yes, I'm 25, single and want to get into comic books. It's sad.

So - let's talk about the name. Well, it comes from an amazing comic book, which I was introduced to during the late august and early September of 2001. My grandmother had just died, and I was about to endure a very trying time in my life. My uncle will have almost died on September 11th (and by the way, I really don't like it when people say 9/11 - it just sounds like a convenience store and not what it is) a young man from my old high school will commit suicide and a young boy from my parish will die of a brain tumor. During this time, two things will happen. I'll go into the memorial chapel at Loyola College and curse God out. Yes. The Campus Minister calls God a fucking asshole. Why -well I don't get kids with brain tumors. I don't. I don't get Alzheimer’s. I don't. And then after yelling at God, I kneel and pray.

The second thing that happened is that Gerry Tobin (God bless him) will give me the first trade paper back of James Robinson's and Tony Harris's Starman series. The story is of Jack Knight, the younger son of Ted Knight, the original Starman. (For all of you non-comic book readers, who are probably many, Starman is a little known hero who has had many people holds the name over the years. Ted Knight due to comic book magic, had live 20-30 years longer than he should have, and had been Starman for a lot of that time) Jack's brother, David is killed in the first issue, after being the new Starman for only a week. Then Ted's home is blown up, hurting him, Jack is attacked and the bad guys have the upper hand, until they attack the city these men call home, and especially the art wing dedicated in honor of Jack's mother. Jack becomes Starman, very much to his chagrin, and continues to do so over an amazing 80 issue run. During that time, Jack meets many other characters, including a fortune teller named Charity, who tells him that his future is like answers on postcards.

Well, that's enough for the re-post. I'll try to come up with some funnier or lighter material for later.

Also- almost forgot this. Bank of America sucks. I, personally, enjoy people with accents, especially symmetrical women with ones from the British Isles. Also, I think being smoky is compliment that is neither misogynistic nor irresponsible. Good luck and good night.