Raves and Rants

The Watchmen

2009-08-01T15:44:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure that I'm probably the last person on earth to see this
film, just having watched it this morning. I was really tempted to see
it in the theatre, but I hate the theatre anymore (actually I just
dislike the ignorant people with no courtesy, in the theatre), so I
waited for the DVD. I didn't buy the extended version, nor will I
probably bother with the special version that's rumored to be coming
out later this year. I wanted to see it as presented in the theatre, I
wanted to see what everyone was whining about.

It was suggested to me that I go back and read the book before
watching it, but I thought, "why?" I had no intention of judging it
based on the book, and if I won't understand it without reading the
book (as some have suggested) then it's certainly not going to be a
good film! I've heard that it was good, bad, too long, too slow,
departs from the book too much, the whole movie focus' on Dr.
Manhattan's penis, the music was all wrong, and all kinds of other
things. I heard so much I almost didn't want to watch it because it
seemed like I'd already seen it.

Truth is, I liked it. There are a few things I wonder about, like why
did the filmakers decide to make the 40's costumes look so chintzy?
But all in all I really like it. At a little over two and a half hours
it seemed the right length (although I had the advantage of the pause
button so I could get up and go pee without missing anything). The
music? Hey! It's "my" music, no complaints there, I thought it well
used for setting the times and the emotions. I thought all the actors
were fine, in particular Jackie Earle Haley, his last scene was really
great.

Maybe if I'd read the book before watching I'd have nitpicked a bit
more, who knows, but I thought the film did it's job and I'm delighted
to have a "superhero" movie I can recommend to people.

Bruce

Sent from my iPhone

iPhone/iPod Touch Comic book reader

2008-10-11T10:16:00.000-04:00

The new application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, ComicZeal, has
turned out to be one of my favorite applications. The program allows
you to view comic books on the 2X3" screen. Viewing can be done in
either portrait or landscape formats, and using the "pinch and resize"
feature, you can zoom in to view at a size that's comfortable. The $2
price tag is more than fair if you only read the 50 or so public
domain comics that are downloadable from the company's website.

But there's more! Using a Beta program provided free at the Bitolithic
website, you can change your own comic scans into the .cbi files that
can be viewed on the iPhone and iPod Touch as well. Sharing your scan
with others though has so far eluded me. At first I thought it would
be as easy as allowing them to access my comic downloads folder using
the same I.P. Address that I use. That however didn't work. I have
seen mention that folks are indeed uploading files to the Internet for
sharing, but I have yet to figure out how to do it myself. And of
course there is the issue of copyright and just what is legal and what
is not. Right or wrong, I have my own opinions but I don't want to
argue them (again) so I'll leave that decision up to you.

You can get more information about ComicZeal at: http://www.bitolithic.com/

Sent from my iPhone

Hammer Horror Double Feature

2008-06-28T16:24:00.000-04:00

Woke up with a sinus headache, Deb is working, so I decided to just take
it easy and watch some movies. First up was Revenge of Frankenstein, the
sequel to Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein, and then The Mummy, the first
of Hammer's Mummy series.

Revenge of Frankenstein is a sequel to the 1957 Curse of Frankenstein,
indeed it takes up where the first one ends off, starting out with
Victor Frankenstein walking to the guillotine. He's rescued by
hunchbacked man named Carl (thought I was going to say Igor, didn't you!
I was as surprised as anyone.)

Three years later we find Dr. Frankenstein posing as a Dr. Stein, and
operating a clinic. One would think he'd finally reformed, but then, one
would be wrong. Joined by another doctor who has recognized Frankenstein
for who he truely is, and wants to assist him, In secret he's still
working on his experiments, having refined them to the point that he's
ready to try again. Its here that the story departs from any we've seen
filmed before, in that the monster is not the hulking brute, but a much
more subtle evil. Well worth the watching, although I would suggest
viewing Curse of Frankenstein first (not necessary, but suggested).

The Mummy is, as far as I can tell, a pretty faithful adaptation of the
original, I guess I should say, remake. Cushing is his normal excellent
self, and Christopher Lee as Kharis the mummy, is much more expressive
than Boris Karloff was in the original. An excellent watch.

The main thing that impresses me about the Hammer films is their
quality. I'd remembered the films as being cheaply produced, and indeed,
according to what I've read the budgets were indeed low, but you
wouldn't know it by watching the films.

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/

Doctor Who

2008-06-14T20:26:00.000-04:00

I've been a big fan of Dr. Who since it returned to new episodes a few
years ago. There've been good episodes, and there've been bad, but
mostly they've just been good solid storytelling. This season however
has been particularily weak. The stories have all seemed recycled and
the Dr's new companion Donna, doesn't seem to have a solid personality,
and that's a shame because I like Catherine Tate.

And then along came episode 8 and suddenly I was on the edge of my seat
again, not as much because of the antagonists this episode, because the
plot reminds my of my favorite Dr. Who so far, Blink, but because of all
the overall story developement that's gone on. We get another piece of
the puzzle as to who the Dr. Really is and and just a tad more insight
as to his history. Hooray!

As I understand it, Steven Moffat, one of the better writers, has taken
the helm, and if this two part episode (episodes 8 and 9) are any
indication, the ride has gotten interesting again.

I've got my fingers crossed!

Our Weekend Scenic Journey

2008-05-22T13:55:00.000-04:00

A couple years ago, Deb and I spent a weekend trying to traverse as much
of the PA portion of the Lincoln Highway as possible. When we've
mentioned it to friends many of them have suggested PA Route 6 in
northern PA as a good follow-up. So this years goal is to do route 6 the
length of PA.

This weekend was the first one that we hoped we could make the trip,
depending on the weather. Reports throughout the week varied from day to
day. Saturday morning they were calling for sunny skies but by late
afternoon, thunderstorms. Sunday was also looking like mostly rain, but
we decided to go ahead and take in the eastern part of route 6 anyway.

We got a late start, leaving Hellertown at 10:30 and heading due east to
pick up route 611 (the river road) in Durham PA. We headed north through
Easton, stopping to take our first two pictures*, and then continued on
611 North driving through Delaware Water Gap*. From there we parelled
rout 209 on a road through a state park area and eventually joined up
with 209.

Close to Milford, we took a side road to get a look at the Dingman's
Ferry Bridge, which as I understand, is a privately owned toll bridge
spanning the Delaware. I couldn't get too close without paying $7 to
enter a park but I did get a long shot of it*.

At first we'd considered going up 209 into Port Jervis New York and
picking up route 6 there, but we've been to Port Jervis recently, and it
was starting to cloud up alreadyand it was after 1:00 already. Both of
us are on a low carb diet and we considered stopping for some boneless
ribs at a chinese place in Milford, but decided we'd be alright for a
while. Big mistake!

Next on the map was Shohola Falls, a very poorly signed little park. We
passed it, noticing the small sign at the last moment, but we couldn't
believe it wasn't marked better and continued on thinking we weren't
quite there yet. A couple miles later we realized we were wrong and
turned around. Hiking down the short trail to the roaring sound we were
horrified to find it was a damn. Luckily a couple was just hiking back
and pointed us to the trail to the falls. It is indeed a wonderful
series of small fals that drop into a dark and exotic ravine.*

Leaving the falls we continued West on 6 enjoying the scenery along the
way, lakes, creeks, and ponds all over the place. Eventually we arrived
at Lake Wallenpaupack (you fans of The Office television show will
recall the infamous Lake Wallenpaupack Cruise episode a couple seasons
ago). There was an ice cream stand where we parked, so after getting a
gander and a pic* we ordered a couple hot dogs and two diet sodas. The
soda turned out to be Diet Rite and the hot dogs tasted as if they'd
been on the rotisery grille for days, yuch!

Once again we headed west and 6 soon became a limited access highway,
something I hadn't expected, skirting a very highly populated valley. We
passed town after town and finally picked an exit so we could take a
much needed bathroom break. It was raining pretty good as we got back on
the highway which had merged with Route 81 and followed it to the end of
the days trip, Clarke's Summit. It was about 5:00 when we hit a "chain"
restaurant for dinner.

After dinner we took 81 down into the "coal region" of PA so that we
could get off and drive to one of the small towns to visit a friend.
Sadly, he wasn't home...

Since we both forgot to take the camera, I took some pics with the
Sidekick and I've posted them at:

http://flickr.com/photos/38332318@N00/sets/72157605121869405/

The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D. by Al Michaud

2008-05-10T18:37:00.001-04:00

Once again my good friend Steve has started reading the latest Fantasy
and Science Fiction magazine before me, even though I have subscription
and receive it a week before he does. Steve has an incredible knack for
knowing just which stories I'll like the best and this month is no
exception.

The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D. by Al Michaud is a fantasy (of
the horror type) set in Clapboard Island, Maine. This is Michaud's third
story of Clem Crowder and his involvement in unusual goings on. Early on
in the story, Clem realizes that a local apparation that hasn't been
seen in years is haunting again. Much to his chagrin, he realizes that
she's not haunting a place as ghosts normally do, but haunting him
personally, as wherever he goes, he's followed by the headless woman.
After his wife kicks him out of the house he goes to stay with friend
Dunky Drinkwater who in turn takes him to see a professor at local
Bainbridge Colllege, who specializes in "Parrot Psychology." (Did I
mention that all of this drama has generous doses of humor splashed
about?)

That is the start of this 47 page novelet, which gets crazier, funnier,
and more exciting as it goes.

Its not as easy to find F&SF as it used to be, but most of the Borders
and Barnes and Nobles around here carry it, and at $4.50 for over 160
pages of fiction and reviews of books and movies, I consider it a
bargain. But if you're one of those "I need proof" types, you can read
Clem's first published story, from the pages of the July 2003 F&SF, Clem
Crowder's Catch, on the website located at:

http://www.fsfmag.com

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Immortal Snake by Rachel Pollack

2008-04-19T16:03:00.000-04:00

I subscribe to Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine and I'll admit that
some issues are better than others, but for me, it is the most
consistant, quality wise, of the major SF magazines. Now bear in mind
that my SF reading generally tends towards less Hard SF than many folks,
not that I don't like Hard SF.

My friend Steve knows my tastes and recently emailed me to ask if I'd
read a story in the latest issue of F&SF entitled Immortal Snake by
Rachel Pollack. From experience I know that's Steve's way of saying that
he thinks I'm going to like it. I actually hadn't started reading the
May issue, but I pride myself on reading all the fiction in each issue,
so when I decided to tackle this months issue, I read that story first.

Imagine my delight to find that this novelet, 42 pages in length, was a
wonderful fantasy story written along the manor of say, 1001 Arabian
Nights, or something from the Brothers Grimm. I guess that fairy tale
might be the best description but these days that might imply that the
story is for children, and its not.

Its the story of the current Immortal Snake, newly chosen by the
Readers, priests who divine the word of god by their study of the stars.
The Immortal Snake rules for an indefinite time until it is time for him
to "shed his skin" when the old Immortal Snake is poisoned by the
Readers and a new one is chosen. In the meantime, the Immortal Snake is
treated to constant pleasure. But the new Snake picks his sister as his
female companion, and a slave storyteller as his male companion. The
sister is not at all thrilled with his choice, as the companions are the
first to die when it is time for a new Snake to be chosen. The story of
how the sister uses the strange storytelling powers of the male
companion in an attempt to save all their lives is a wonderful tale, and
in and of itself, worth the $4.50 price tag for the magazine

Now when I review comics I can often, if not prove what I'm saying, at
least send folks somewhere to get a preview of the comic to help them
decide whether I'm right or not, but I didn't think that would be the
casr here. Well, in a way, I was wrong! As it turns out, when I went to
the Fantasy and Science Fiction website, I found another short story by
the same author, Rachel Pollack, waiting right there in the description
of this months contents. Its a much shorter story, but I think it will
at least give you the "flavor" of the Ms. Pollack's fantasy stylings.
You can find that shorter story, The Fool, the Stick, and the Princess
here:

http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/fiction/reprint01.htm

And if you like it, you can probably find the May issue of F&SF at your
local Borders, Barnes and Noble, or possibly your favorite news agency,
or if you're so inclined, you can download a digital version of the mag
from eReader or Fictionwise which are linked on that same page. Or, if
you trust my recommendation I'm sure there's a link to subscribe to the
print version of the magazine. But if nothing else, at least go and
check out the free story so you can judge for yourselves.

Bruce

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Them!

2008-04-05T23:03:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago there were several classic Sci-Fi movies on TCM, one of
them being "Them!" So I sat and watched it today, not expecting anything
very good, even though several my friends had said how good it was. I
mean really, a movie about giant ants?! How good could it be?

Pretty darn good actually!

James Whitmore, James Arness, Edmund Gwen, Fess Parker, and several
other faces I recognized. Good cast.

From what I know of the movie, I assumed it was folks chasing some giant
irradiated mutated ants around in the desert. What I got was a
reasonably well thought out story about a menace that threatens to
destroy mankind, and the attempted methodical elimination of that
threat. Oh I know, its supposedly a thinly veiled cautionary tale about
the threat of communism, but I'm not that bright, I only see a story
about a secret menace that is covertly taking over a good part of the
country and threatens to spread acroos the country and eventually around
the world.

The acting is very good in this well made film obviously done with a
decent budget.

And to really make it great, the young female star of the film, maybe a
third of the way into the film, pulls out her trusty Stereo Realist
camera to take pictures of the giant invaders. Way cool! While the
Stereo Realist is not my favorite "stereo shooter" (that distinction
goes equally to my Kodak Stereo and my View-Master Stereo), it is indeed
my favorite, looks wise as it is a real attention getter. It never fails
to garner questions when I use it.

But I digress, if you haven't seen Them! then I have to echo the advice
of my friends, and recommend this film.

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Hit And Run

2008-01-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting in the parking lot while my wife runs into the local
fabric store. I hear this clunk behind me and see the van behind me
rocking, and a car pulling into the spot next to it, that's obviously
hit it. I watch while the woman driving gets out and inspects HER bumper
before going to see what damage she's done. I then see another woman
walk up and they are talking and looking at the bumper. The second woman
walks off and the first gets back into her car.

So I'm assuming that the woman who hit the car is leaving a note, but
five minute go by and she pulls out! I see her move up and park in
another spot. Well, this bothers! So I get out and gander at the bumper
but I see no damage. I get back in the car and a few minute later I see
the second lady walking around the parking lot as if she's looking for
something. And then it dawns on me! The mirror had thrown me off and I
looked at the wrong bumper. So I get out and indeed the other bumper is
damaged. Well, now I'm realy mad (bear in mind that a month after we got
our mini-van some nitwit bounced off it and the bumper has a big old
dent in it!) and I crawl back into the car to look for a pen to write
down the license number of the car which had moved up a little. But I
can't find it! I swear it was dark red, but there's no dark red car!

As I'm standing in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do, the
second lady comes up and asks if I saw the first hit the van? I said
yes, and explain what I've explained above and that I could kick myself
for not getting the license number. But she has the number! So, we call
911, and I get interrogated by the officer on the phone who finally says
he's sending an officer, can we wait?

My wife comes out of the fabric store and points out that there's a
liquor store next door, and that was possibly the woman's destination!
well, of course we'll never know but she sure drove like she'd had a
few. So the second lady introduces herself, lets call her Jane. Jane
says she walked up and asked the woman what happened, and had she hit
the van?

The first woman looks at her indignantly and says, "well, I did more
damage to MY car than that one!" like that makes a difference?! What a
creep!

So now I'm glad we called the police who finally show up like 15 minutes
later. We give all out information and he says thank you and that
they'll call her cel phone and make her come back.

The next day I get a call from the woman who's van was hit saying thank
you. She worked in the store and had no idea until a couple hours later
what had happened. The police had not been able to get the hit and run
driver on her cell phone so they had sent her regional police to cite
her.

Just hope I don't have to go to court over this!

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

I REALLY hate...

2008-01-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

...when books start on page 3, or 5, or any other page than 1!

Just sayin'...

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

APHC - Live!

2007-12-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

My darling wife, Debbie, was kind enough to track down tickets for A
Prarie Home Companion show at Lehigh Universities Zoellner Arts Center
in Bethlehem.

She tried very hard to get tickets to the Saturday actual recording of
the show but got burnt by the online ticket sales because she didn't set
up an account fast enough, and try as she might, couldn't get tickets
before they sold out in an hour.

About a month later she got a call that they were adding another show
and would she like tickets? She got us a pair.

So what we actually saw was a dress rehearsal for the Saturday show, but
instead of a two hour show, we got three hours! We got a lot more music
than the final show but for me, that was fine as quite a bit of it was
by Pat Donahue played on several of the various guitars that he was
loaned from the nearby Martin Guitar plant in Nazerath. I love guitar
music, pretty much any type.

The Central Moravian Church Choir, and the Bethlehem Bach Choir each did
several numbers as well as backed up Keillor and crew with not only
regular musical numbers but comedy skit numbers as well, variously
moo-ing, baa-ing, and howling as cow, sheep, and wolf populated choirs.

The skits included a Dusty and Lefty, Catchup, Be Bop A Re Bop Rhubard
Pie, and Powdermilk Biscuits, starring Garrison Keillor, Tim Russel, Sue
Scott, and Fred Newman. And of course, the Guy's All Star Shoe band were
on hand to provide bumper music, backup music, and just general all
around music. Listening to the actual broadcast this evening, I find
that the skits themselves are all there, but they've had to pick and
choose between all the different musical pieces and choose what works
the best. Pretty interesting to see what was chosen, and in what order
its presented.

Robin and Linda Williams also did several songs on the show, and were
all by themselves, a great show.

Sitting in what was essentially the second row, we were about 15 feet
from the stage and both Deb and I enjoyed the show a lot. I'm sure its
one of those things I'll never forget, and having seen Michael Feldman's
Wha' Dya' Know (with special guests They Might Be Giants) in NYC a
couple years ago I have to admit, I sort of feel complete. Now I can
just laze around in my easy chair watching the TV or listening to the
radio from now on! If you ever get the chance to see the show live, my
advice would be to jump at the chance!

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Email spys?

2007-12-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know if any of you use Google mail (Gmail), and some folks don't
use it for this very reason, but the program somehow scans your emails
for key words and then your sidebar ads are influenced by these
keywords. So if I get an email that has comic books used in it, I'll
have adds on the sidebar for comic books. Google insists that its all
automated and quite frankly, I don't care because I'm not posting
anything "secret."

But yesterday, on my computer at work (whose mailbox gets at least 100
spam emails a day) I sent an email using the term VIP, and minutes later
a spam email showed up using that very term. Then this morning I no
sooner read an email from a friend named Anthony, and a spam email shows
up (on my Sidekick account) from anthony (lower case on the email). Not
sure when my friend Anthony sent his email, it may have been a
conicidence, but I only get about 25 spams a day to this account.

I'm just wondering if the spammers are using something like Gmail is
using... (of course, some of my spam is random, like the one I just got,
as I don't recall talking about a "small member" anytime lately!)

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Terry Pratchett's Discworld

2007-12-12T10:56:00.000-05:00

Years ago my friend Steve, gave me the first two books of Terry
Pratchett's Discwold, The Colour of Magic, and The Light Fantastic. I
read the first and while I thought it humorous, I wasn't impressed
enough to give it further reading time, relegating it to the "I'll
listen to the audio book if I can find it" virtual pile.
Around the same time I discovered (no doubt thanks to Steve's
recommendation) the work of Douglas Adams, and became a big fan,
devouring all of his books in prose and audio adaptations. Alas, Adams
passed away at an early age and left a gap in the various genres that I
like to switch between as I read.
I should mention here that my son Cory is also a big fan of the
Discworld but he primarily like the sub-series featuring stories of the
gaurds. His further recommendation was pushing me to try some more of
the books, but he couldn't pinpoint a jump-on point. So recently I
talking to my friend Shawn (neenerneener.net) who is also a big
Pratchett fan, and he says, with very little thought, "oh, that's an
easy one, read Small Gods, its one of Pratchetts best Discworld books
and its also a stand alone for the most part.
Small Gods is the story of a young man named Brutha who has the bad luck
to make the acquantance od a small one eye turtle who claims to be the
god Om, that he and the peoples of Brutha's country believe in. Om
himself is frustrated in that he has no idea why he's stuck in the body
of a small one-eyed turtle when he used to manifest himself as gian
golden bulls and the like. The rest of the story tells of Brutha's
reluctant quest to help Om regain his former position, while at the same
time having fun with religion and religious beliefs.
I enjoyed reading Small Gods so much I asked Shawn, "okay, what next?!"
to which he (virtually) shrugged and said, "well, they're kind of hit
and miss so you might want to go back to the beginning." Remembering
enough of Colour of Magic not to have to go back and read it, I went out
and picked up Light Fantastic, which starts off rather weakly (in my
opinion anyway) but ends pretty well. It is a sequel to Colour of magic
and like its predecessor, pokes fun at all kinds of fantasy stories,
from Tolkien to Conan (you've gotta love the octagenarian Cohen the
Barbarian!) and somewhere along the way, I think Pratchett finally
started to like his characters and realize that he had a good thing
going. If nothing else, the first two books do pretty well set the stage
and rules of this very different fantasy world.
So now I'm hooked and stopping into Borders every Friday with my latest
20 or 25% off coupon to buy another volume, the third of which, Eqaul
Rites, is the one I'm now reading. You see, my theory is, that it isn't
so much that they're hit and miss as it is that Pratchett just gets
better over time with what he's doing and where he's heading. So far my
experience is bearing that out.
Equal Rites starts out with a dying wizard willing his powers to the
eighth son of an eighth son, the only hitch being that the son is a
daughter. The local witch/midwife, Granny Weatherwax, who is anything
but wicked, trys to help the family ignore their new daughters
birthright, afterall, women are witches, not wizards! She even attempts
to bring young Esk up as a witch, but things aren't going to be that
easy! I won't to tell you any more as I don't want to spoil it, and
anyway, I'm only 60 pages into the book myself! But I can tell you that
this book easily has the promise of being as good as Small Gods was. The
story reminds me just a little of The Sword In The Stone by T. H. White,
but presented with Pratchett's own marvelous tongue in cheek
storytelling.

So far I've got nine of the thirty-eight books that Pratchett has
written about the Discwold and I'm reading my fourth, so I've got a lot
of good reading ahead of me. You're even luckier if you've never read
any Pratchett, because you've got even more good reading ahead of you!

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin

2007-11-07T20:11:00.000-05:00

Any of you old-timers that aren't reading this... well, you should be!
This story takes place during the short time that Iron Man had the
pointy mask suit (Ditko design?), the first of the streamlined suits.

The story involves Iron Man's first meeting with the Mandarin. It also
has all the elements that slowly got lost over the years, the elements
that I think made the story good. We have Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts
playing important roles in the story. Pepper's in love with Tony,
Happy's in love with Pepper, and Tony's... well... Tony's that aloof guy
that he was in the early days.

The art on the book has a very dynamic feel to it and the layout and
storytelling abilities of the artist are certainly above par, but at the
same time he's able wow you with his art.

There are three issues out so far. I'm buying it as seprate issues but
I'm sure I'll end up buying the trade as well!

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-10-07T15:29:00.000-04:00

I liked it!

Okay, its not a master piece by any means, but its a pretty solid film,
entertaining, funny, exciting, what more could I ask? No, doesn't follow
the comic very closely, but wouldn't that be kind of boring? I'm not a
big fan of departures as far as say, Catwoman, but I don't mind if its
not exact. Heck, sometimes it works better!

The movie mixes several events, the marriage of Sue and Reed, the
arrival of the Silver Surfer (and The coming of Galactus of course), and
a lter story wherein Dr. Doom steals the Surfer's powers. The
screenwriters and the filmakers manage to keep the story moving along at
a good pace to what I consider a satisfactory ending. On the whole the
film is lighthearted and never so dark that older children will have any
troubles with it.

The Surfer has gained a power that I don't recall from the comics, that
of being able to phase through solid objects without disturbing them. In
keeping with his cosmic powers though, I don't find this particularly
disturbing as it soon becomes apparent that he weilds much more power
than the comic book version. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch however,
seems to have gained the power of supersonic flight, which does disturb
me a bit. Earlier in the story he decides to fly himself to Japan rather
than fly coach. Then, In a chase sequence, he follows the Surfer from
New York to Washington D.C. In mere moments. I don't recall his being
that fast, or for that matter, have that much stamina. But, its a minor
quibble really.

The special effects are very well done, and rarely does the 3D animation
become over obvious. Strangely, with all the money they spent on special
effects, Reed Richard's greying hair around his ears looks horribly
fake. And while I don't agree with John Byrne's assertion that blonde
hispanics all look like hookers, I will agree that Jessica Biel as a
blonde just doesn't look very natural.

In comparrison with other superhero films, and bearing in mind that it
doesn't appear to aspire to being art, but just entertaining, and to me
is above average, I'd gladly give a 3 out of 5 score.

Superman: Doomsday

2007-09-18T11:43:00.000-04:00

The animated version of the Superman: Doomsday DVD came out today. This,
as you'll recall, recounts the death of Superman. Now I haven't had a
chance to watch the movie yet, I just stopped at Best Buy in my travels
between hospitals, but I had to post this because even the pakaging of
this DVD has me all gaga!

The DVD comes with an outer sleve that has a 3D Lenticular motion
graphic of the Superman symbol, and then as you move it, Superman
busting through the symbol. Because of the lenticular plastic over the
image it also allows them to create a 3D effect. In fact, as I was
peeling the labels off the front of the box, I got this weird sensation
that I was reaching into the box! And anyone that knows me knows that
stereo photography is another of my way too many hobbies, so this 3D
gimmick delights the beejeebers out of me!

Also, depending on where you buy the set, it may come with an exclusive
bonus. Best Buy includes a digest sized reprint of the first two
chapters of The New Frontier (which is, if you weren't already aware)
the next DVD due out in early 2008). One of the other retailers included
a mini-poster for the Doomsday movie. So if you're going to buy it, you
might want to check the Target and Circuit City flyers to see if they
have a bonus you're going to like more than the reprint. Heaven knows,
Wal-Mart probably has their own exclusive as well! These are all on a
limited basis, so if you care, you might want to run out and pick one
up.

If, on the other hand, you don't really care about 3D lenticulars, and
other gimmicks, you might want to wait a few months and buy the DVD for
the $9.99 price that they all seem to eventually drop to.

Personally though, I'd like to see these projects supported. $10 to $15
for a brand new feature doesn't seem too much and if enough folks feel
the same way, we'll get to see many more. I've got my fingers crossed
that lots of folks feel as I do!

Bruce

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

The Ultimates 2 - Volume 2

2007-08-10T07:44:00.000-04:00

(I suppose I should warn you that while I'm talking about the fourth of
the Ultimates trade collections here, I may be "spoiling" some things
from the first three if you haven't read them. I mean its not like I'm
telling you that Rosebud is a sled or anything, but still, I thought I
should warn you!)

Its about freakin' time this book came out! I've been waiting what seems
like forever to read the ending of the story arc!

Ultimates is the team name for an alternate Marvel earth, but while the
first few titles from the Ultimate Line, Ultimate Spiderman, and
Ultimate X-men seemed to be aimed at a younger reader, the Ultimates,
and the Ultimate Fantastic Four seem to be aimed at an older reader.
Weird...

Okay, actually, the Ultimate FF could be read by a mixed audience, not
so for the Ultimates!. Way back in Ultimates 1, when the Hulk ran amuck
and was trashing the city looking for the Betsy Ross of that world, it
became clear as he smashed building etc, and screamed about what he
planned to do to Betty, that we weren't dealing with a kid's comic
book!

I'll tell you the truth, I can't recall much about the first volume of
Ultimates 2 anymore.

In the Ultimate world, this worlds version of the Avengers is a team put
together by Nick Fury and SHIELD. Fury has the say so with this team,
and has said no to the spousaly abusive Hank Pym, carried out the death
penalty on the Hulk (by placing the murderer of 100's on a ship with an
atomic bomb) and put Thor away for his delusions of being an actual
deity. Wasp is dating Steve Rogers, who in his off time mostly mopes
around longing for the good old days. Natasha, the Black widow is a
former Russian agent who now is dating the drunken, cancer ridden, Tony
stark. Hawkeye is an non-costumed SHIELD operative whose specialty is
weapons and can make weapons out of anything. Both Tony Starks armor
designs, and Hank Pym's giant formula have been used to create squads of
powered soldiers.

As this trade opens(after some catching up with what's going on in their
lives now), the various members of the Ultimates are being attacked
seperately. Its just the first step in a much bigger attack. I wish I
could tell you more but I'm afraid I'd ruin the book for you. I will say
though, while its fun to finally have 3-dimensional super-heroes, it is
a bit disconcerting to find out some of the dark secrets of the
characters. And it is possible that maybe Mr. Millar has gone a bit too
far here. I'm sure there are folks that are going to resent these less
than perfect heroes. Some of them you might even find hard to call
heroes.

This trade comprises issues 7 - 13 of The Ultimates 2. The story is by
Mark Millar, and the art is by Bryan Hitch. Millar is a very good
writer, and Hitch is a very good artist. I've often wondered about
giving books a rating from 1 to 10 like my friend James Harris at the
Comic Book Savant does, and if I did, I think I'd give it a 6.75 (a 6.5
for story,and a 7.0 for art), which is a pretty darn high rating. My
fear though is that others might look at it and think it low... I like
to start a 5 which I would consider anything good, and work up or down
from there, so now at least you can see where I'm coming from. So maybe
we'll call it "Pretty Darn Good" and leave it at that?

Ultimates 2, Volume 2 retails for $19.99, but we al know places that can
save us as much as 30+ percent, so don't pay full price. In fact, if you
can, borrow it from a friend or even the library. That is afterall, what
libraries are for!

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

2007-08-09T21:12:00.001-04:00

This is, as far as I know, the first prose novel from Warren Ellis.
Ellis has, to date written many comic books, many GOOD comic books.

Crooked Little Vein is a short novel (its 280 pages, but the text is
oversized, so it reads quickly) about a private investigator named Mike
McGill. McGill is your basic hardboiled detective, slovenly and sleeping
in his office, hoping for a case so that he can pay the bills. In walks
the Secretary of State, who gives McGill the task of finding an
alternate version of the constitution, written by the same forefathers
who penned the first one, one that would ensure political victory for
the owner. Its gone missing since Richard Nixon gave it away as hush
payment. Since that time its gone through several hands. McGill's job is
to track it down.

We also find out very quickly that McGill has a talent, or maybe an
attraction for deviant (or should we just call them alternate sexual
lifestyles?), by which I mean not that he is into those scenes but
somehow he always seems to come in contact, during his investigations,
with them. And that leads to his assistant, Trix, a young woman writing
a thesis on alternate sexual lifestyles. She has some unusual habits of
her own, and is fascinated by the whole underground of sexual
alternatives.

The book follows McGill and Trix across country in an effort to find the
much sought after tome.

I can't say I don't find the book fascinating, but at the same time I
can't help but hope that much of the detail of the alternatives, are
just figments of the warped mind of Mr. Ellis, but somehow I'm thinking
its not...

I've been told that many folks are comparing Mr. Ellis' writing to Kurt
Vonnegut, and I guess I can see that in the cynicism of the tale. But
me? If I had to do that type of comparrison, I'd have to go with a cross
between Joe R. Lansdale and Neal Stephenson, with a little Larry Flint
(?) thrown into the mix.

Not for the faint of heart, but otherwise a very fun, fast paced read.

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

2007-08-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is, as far as I know, the first prose novel from Warren Ellis.
Ellis has, to date written many comic books, many GOOD comic books.

The book follows McGill and Trix across country in an effort to find the
much sought after tome.

Not for the faint of heart, but otherwise a very fun, fast paced read.

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Jet Li's Fearless

2007-07-28T16:18:00.001-04:00

I'll admit to being a sucker for a well choreographed fight sequence,
and I really think that Jet Li is the closest to Bruce Lee that we've
gotten in the the last 30 or so years. But that said, I can't say that
I've been particularly happy with Li's choice of movies here in the US.
I discovered him as the villian in Leathal Weapon 4, and was thrilled
when I finally found a DVD starring him called Black Mask. While Black
Mask is nothing to write home about storywise, but since the disk allows
you to watch the fight sequences only, and skip the story, I have to say
I enjoy it.

Since then, Li has done several American films, but none that I would
brag about watching. Lately, I've been seeing TV ads for what look like
historical films starring Li. One of those is "Fearless."

Fearless is the story of Huo Yuanjia, a chinese folk hero from just
after the turn of the century, a time when China was being overrun by
foriegners, and the country was fractured into many pieces, its people
confused by it all as they had always been told that China could never
be defeated. In the film, the young Huo is too sickly to study Wushu, a
form of chinese martial arts, under his father. But he hides, watches,
and learns, and then practices intensly when he should be studying. The
young Huo is full of anger at being beat up by a bully and eventually
becomes the champion fighter in the area, but his pride is eventually
his downfall. Like so many American films, his "awakening" and "rebirth"
are the rest of the film.

I went along for the ride and enjoyed it. Except for just a little "wire
flying" most of the martial arts combat looks possible, in fact, near
the beginning of the film, he combats several of the best of the western
countries in hand to hand as well as weaponry, which is fun to watch in
their differences.

I will admit to being a bit dissapointed in finding out that parts of
the film were fabricated to createmore drama. I'm a firm believer that
if you're doing a historical piece, then it should follow history, but
alas, that's the way hollywood does things. Apparently, western
influences are tainting China once again...

Nevertheless, I'd recommend watching it. Its showing on Cinemax this
month.

check out my latest podcast at:
http://komicskast.libsyn.com
my comics at: http://dutchydigest.tripod.com/
And my blog at: http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Maddrox - Trade Paperback

2007-04-11T09:47:00.001-04:00

I love to listen to podcasts on my long commute to work. My favorite
podcast topic is comic books. Some time ago I listened to the Comicology
podcast with Neil Gorman, and listened in interest when on one episode
he raved about the X-Factor spinoff mini-series, Maddrox. I have learned
though that my taste, and that of Neil's often do not agree, and that's
not to say that he's wrong, just that we don't always agree. But when I
heard my friends Kwip, Happy Jack, and Dr. Sexy, of the N3RDcast also
raving about it and X-Factor, I decided that it was something I needed
to try. So I checked my local funnybook shop who didn't have it and
informed me it was sold out. During the little time I had for shopping
at the recent New York Comic Con I looked for it also, but to no avail.
And then this past weekend friends and I stopped at another comic shop
that still had a copy so I figured I'd better pick it up.

The Trade Edition collects the five issue mini-series that was the
lead-in to the current X-Factor series. It reads well as a trade, but
may have read just as well in its original monthly format.

Jamie Maddrox is the multiple man, and if his name doesn't explain it
all, he has the power to make duplicates of himself whenever he slams
part of his body against something. Jamie Maddrox has decided to open an
office as a private Investigator. He has sent duplicates of himself all
over the world to learn different things, and when they return, he
reabsorbs the duplicates and their knowledge. The mystery of the book
starts when one of the duplicates returns mortally wounded. Maddrox
decides to investigate. At the same time he takes on a case from a new
client. What are the chances that the two cases have nothing to do with
each other? Oh, and did I mention that Jamie is having trouble with his
duplicates? Seems each one retains only a part of his personality,
leaving some of the duplicates less than helpful. All in all the story
is pretty well written, and has a satisfying ending which leads into the
regular X-Factor series. Basically what you're getting is a mystery
story set in the world of mutants, so of course, mutants abound. Peter
David has fun with the Maddrox character and his duplicates and manages
to tell a fun story in the meantime. Keep your mind open and you should
be able to figure out some of, if not all of, the suprises. (I didn't,
and I kicked myself for not seeing one of them which was pretty obvious
in hindsight.!)

The art on the Maddrox series is pretty much a photorealistic style,
something I'm not overly fond of, but it tells the story well enough I
suppose. The one thing that bothers me though, and this is not the first
time I've noticed this, the artist tends to use shadow very strangely,
blotches of ink that I imagine are supposed to be shadow, but looks more
like the artist has a leaky pen! The good news is that he does his job,
telling the story, very well. Nothing fancy, just good solid
storytelling.

Using my friend James's criteria that he uses so well on his Podcast,
Comic Book Savant*, I would give the story a 6.5 and the art a 5.5,
which averages out to a 6 (or 'better than average').

Maddrox is a Marvel TPB written by Peter David, pencils by Pablo
Raimondi, and inks by Drew Hennessy.

* comicbooksavant.com

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Comicspodcastcrossover.libsyn.com
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'Dead Money'

2007-04-07T23:39:00.001-04:00

Back in the early 80's Ace Science Fiction launched a series called 'the
New Ace Science Fiction Specials' which was a series, edited by Terry
Carr, that introduced new SF writers by publishing their first novels.
Among those writers were Pat Murphy, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Lucius
Shepard. While I sought out and read the whole series, Lucius Shepard's
first novel, 'Green Eyes' was the one that I most enjoyed. Not only does
Shepard tell a good story, but he's "got a way with words." His prose is
almost poetic as he sets the scene so vividly, you almost feel like
you're there. Strangely, 'Green Eyes' was the one that I was most
reluctant to read because it was touted as a new and unique version on
voodoo and zombies (or shouldi say, reanimated life?). But when I got
into the story I quickly realized that the description was way too
simplistic. Instead I got a well told, beuatifully written novel that
ends at breakneck speed! Needless to say, I've been picking up Shepard's
books ever since, his 'Life During Wartime' being probably his best to
date, and simply a masterpiece of prose.

But you can imagine my delight when I stopped in at Borders the other
day and found Shepard listed on the cover of the April/May issue of
Asimov's as a contributor, even more delighted to find he was listed as
having written a novella, and REALLY delighted to find that his story in
that issue, 'Dead Money', is prefaced by "returns to the eerie mileau of
his first novel Green Eyes." While I haven't quite finished the story, I
can tell you that there are several paragraphs in this story that I've
gone back and read so as to luxuriate in them. My gosh, what a great
writer!

If you've never had the pleasure of reading any of the work of Lucius
Shepard, I would recommend this 30th Issue of Asimov's magazine. Its got
stories by over a dozen top writers in the SF field including Gene Wolfe
(of whom I'm not a fan, but I have too many discriminating friends who
enjoy his work, for me to totally dismiss him. There's just something
I'm not seeing!)

Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

check out my latest podcasts at:
KomicsKast.libsyn.com and
Comicspodcastcrossover.libsyn.com
http://rosey462.blogspot.com

New Gods Return?

2007-02-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well, no, but if you check out Ultimate Fantastic Four #'s 33 through 38
you'll find what appears to be a very well done homage.

I've only read two of the issues so far (for those who don't know, I
have this weird thing with story arcs where I don't read them until
they're complete. What's weird about that I suppose is that I might as
well have waited for the trade edition!) So far we've met a team of
super powered teens that rode into our dimension on a biological
oversized motorcycle (Forever People), after having saved Tessaract
(Orion) from the Acheron (Apokolypse) where he was a brainwashed warrior
for the evil Gallowglass (Darkseid).

I'd actually hesitated to read this because a friend had told me that he
wasn't a big fan of Mike Carey's writing, but I figured if I read it,
and disliked it, this was the time to stop buying this comic. Two issues
in and I'm loving it. I will report back when I'm finished but so far
I'm loving it, even if it is borrowed liberally from Kirby.

check out my latest podcasts at:
KomicsKast.libsyn.com and
Comicspodcastcrossover.libsyn.com
http://rosey462.blogspot.com

Copying DVD's

2006-12-17T11:28:00.000-05:00

My son added a program to my iMac that would rip a DVD so that he could
play it on his iPod. I was playing with it the other day and realized
that it can also rip DVD's and make .avi files from them. Since both our
DVD players will also play .avi files I decided to test it out. One of
the features is a choice of methods to constrain the size (and
ultimately the quality). One of those choices was to keep the final file
to a certain size, it defaults to 700 mb (CD size). So I chose that
option, popped in one of my son's DVD's that I hadn't watched, and
waited. The movie was 1:33 and it took roughly 4.5 hours to re-encode
the film as an .avi. I popped it in the DVD player and am happy to
report that it works just fine on a 25" set. So I popped it in the other
player connected to a 36" set, and there I can detect, when looking
extremely closely, some minute artifacting. My suspicion is that it
might be a little more noticable on some of the really big screens, but
hey! If you can afford a huge plasma screen, you can probably afford to
BUY a backup copy, eh? ;-)

If you're still reading this, I suspect that you're intriqued. The name
of the program is Handbrake and its available for free at:

http://handbrake.m0k.org

Now I realize that I'm among the small percentage of folks that use a
Mac and this information might be of help to most, except that the
creator of Handbrake is creating a version for Windows and its in the
beta version, also available on the same site. There's a link that will
take you to a forum style page that has downloads for the various steps
in his progress. My advice would be to download the latest version (part
way down the page) as the first version has no GUI and I don't know
anyone that prefers command line interfaces (although, no doubt, there
are some!). Checking the responses I see that most folks are having good
luck with the beta.

If you Windows users choose to test the program, please let us know!

check out my latest podcasts at:
KomicsKast.libsyn.com and
Comicspodcastcrossover.libsyn.com

Buying toys, at my age?

2006-12-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I admit it...

Last christmas as we shopped for my nephews at Toys R Us, I noticed a
three pack of JLU (Justice League Unlimited) action figures. If I recall
correctly, the pack had Batman, Metamorpho, and Wildcat. I lusted after
it, and Deb even offered to buy it for me but I resisted temptation
because I knew that I'd want them all.

So, six months later Deb asks me to stop at the Target near where I work
to look for a Sponge Bob Lego set for one of the nephews (remeber when
you had to use your imagination when playing with your Legos?). Once
again I saw the JLU three packs, but this time I could buy two of the
sets and have several core JLU members. They also had a single pack with
Supergirl. Next thing I knew, I was at the register shelling out $25
plus tax. The fever kept up for a few days as I systematically hit all
the Target, Toys R Us, and Wal-marts (the latter did not carry the
figures as far as I can tell).

Finally I had all the characters that I really wanted except the Flash.
I mentioned it on my Podcast and next thing I knew, one of the other
podcasters sent it to me for my birthday. The only other character I
would have liked to have had (but wasn't compelled to buy) was Elongated
Man.

So the other day we're in Target shopping for, yes you guessed it, my
nephews and there are several new sets of figures on the shelf. This
time its a three pack of the "Justice Lords" which are Superman, Batman,
and Wonder Woman from an alternate future where they decide to take over
the world "for its own good." Once again Deb tells me to get them, and
once again I fight temptation and say no. I do however notice that one
of the three packs is various Green Lanterns, two of whom I don't know,
and the third being Kyle Rayner, the newest Green Lantern after Hal
Jordan died (Hal's been ressurected so don't feel too bad), and I know
my son Cory's a big fan. But I also know that he might not forgive me if
I get him started on a new thing to collect, so I ask Deb to remind me
to tell him about them, the store's on my way home and I can always stop
for him.

So a little while later, still trying to figure out what to buy the
nephews, Deb calls me over to look at something. Its a six pack of
figures including the big three (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman) as
well as Bizarro, the big dude who "killed" Superman (sorry, I've
forgotten the name) and some other villian that I can't think of. Mad
thoughts rush through my head as I actually consider buying the $20 set.
Why? Because I want that Bizarro figure! Deb even says that I should go
ahead and get it, but once again, I fight the urge and rationalize that
it would be a stupid thing to do since I already have three of the
figures and don't care one way or the other about two of the others. We
left the store with none of them, phew...

So today, my son Cory calls me to say that he's at the Toys R Us in
Alentown looking for the set with Kyle and are there any figures that I
still need? I tell him about the Elongated Man and he says he'll look
for it. Five minutes later he calls back to say that they have Elongated
Man and that the three packs are on sale, two for one, and that they
have the Justice Lords. So I tell him to go ahead and get it as well as
the older Green Lantern pack with Killowog (another Green Lantern for
those not in the know, although I imagine most folks not in the know
have bailed out of this missive a long time ago!). He calls back a third
time to say there is a variant pack that has Hawkgirl as the third
Justice Lord, do I want that and the Martian Manhunter three pack for my
free one, as well.

Aarrgghh! But they were half price, right?

So I stopped at Target and picked up the three pack with Kyle Rayner,
for Cory. Least I could do, right?

check out my latest podcasts at:
KomicsKast.libsyn.com and
Comicspodcastcrossover.libsyn.com

People are best taken at a distance!

2005-10-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

We're in a local mall. Deb's looking for some sweatshirts (y'konw, those
ones with the embroidered designs) so I stopped off at the Walden books
to see what's new (not that I'd buy books there - too expensive!). Then
I go sit on the bench in the mall to wait. Some women sits down beside
me with the newest of annoying devices, a phone with two way radio
speakerphone. So no, not only do I have to listen to her bellow into her
phone, I've now got to listen to the other side of the conversation
thanks to the horrible "tinny" sounding speaker in her phone. Sheesh!
Not only should cel phones be outlawed while driving, they should be
outlawed in public places, much like smoking!

I should have never taken that trip cross-country earlier this year! It
spoiled me for places with lots less people. The population is just
exploding in our are as we become a suburb of New Jersey. The only good
part is that the value of my house has tripled in the last 15 years
since we bought it.

Oh well, vas komma du?

Bruce

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The "Godfather" of Small Press

2005-04-24T14:50:00.000-04:00

I'm not gong to attempt to tell you who first came up with small press comics. For me they date all the way back into the mid 70's with adds in the Comics Buyers Guide weekly newspaper. And the only one of those I ever ordered was a book by Tim Corrigan who could just as easily be called a "Great Uncle" of small press (more about Tim another day). For my money, the man who does the most for Small Press, is Matt Feazell.

Matt Feazell can easily be found by doing a web search (or as we like to say these days, you can Google Matt), but I'll gladly attach a link at the end of this "article" to his home page, which in turn is loaded with lots and lots of free pages of art, ordering information, and more that I can't tell you about at the moment because it's an AOL Homepage and, you guessed it, isn't working at the moment! (Hopefully it WILL work when you try it - worked just a few minutes ago!) When newspapers or radio want to do an article on small press, they go to Matt. When Disney or other publishers want some humor backup, they often go to Matt.

At first glance, Matt's work is possibly disappointing because most of it is stick figures. It's not long however that you figure out that Matt can actually draw very well, stick figures are just his "thing". Even if Matt weren't able to draw a lick, his work would still be heads and shoulders above most because it's funny. REALLY funny! Cynicalman is, well, cynical. Stupid boy is stupid, and Cute Girl is blonde (stereotypically blonde I should point out) and cute as well, in a stick figure kind of way...

Besides being a very talented guy, you're probably wondering why I give Matt the title "Godfather" of small press? It's because of his attitude. He is humble about his work. He is very generous - go to his table and offer a trade, he's more than happy to trade with other small pressers, in fact even if you don't have a trade you can draw Cynicalman on a stickynote for him, and he'll give you a free mini comic in trade. I think that he personally has done more to draw new talent into the small press pool than any other person. Many small pressers will tell you that it was Matt that got them started. They realized that small press wasn't about making a buck or that big break, it was about having fun. I suspect that's why Matt draws stick figures, to show folks how easy it can be to have fun!

Check out Matt and his work at:

http://members.aol.com/cynicalman/

and for more samples of his work:

http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/notavailable/

So, back to the Raves and Rants...

2005-04-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

This blogspot was originally for me to, well, rave or rant about stuff I like or dislike (Duh!). It kind of got hijacked for use as a "trip blog" when Deb and I went on vacation. Since we got back It seems like everything has piled up, but I'm slowly getting my head back above water and since last week I attended the SPACE Small Press convention in Columbus Ohio, I think that I mostly want to Rave about some of the comics and folks that I saw and met there.

There are varying degrees of Small Press folks. There are those that want to make the big break into professional comics but have been stymied so they are doing their own comics to hopefully compete with the big publishers on the comic book store racks. Few of these suceed for long, if they even make it past the first issue. These artists and writers hope to make the big break and would jump ship in a minute. Their publishers have some of the same hopes, often they hope to be the next "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (a small press comic that led to merchandising so big it made the creators millionaires). Mostly they are businessmen with no conception of art or quality (much like Michael Eisner at Disney).

There are some who truely want to do something different, not at all in the mainstream. They are in it more for the "art" than the money (sadly, they'd better be!).

The third catagory are those who do comics because they love them, and they hope others will love them as well. Some are good artists, some are mediocre and have no illusions of creating the "great american comic book," or they just have their own vision and do comics for themselves hoping someone will like what they do, but caring little.

Sturgeon's law (90% of everything is crap) applies to all three of the above catagories. What I want to talk about in future columns are the other 10%. I must admit, I'm going to be harder on the first group. They are competing with the big boys, priced like (or often higher) the big boys, and I will compare them with the big boys. And quite frankly, I can't see myself wasting a lot of space on stuff I don't like. What's the point? They're not doing me any harm, and just because I don't like it doesn't make it bad (i.e. - I've seen Gone With The Wind and I don't get it. Sure it's a beautiful film, but the story? I don't think it's all that good but some folks rave about it. So be it. Who am I to say its bad, I just didn't like it much...)

So there... its going to be mostly Raves (I might slam the ocassional piece of drek, never know...) and mostly SMALL small press.

Oh, and unlike some of the other folks who do reviews, I will do my best to tell you where to get it, address, price, email, webpage, whatever I can find out about the book or publisher. Drives me crazy when I see reviews that don't include that info. Oh yeah, the editorial says that all that stuff must be included or they won't print it but what the hell good is a review with no information on how to get it? (This is actually a thinly disquised RANT! While at the convention I picked up a preview copy of a soon to be published review zine and flipped through it while no one was looking. Paging through it I was thrilled to see Dutchy Digest reviewed. I didn't mind that the reviewer called my artwork, "stiff at times." Heck, I'd have to agree! I didn't mind that he didn't understand the difference between our Pennsylvania Dutch characters and the Amish. That might be our fault... don't know... But what I did mind is that the review claimed that the mailing address was unknown and that there was no email or webpage, and yet this same publisher sends me emails announcing what he's up to every week. This same publisher hosts a chat that I attend almost every week. And when we gave him the review copy he said to just email the information, which Steve did. I'm sorry, I like the guy but I'm not going to buy a review magazine that doesn't bother to try to gather all the info they can, regardless if its their policly or not! That's what I buy the damn magazine for, not just his opinion! It may be policy but it's a godamn stupid policy!)

And I said that I'd mostly be doing Raves...

Sheesh!

Road Trip - day 15 - Friday

2005-03-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

Knowing that we were probaly going to spend hours on the Blue Ridge
Parkway, we stopped for some sandwiches to take along. The alternate
highway looked better than staying on 81 but probably lost us some time.
Once out of Johnson City, we hit some reaal nice scenery marred by
mobile and modular homes surrounded by junk and rusting cars. Still, as
we rounded Watauga Lake the view was great. Some time later we finally
arrived in Boone NC where we entered the Blue Ridge Parkway. What I
expected was a lonely road winding through a National Park with no
civilization in site. Actually that's not the case at all. It does
meander along the crest of the mountain range often offering
breathtaking views on both sides, but just as often offered off ramps to
other roadways, some parelleling the road mere feet away. The Blue Ridge
Mountains live up to their name as well, mountains in the distance seem
to be various shades of blue. While its not the Grand Canyon, there are
still some views from dizzying heights, like the one from the picnic
table we had our lunch at!
About 3 we took a road that would put us back on route 81 and our
eventual goal for the evening, Harrisburg and the Kuntz's house.
We can't help but notice, as we get closer and closer to home, that
folks here are nuch more reluctant to yield the passing lane. There
always seems to be one more car they can pass... Out west people pass,
and move to the right. Sure, they have lots of hotdogs (we'll call them
cowboys out there) but at least they try to be courteous. Oklahoma had
the largest percentage of unskilled drivers that I noted out west. Put
some of them on the highway and they drive like they're NASCAR drivers!
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, but we did enjoy watching
the caravan of mini-vans, all liscensed New York, that were traveling
bumper to bumper in the passing lane, as we crossed into Pennsylvania. I
noticed one of the women driving was hunched over the steering wheel
looking panicked... I guess they were afraid to lose each other.
We made it to Harrisburg by 9:20.

Bruce and Deb
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Road Trip - day 14 - Thursday

2005-03-25T17:17:00.000-05:00

We left Brownsville TN about 9:30. My thought was to find the General
Jackson Showboat and see if they had any sightseeng of a shorter
duration than 4 hours. A 2 plus hour drive into Nashville. First stop
was the Parthenon that a friend had suggested we see.
The Nashville Parthenon is an exact (or as exact as possible) replica of
the Greek Parthenon, and I must admit, my main wonder was, why
Nashville? Of course all that is explained in the museum. The original
structure was wood and plaster and built for an Expostion in 1897. When
the Expostion was over, the Parthenon was not torn down. Over the years
it became a source of pride for residents and eventually, when it
started to deteriorate, a group was formed to rebuild it as a permanent
structure. This one contains a statue of Athena that the original
supposedly contained although I don't think anyone knows exactly what
the original looked like. We got some great shots which we'll post on
our return.
Next we were of to Opryland (I've always assumed that Opry is a play on
the word opera, have I got this right?) which is a huge complex with the
Grand Ol' Opry itself, a hotel and convention center, a large mall, and
the General Jackson Showboat. No life at the Showboat complex, if there
was an afternoon boat, it was long gone and we couldn't wait for the
evening one. We spent the afternoon in the mall and got a good deal on
"bloomers" at the Jockey store. Some chinese food and then off to get as
far as we could for the evening.
We stopped at a rest stop that had lots of info. Gatlinburg intrigued us
as it is home to the Great Smokey Mountains Park as well as Dollywod and
lots of other neat attraction. We considered it but decided to wait,
maybe until fall, as Dollywood was not open yet, and we didn't have a
lot of time if we expect to be home by Saturday night. Looks like you
could make a trip out of this one.
We continued on with our original plan (and suggestion by another
friend) to see the Blue Ridge Parkway and hopefully roll into Harrisburg
to stay with our friends, the Kuntz's. Somewhere near Knoxville we noted
our passing back into EST.
We stopped in Bulls Gap TN to grab dinnner and get a room, and we were
even there in time for Deb to catch American Idol!

Bruce and Deb
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Sitting on top of a mountain...

2005-03-25T13:25:00.000-05:00

...overlooking the Blue Ridge Parkway, eating lunch. What a wonderful
drive this is! We'll be sad to go back to the highway.

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Road Trip - day 13 - Wednesday

2005-03-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

So you're wondering if we got any sleep with all the ruckus the passing
trucks were making last night? Amazingly, yes! Deb did wake up about 6
and was awake until 7:30, but she fell back to sleep eventually and we
both sort of started awake at 8:45!
It wasn't long before we were in Arkansas. The further we drove, the
more scenic it became. Original plan was to head north a little for a
scenic drive through the Ozark Forest but friends had recommended the
Hot Springs National Park and we opted to go there instead. We headed
south from Russelville down a winding road that curved its way through
mountains populated with lots of trees. About every couple miles we
would encounter another truck carrying huge logs, obviously from a
logging camp. I must admit that the speeds they were driving made me
nervous on those winding roads. We did eventually pass several entrances
to Weyerhauser tree farms, signs boasting of when they were planted and
when they were "thinned." They sound like a pretty responsible company -
good for them!
When we got to Hot Springs National Park (boyhood home of Bill Clinton)
we ended up driving through a town with these big old hotels and bath
houses. The town was just packed with people, which I thought strange.
(Deb had noted signs for a basketball finals, so that may have been par
of it.) There were people everywhere and no where to park and as we
drove through the center of the really congested spot, I noticed the
Visitor's Center. I thought this strange but figured we'd see a sign for
the springs themselves, and the National Park part of the area. Soon, I
looked at the map and discovered we'd already driven through the park!
We decided we'd turn around and try to find somewhere to park so as to
figure out just what this whole thing was about.
Things started to get very congested again and then we noted that it was
opening day at the racetrack in town (don't think it was cars, maybe
horses or dogs?). So we tried moving a little further south to turn
around only to encounter a tractor trailer that had spilled a load of
lumber all over the Northbound lanes. At that point we just gave up and
continued out of town but stayed on the smaller route, headed towards
Pine Bluff while I tried to get an internet connection and see if that
was where Lum and Abner's General Store was located (Lum and Abner was
an old time radio show and there is a store by that name that is a
tribute to the show). (Oh! And I can tell you now, its Pine Ridge, not
Pine Bluff.)
Eventually we took a route that led us back towards Little Rock and then
continued west to, and through Memphis. This time we got to see the
Mississippi River. I was disappointed that I could not find any day
trips on Riverboats on the Mississippi (there is a place in Nashville
but its a 4 hour cruise - we'll see...). We were driving through Memphis
at 6 pm and there was construction, but all in all it was pretty
painless.
We drove for almost an hour and then stopped outside a town called
Brownsville. Deb watched her shows, Survivor and American Idol, while I
ran down the street to fetch some Pizza Hut to eat in the room. Just as
we were falling asleep, someone came into the room above with little
children that were running back and forth (or maybe along the balconey,
it was hard to tell). It finally got quiet about 11:30.

Bruce and Debbie

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Road Trip - day 12 - Tuesday

2005-03-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

We slept well, drove for an hour or so and had a sit down breakfast at
the Route 66 diner.
New Mexico, at least the parts we drove through, are well, boring. More
or less flat. In about 2 hours we crossed the border into the upper part
of Texas. More of the same, although it started to get greener (again, I
can only speak for the part we drove through...)
(Time change - back to CST)
At least Oklahoma had a Welcome sign! Greener and more trees, I was
surprised not to see more oil pumps.
Drive, drive, drive...
Outside Oklahoma City we got off the highway for dinner and picked a rib
house called Rib Crib. Smart folks, they feed you just enough to fill
you up. I hate having leftovers as I feel wasteful leaving them, and we
have no where to put them in the car.
Through Oklahoma City and another 90 miles to Troy Aickman's town,
Henryettta, where we got a room for the night.
As we closed the door to the room we felt and heard a chuttering noise.
I asked Deb what that was? She replied that she thought it was the
trucks on the highway. As Deb watched Chasing Amy, we couldn't help but
notice how loud the noise was. On the newscast after the show the
weatherman mentioned that a couple twisters had touched down but no
damage was done, he ended that thought with a chuckle (do they really
take them so casually?). We eventually settled in for what looked like a
LONG night with the trucks rumbling by outside...

To be continued...

Bruce and Debbie

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Suggestions?

2005-03-22T14:47:00.000-05:00

We're not in a rush to get home thanks to our change in plans. Currently
we're in the upper part of Texas, and will cross into Oklahoma and
Arkansas in time. Any suggestions what we might visit on the trip home?
Direction can be altered...

Bruce

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Road Trip - day 11 - Monday

2005-03-22T14:19:00.001-05:00

We lazed around this morning, after a very good nights sleep. Too late
for the free breakfast so we stopped in the Circle K for coffee and Diet
Coke and then headed off to see Tombstone, a real western town! It only
took about 30 minutes and we were there. Its nice but really not all
that exciting. We checked out all the shops but really found nothing
interesting. The visitors center had brochures for Bisbee, an old mining
town that hasn't changed all that much in 100 years (probably because
they couldn't afford it!). It was compared to New Hope (among others)
and we thought that enough reason to check it out. Its a very scenic
ride and both Deb and I agreed that the area before Bisbee would make a
fine location for our winter home, when we retire ;-)
The town of Bisbee has a remarkable feel of authenticity as an old
western mining town. In fact the copper mine is still a working mine.
The town itself is filled with little shops, mostly artistry of one type
or another.
In one shop I did find some treasures, an odd sized comic book, b & w
with a superhero cover and what looked like Timely reprints inside.
Cover price was 15p which I assume makes it british. Also an old Keith
Laumer, Retief paperback, and lastly... Well, no, can't mention that one
as it will make a good christmas present if I manage not to lose it
until then!
Our options were to backtrack or take the "scenic" route 80 and wind
down into Douglas before heading back up and into New Mexico. Douglas
has signs for truck route 80, and scenic route (or was it historical
route?). We chose the latter which lead us to a dead end where we
encountered the Mexico border fence. We went left and eventually got
back to the highway which in turn took us to "the Land of Enchantment"
New Mexico.
New Mexico is mostly flat and although grassier than Arizona, has very
little vegetation over a few feet high.
As we headed north to Albuquegue the wind started blowing pretty
fiercely. The scenery stayed pretty much the same but with lots of hills
and mountains. We stopped at a Sonic Drive-in for dinner and then drove
for another 2 hours, passing Albuquergue and staring east on 40, and
settled in for the night in the town of Moriarty.

Bruce and Debbie

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Road Trip - day 11 - Monday

2005-03-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

Bruce and Debbie

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Sorry for posting problems...

2005-03-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

I had sent the thoughts on free long distance before we'd left on our
trip and since it hadn't gone through started to worry that it had
bounced due to the title. I changed it and sent it again yesterday only
to have the first version finally show up.

As for Tuesday's trip report, I had a network connection here and there
but mostly we only had phone service through some 3rd party phone
company.

But here in Utah, its back!

Bruce

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Road trip - day 10 - Sunday

2005-03-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

This hotel had a "hot continental Breakfast" that while crowded, was
well organized. We had some waffles and then we were off to visit Frank
Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. It's a little dissapointing compared with
Falling Water. Where Falling Water is perched on a cliff, Taliesin West
is buillt low to the ground, and is indeed in the ground, so difficult
to get a good overview. They've recently opened the Wright's personal
living spaces. A 90 minute tour with lots of photo ops and then off to
see the old neighborhood.
When we left Phoenix in 1970 we were living on the outskirts of the
city. It now extends about 12 to 15 miles beyond that. We got off on
Dunlap Ave and headed west so I could show Deb Cortez HS where I went to
9th grade. It looked the same except for the big iron fence surrounding
it. Back over route 17, past what was once an orange grove to 23rd ave.
When we left, the 1 sq. Mile we lived in was 1/4 houses, the rest
farmland. Running right alongside 23rd ave had been a canal. It was no
longer there, nor were the farm fields. Our house was then 2nd to the
last on Butler Dr. Which ended at 23rd. A path through the farmfield had
allowed us access to Royal Palm Elemetary School. Butler Dr. now runs
straight through, right past the school. Out on 19th ave, the little
shopping center was still there as were the Taco Bell, Circle K, and
Jack In the Box.
(Digression - we used to love going to the Jack in the Box drive
through. They had the most incomprehensible speakers I've ever
encountered. We kids could not understand a word they were saying, but
somehow my dad could. I suppose it was his years in the service that
allowed him to understand the staticy, garbled voices. It delighted us
to no end to hear dad speak to that sqauwking! Years later I heard
Cheech and Chongs comedy album with just such an encounter, and I'm sure
I was rolling on the floor laughing! - end digression.)
Our former house is painted a godawful shade of blue and it looks like
the back yard has been paved over and probably has a pool as so many
homes in Phoenix do. We drove around the block, thinking we might stop
and say hi to our old neighbors, the Sands. I got out of the car but
then couldn't recall which house it was. I suppose I could have asked,
but I didn't. By this time we were both famished, I inparticular, was
feeling a bit shakey, so we headed south on 17 until we found what
looked like a shopping district which we assumed would have a
restaurant. We picked a place called Mimi's and were delighted wiith the
sandwichs there. For the first time in a LONG time, we even had dessert.
I suppose I shouldn't have because I ended up feeling kinda quesy the
rest of the day.
We got into Tuscon and felt we easily had time to go on to the next town
before turning off to Tombstone. I suppose we should have checked to see
whether there were hotels in Tombstone but we didn't (and there were!)
and we settled in at the Best Western in Benson kind of early, around
6:45. Deb was smart enough to ask for a room on the inner circle which
we were glad for as you could even hear the trucks from there, not to
mention the train. We thought about the hot tub again, but as the sun
went down, so did the temperature.

Darn! No HBO!

Bruce and Debbie

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Road Trip - day 8 part 1 - Saturday

2005-03-21T14:02:00.001-05:00

Argh! I wrote most of Saturday's adventures while Deb drove, but in an
effort to relieve my burgeoning mailbox, I fear I deleted it! Here we go
again!

Deb jumped out of bed and into the shower at 7:45 and I finally got the
inspiration to get out of bed after some darling child rode his
skateboard around the upper deck of the motel (where ARE the parents of
these kids!?) I looked out the window to find that it was snowing pretty
good outside. We got ready and stopped by the "hot" continental
breakfast, but the room it was in was wall to wall people. We didn't
feel like fighting our way in so we opted for some McD's instead.
I should mention before I forget, that apparently much of the highway
here used to be Route 66. Every little gift shop has books and souvenirs
of it. They appear to be very proud of their Route 66 out here!
We started out East on I-40 to find the Petrified Forest / Painted
Desert National Park. It took us about 1-1/2 hours to get to Holbrook
where we exited to start the park from the southern end. The snow had
quit not long after we left Flagstaff but we were peppered with a little
rain now and again.
Once in the park you are immediately treated to mile and miles of fallen
petrified trees. Partway through the park is a large tree that had
fallen creating a natural bridge across a ravine. As you move further
north the instances of petrified trees diminishes but the painted desert
becomes more prevelant. The Painted Desert seems to be hills worn away
by water and weather to reveal many different layers of rock, each with
distinct coloring. As we headed north the rain got progressively heavier
and heavier each time we stopped.
At the northern end of the park was another visitors center (all the
National Park venues are still run by the Fred Harvey company) and this
one had a little cafe, of which we've become wary, but as we were
famished, we took a chance. Hunger may have played a part in it but we
thought the food, as well as the service was very good. The staff were
probably all Hopi Indians but much more pleasant than the Navajo's we've
run into the last couple of days (and I don't mean that Navajo's aren't
nice, but they are a bit standoffish, and put me in mind of our Amish
folks back home.)
Rather than take the highway back to Flagstaff, and more highway south
to Phoenix, we opted for a smaller road that crossed the mountains on a
more direct route into the Phoenix area. The route started to climb and
we eventually got to over 7,500 feet, along with lots of snow and fog.
Once again Deb was driving but she took it easy and soon we were coming
down out of the mountains and into Page. We climbed once again but not
nearly as high, weaving our way around mountains. As we started down the
other side we were treated to forests of Saguaro cactus (the tall ones
that often look like they're "flipping you off") surrounded by little
yellow wildflowers. We soon started to notice Prickley Pear, Mesquete,
and Chollo Cactus as well.
Deb had remarked during our journey that she had expected Arizona to be
all dirt desert and cactus, and rather flat. I have to admit, although
lived there for 4-1/2 years, I'd forgotten how scenic it could be.
As we got into Scottsdale (NE of Phoenix) I was finally able to get an
internet connection, I looked up a favorite restaurant from my
childhood, Pinnacle Peak.

To be continued...

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Road Trip - Day 8 part 2 - Saturday

2005-03-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

Pinnacle Peak is a western steakhouse that we considered a huge treat
when we were children living in Phoenix. Traditions there included
cutting off the tie of anyone foolhardy enough to wear one, and when
someone orders a steak well done, an old boot on a sizzling platter was
brought out first. You can imagine our childish glee when we saw one of
those events!
My favorite Pinnacle Peak story: my dad stepped out of his Central Ave
(downtown Phoenix) office to get some lunch. As he walked traffic on the
6 lane road came to a screeching halt as people started jumping from
their cars to grab paper floating down from the sky. My dad realized it
was money but was reluctant to run out in the street. Just then a bill
fluttered down onto the fireplug in front of him, it was a $100 bill.
Another landed on a window sill, but sadly, that was only a $1 bill. He
got home, told the story, and said we were all going to Pinnacle Peak,
including my buddy Tony, who was over at the time.
The only way I would eat steak in those days was with ketchup and my dad
would make such a fuss, I just avoided steak. So when orders were taken,
I ordered a hamburger and my mom will tell you that my friend Tony's
face dropped as he ordered a hamburger too. Mom and dad assured him that
he could order a steak and I'm sure my dad regaled him with a story of
my steak eating disorder! LOL!
We found out the next day that a businessman in Phoenix was
demonstrating to his board of directors how they were wasting his money.
(Among his assets was the Phoenix Giants Minor League baseball team.) He
opened a briefcase with $10,000 in assorted bills and chucked the money
out the window. The police wanted to charge him with disturbing the
peace. We thought he was a hero!
The steaks aren't nearly as big as I recall but the thousands and
thousands of neck ties still decorate every ceiling beam in the place. I
asked the waitress if they still had the same response for steaks
ordered well done and she assured me that even she's gotten more than
one boot as she likes her steak well done.
After dinner we jumped back on the "Loop" the beltway around the Phoenix
area to find a hotel. After trying three different places we were
informed that there wasn't a room to be had in Phoenix as minor league
training opened next day. (We also found out later that there was a big
airshow all weekend.) We decided to head south and hope for a room in
that direction. Deb called Best Western in the next town but they had no
rooms. I then noticed we were headed towards Tempe and so she checked
with the one there. They only had one room left and it was a smoking
room but at this point we were happy for it.
We checked in and were relieved to find that the room was fine. Problem
was it was next to the pool which had several screaming children in it.
It was only 9:30 so we decided to join in the merriment and put our
suits on for a dip in the hot tub. We were in for maybe 20 minutes and
not long after we left they closed the pool. Phew!

Bruce and Debbie
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Special bulletin

2005-03-21T02:26:00.000-05:00

We're in Wyoming heading up into the mountains from Buffalo...

Oh my god! I'm speechless!

I want one of these log homes built into the side of a hill... Sigh...
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Road Trip - day 7 - Friday

2005-03-19T19:33:00.000-05:00

Even though the weather was calliing for cloudy skies, we awoke to a
bright and sunny warm day. I'd been awoken by a series of revving
engines around 6:45, but by 7, that had mostly ended and both of us
slept well, and until a little after 8!
We headed north on 15 for 4 miles to get onto the road that would take
us to Zion National Park and ultimately, the Grand Canyon. We were
dissappointed to find that there were lots of nice little hotels along
the way, in fact the little village just before Zion had several nice
places, but there had been no signage on the highway to indicate that.
Zion is pretty incredible and we were lucky to be able to take the
scenic route in our car. Next week that route is only accessable by
shuttle and would have taken more time than we had. The main road
through Zion though is just as scenic, if not more so. We drove in
narrow canyons between towering cliffs. The main road then winds back
and forth up a hill and through a long dark tunnel carved right out of
the stone. On the other side of the tunnel you come out into almost
another world, with very different stone formations.
Out of Zion Park my internet access kicked in for a few minutes and I
received a reply from brother Mark saying that he'd gladly have met us
in St. George or half way, for breakfast. We both felt really bad, but I
have to take full blame for not calling. I guess I just assumed too
much...
The ride to the Grand Canyon was very long and poor Deb almost flipped
when she saw the Grand Canyon access closed sign, but I explained that
we had to go to the South Rim of the canyon as North was closed
seasonally. The drive was very scenic down through mountains, over
chasms, and the Colorado and Little Colorado. Then into the Painted
Desert and finally we started uphill with a view of the early parts of
the canyon. The sky started to cloud over which is dissappointing to a
3D photographer. Sunlight enhances the 3D. But we didn't get any rain,
so that's something to be thankful for.
Finally we got to the toll both and judging from the signs, we figured
we had a ways to go before we'd get a good view. We pulled into the
first area just inside the park to look at the map and figure out which
way we were going. I looked up and saw the stone watchtower and I knew
we were there already, but I thought it would be fun to see Deb's
reaction, so I didn't tell her. I can't speak for her but I'm pretty
sure she was very impressed!
We had to move quickly as it was 4:30 when we arrived at the park. We
hit all the major lookout points and even chatted a little with a guy
that had just gotten back from the 2 day hike down the cliffs. Dusk was
falling as we hit the Grand Canyon Village. We talked about staying the
night in hopes that it would be a little sunnier next day, but we
decided to move on so we could get to the Petrified Forest / Painted
Desert park earlier next day.
The drive to Flagstaff was about 85 miles and took us over some really
desolate roads. As we drove we noticed more and more snow. We also
started noticing regularly placed elevaton makers as we climbed to 8,045
feet. We dropped down to about 8,000 as we entered Flagstaff. We found
the hotel district and chose a Quality Inn where we thankfully got an
inner circle room, away from the highway. The hotel was crowded and
walls were thin, but somehow we managed to sleep pretty well, I guess
we're just getting used to the noise.

Bruce and Deb
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Road Trip - day 3

2005-03-19T05:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday started off sunny, a few clouds but even those faded away soon.
We jumped out of bed at 8:00 to be on the road by 9 to have brunch with
some friends that I'd never had the chance to meet face to face. We
arrived in Columbia MO at about 10:45 and the Cracker Barrell where we
were to meet looked crowded. I called Mark, one of the friends, and
said, "hey! We're here!"
He said "wow, you're early."
To which I replied, "yeah, we made good time."
"Okay, we weren't expecting you until 11, but we'll get ourselves
together and be there in a half hour."
In the meantime I had Mark give us directioons to a car wash that ended
up being conveniently up the street. ($3 for an automatic car wash! What
a bargain! Makes my PA Dutch heart sing!)
When we got back I had them put our name on the list and we wandered
around the gift shop. I kept looking for someone that could be Mark
(didn't know what he looked like) or Ric, whom I'd seen pictures of.
Eventually I noticed a fellow walking towards me with a giveaway Batman
patch on his shoulder. Mark introduced us to his wife Elaine and I
introduced Deb. We were seated and Ric showed up shortly. Ric, by the
way, had driven in all the way from Kansas City, a two hour drive for
the get together!
Neither Deb or I have ever been to a Cracker Barrell by the way.
Impressive breakfasts!
We sat around the table chatting for over two hours and only left
because I was getting uncomfortable with the looks we were getting from
the manager. (We were at their big table, the minute we walked out, they
paged a party of 8... Whoops!)
We stood out in the parking lot chatting for a while and then Mark said,
"I know you want to get going by 2 or so but how'd you like to stop in
MY favorite comics shop? Its not too far.
Sounded like fun and since it was a little after 2 already, Deb and I
both figured Mark was kidding about the time, but we figured its not too
often you get to meet your online friends! We hung out for some time
chatting but eventually we figured we'd better hit the road as it was
3:30 and we had a long drive to Minnesotta. We took some pictures, which
I'll share when we get home, and reluctantly said our goodbyes. Mark
guided Ric and us back to Route 70 where it turned out that driving 2
hours west to Kansas City, before turning north, was the fastest route.
As we pulled out of the parking lot, Deb asked, "do you think maybe
we're in a different time zone?"
I looked at her (with that blank look that comes so naturally to me) and
said, "yeah, you know I think we might be!"
Deb said, "well that WOULD explain a lot!" to which we both busted out
laughing. Deb urged me to call Mark on his cell phone and tell him what
had happened, which I did, giggleing the whole time I left the message.
Mark emailed later to say they had listened to the message, and I quote,
were ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing). I emailed back and did
apologize eventually...
We continued our drive north eventually stopping in Iowa at a reataurant
called Chips, so named for the basket of homemade potato chips they give
you as an appetizer. Their special was rottisere chicken , so that's
what we had.
We got as far as Clear Lake (yep, "where the music died") and spent the
night in a Best Western.

Bruce and Deb

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Rooad trip - day 6 - Thursday

2005-03-18T23:58:00.000-05:00

We started out from Evanston WY this morning around 9. For a change we
both slept rather well although the mattress left us both with sore
backs. We both felt like a good sit down breakfast today so we kept
looking for restaurants along the trip to Salt Lake City but there
wasn't much to pick from along the way. The scenery was, once again,
stunning. Driving through a gorge in the mountains with towers of rock
on each side. Eventually the gorge opened out onto a vast valley which
is of course, where SLC and the Great Salt Lake are located.
After finding a restaurant and having our breakfast, we headed north to
find the Great Salt Lake. None of the highways there contain directions
to historic or natural wonders, almost as if they don't want any
visitors! From the two parks we found on the map we chose Antelope
Island and I think we made a good choice. The island is across a 7 mile
causeway. It is home to bison, antelopes, and bighorn sheep. From the
sandy beaches you can see across miles of water, and its only the
mountains in the background that allow you to realize that there is even
anything on the other side. We bought a little booklet at the gift shop
that promised to answer all our questions about the lake, but the ranger
at the desk beat us to the punch by explaining that the salt washes down
into the lake from the rivers, and since no rivers exit the lake the
salt builds up through evaporation, part of the GSL is 4 to 6 times as
salty as the ocean. We would have liked to try floating but it really
wasn't quite warm enough.
As we drove south again I spotted the big Mormon church building and
considered getting off the highway, but as we couldn't find any signs to
lead us there, we just kind of gave up and continued on driving.
The ride down 15 is in a large valley with looming mountains on both
sides. At Provo they are especially snow covered. I'm pretty sure that
Provo is a popular place for skiing, but we didn't see any visible
slopes.
On the ride south we tried to refine our plans and decide what we wanted
to see, and what reality was going to allow. Even though the trip was
going to put us within 90 miles of Las Vegas and we would have liked to
visit with my brother Mark, the trip would have ultimately been at least
4 hours out of the way of Zion and the Grand Canyon which we hope to do
on Friday. Also we needed some time in a laundromat as we're running out
of clean clothing. So we stopped in St. George for the night (and our
other thoughts about Las Vegas is that flights are cheap and it would be
nice to spend more time with Mark and his family.)
St. George reminds me a lot oof New Jersey - crowded! After 3 days of
sparsley populated area this was quite disconcerting. Once again we
picked the hotel furthest from the highway, a Comfort Inn, got settled
in, and then went out to look for dinner and the laundromat. My stomach
had been bothering me all day but fast food seemed most in order as we
could eat and wash, so we got a pizza. We talked to some folks frm
Michigan, in the laundromat, who'd just been through Zion National Park
and they recommended it highly.
We got back to the room and realized that the road out front of the
hotel was a popular place for drivers to race along, very noisely at
times. Somehow it didn't keep us awake though...

Bruce and Debbie
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Road Trip Day 6 - Wednesday

2005-03-17T19:50:00.000-05:00

We awoke around 8 and were on the road by 9. Within an hour we were off
the major highway (90) on route 16 in a roundabout path to Yellowstone.
Just before the town of Buffalo signs warned us that route 16 was safer,
more scenic, and shorter. We stopped for gas and the folks there agreed
that 16 was superior to 14.
Deb was driving as the road started climbing from the mostly flatlands,
to a pass through the Bighorn Mountains. The scenery was stunning and we
both fell in love with some of the log homes built into the sides of
hills. We climbed and climbed and climbed some more, and just when you
figure we'd have to be on our way downhill, there was another higher
mountain in front of us. The higher we got the worse the snow became.
Poor Deb drove through at least 7 miles of snow covered slick roads, but
she toughed it out and refused to yield the wheel. There were times we
were only doing 35 mph.
Finally we started down the other side of the mountains and passed
through some incredible mountain pass canyons. It took us close to 2
hours to get to the town of Cody, and as we got to the far side of town
were alarmed to see a sign warning that the road was closed 50 miles
ahead, at the entrance to Yellowstone. I must admit that I'd gotten a
bit nervous about this as we went through the Bighorn mountains as I'd
noticed on the map that Yelowstone is smack in the midddle of the
Rockies. At this point I did something that all you guys reading this
are going to gasp at, I stopped in the visitors center and asked...
Seems the east entrance is closed every winter and the only way in is
the northern entrance. Even then only the northern part of the park is
even accessable, leaving out Old Faithful! She also mentioned that the
park was looking at several inches of snow that evening and 5 to 10
Thursday. At this point Deb and I put our heads together and realized
that we weren't going to be able to do it all without running like
madmen and driving REALLY long hours. The new plan is to head south
through Utah and return to thr focal point of the trip, Arizona. We
started the long trip south and were a bit worried about driving through
the South Pass" as we had been warned by the visitors center of bad
weather through the pass. We stopped for gas just before making the
decision on wether or not to chance it and I noticed a truck towing a
motor home facing the opposite way. I asked if they'd just come through
the pass and he said yes and that it hadn't been too bad. The 120 miles
from Lyman to Rock Springs has some of the sparsest population I've ever
encountered. At one point we must have gone 40 miles without seeing a
house. Nor did we encounnter more than a dozen vehicles. The roads are
flat, straight, and long and its not difficult to find yourself driving
better than 80 mph. The South Pass is another beautiful mountain pass
with looming walls of stone on both sides.
We made it to Rock Springs and decided we'd try for Evanston, which was
a few miles east of the border. Plan was to stop for food along the way
but we ended up not finding anything and having dinner at 9 pm. We found
a Howard Johnson's which was furthest from the highway. We passed out by
10:30 (MST).

Bruce and Debbie
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Road Trip - Day 5 - Tuesday

2005-03-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

We both woke up around 6 again this morning but I managed to doze most
of the time until 8. Deb on the other hand didn't and only ended up with
about 6 hours sleep. At least the shower was hot and helped revitalize
us a bit.
We hit the road about 9 wth the intention of driving directly to Mt.
Rushmore. I should note that the landscape finally changed from flat
grazing land as we crossed the Missouri (for the 3rd time!) and the
landscape became rolling hills with short little hills. It soon pretty
much flattened out again. About 160 miles into the trip we noticed a
sign for the Badlands Loop, and decided we'd like to see the Badlands.
Boy am I glad we did! Amazing mountains of soft stone that's constantly
eroding and changing with each rainfall. Besides that, the Park Ranger
told us that we could probably see the buffalo herd if we took a gravel
road later in the loop. So we did... We got to see some buffalo, but not
the herd I was picturing. We also got some nice photos. Along the way
was the "prairie dog town" which lived up to its name, there being
thousands of prairie dog mounds and hundreds of prairie dogs. Another 5
miles on the gravel road put us back out on the main road and shortly we
arrived at the highway in the town Wall, infamous for the Wall Drug
Store which is heralded by signs for well over 100 miles (western
version of South of the Border). We figured, what the heck, we're here.
We wernt dissappointed, it was everything we thought, but at least they
carried slide film for my 3D camera! Quick lunch at Dairy Queen (yes T.
We had Brazier cooked burgers!) and we were back on track.
As you approach Rapid City the landscape makes abrupt changes and the
Black Hills just suddenly burst up out of the ground covered with dark
evergreens (is that why they're called the Black Hills?). We headed
south for the 20 or so mile trip to Mt. Rushmore. Eventually we rounded
a curve and sitting way up on a moutain we could see the monument. I
must admit that my first impression was that they were smaller than I'd
pictured. We wound around a little more and then into the parking area,
narrowly avoiding a deer that stepped out in front of the car maybe
fifteen feet before the toll booth.
The whole monument is beautifully done in cut stone, a long arched
walkway leading to an overlook presenting the carvings in all their
splendor. Okay, so now they're looking a bit bigger... We decided that
we wanted to take the trail that led up to a deck just underneath the
presidents. The trail was lots and lots of steps that wound down to the
"artist's studio" where we ran into a chain blocking further access. We
could see that there was a lot of snow on the many steps leading up t
the deck and reluctantly gave up and climbed back to the observation
area and hid out in the souvenir shop to await dusk and the lighting of
the monument. While there a man walked in huffung and puffing saying
he'd just done the trail. I mentioned that we'd tried it but it was
closed. He said that he'd gone from the other direction and hadn't
encountered the chain until his return. We said thanks and took the
other path which had oonly a few steps when we got right under the
monument - much nicer! From there you can get a real good "up the nose"
shot of all the presidents! And you suddenly begin to realize how big
the carvings are. We walked back and hung out in one of the buildings
(the cold was getting really damp) and chatted with one of the few other
folks that were there. They were from Florida but he had lived in
Macungie for a year or two when he was younger. Anyway. The lights
finally came on at 6:20 (Mountain Standard Time), we took several
pictures and we skeedaddled.
We found a route that was more direct than backtracking, though sadly we
drove 60 miles through what I assume was beautiful countryside - the
Black Hills national park - but it was too dark to see much. Our trip
took us to the city of Deadwood, famous in history but more recently due
to the HBO series of the same name. While we were aware that the town
had some gambling joints I assumed there would be some historical sites
as well. We drove through town and around again only to find a dirty
crowded town, every building crammed full of gambling machines. The few
souvenir shops were closed so I was dissappointed that we couldn't get
Cory a souvenir as he is a fan of the series too. If you've ever seen
the series you'll note that it is depicted as a dirty crowded town.
Hmmm...
We had thought we might spend the night in Deadwood and take in the
sights but instead we decided to put in some miles and made it to
Gillette, WY. We chose a Best Western again as it was furthest from the
highway, checked in, and were dismayed when we pulled around the siide
of the building to find 30 or 40 construction trucks outside our room
and figured we wouldn't get to sleep much past 6 when they all started
revving up their vehicles, but our fearrs were unfounded as the clerk
had kindly put us in a room on the inside ring of the hotel.

Bruce and Deb

http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
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Audio Chat / VOIP

2005-03-17T06:59:00.000-05:00

So I'm assuming that most of you have computers. I'm also assuming that
you have friends or relatives that are normally a long distance call,
and while most of us also have cell phones anymore, not all of us have
nationwide plans. But if you have a fairly recent model computer that
can run AOL's instant messenger or you're on a Mac with iChat, you can
talk long distance for free.

Well, maybe not free. You'll need speakers and a microphone or a headset
with a microphone but that's a heck of a lot cheaper than long distance
(over a period of time).

Of course pretty soon its going to be very cheap to use long distance.
The phone companies and cable companies are waking up to the VOIP
technology and I don't doubt that within a year or two at most, we'll
all have that technology available. Yes, we do even now with Vonage and
Packet something or other, but they'll probably not last too long once
the phone and cable companies catch up.

But in the meantime, anyone that wants to chat, feel free to drop an
email with a time and your AOL I.D. and I'll be there. I'd love to test
it out (well yeah, I have already with another Mac user but we use
iChat. Its supposed to work just as well with PC's and AOL IM so I'd
love to test it), that's why I've included my AOL info in my signature.
(Of course most of you that are reading this also know that Deb and I
will be away until the 28th, right? Keep checking this space for
updates.)

Best,
Bruce

http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Free long distance?

2005-03-16T04:08:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not free. You'll need speakers and a microphone or a headset
with a microphone but that's a heck of a lot cheaper than long distance
(over a period of time).

Best,
Bruce
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Road Trip - day 4 - Monday

2005-03-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

The room we stayed in at the Best Western in Clear Lake, had lots of
temperature controls. We were able to turn the fan on but still turn the
heat off (we like it cool at night, and the fan helps kill noise). Slept
soundly but we both woke at 6 and only slept fitfully until 8. A
continental breakfast and we were off to Minneopolis.
Our fears of heavy traffic as we approached the Mall of America were
unfounded, in fact the mall wasn't crowded at all. The mall is a large
box, four main corridors surround the amusement park in the center.
3-1/4 floors, and I'm told that if you walk the whole mall, its over
four miles. I must admit, my back was sending me some strong signals!
500 and some stores and reastaurants, not to mention an underground
aquarium (with a conveniently located Spongebob store nearby). You'd
think with that many stores, there'd be at least one funnybook shop! I
did pick up two books to add to my collection, Laura Joh Rowlands 7th
volume in her fuedal Japan mystery books, and the third volume of
Bretheran of the Coast, by James L. Nelson, about pre-revolutionary war
era pirates. The mall also had an Apple store where I picked up an
iTalk, which is an adapter that turns my iPod into a voice recorder. Deb
got a good look at the new iLife and I think she really liked the new
iPhoto and it's photo album options. We decided it could wait until we
got home as we didn't bring the laptop along anyway, nor do we have
time!
The third floor is packed with fast food places and restaurants. We
chose one of the 3 Japanese fast food places and sat on a deck
overlooking Camp Snoopy, the amusement park.
Deb picked up a Mall of America shirt, and we left about 4:30. Deb was
concerned about the rush hour traffic, but believe me, it doesn't hold a
candle to New Jersey traffic.
At this point we decided to take one of the smaller routes so we could
see some of the scenery and hopefully some of those 10,000 lakes
Minnesota boasts about! We didn't countt, but we figure we saw 30 to 40
lakes on the ride into South Dakota.
For some reason Pizza Hut appealed to both of us and that's where we had
our anniversary dinner! 25 years today! (I don't know how she did it!
Put up with ME for that long...)
When we got to South Dakota we had planned to call it quits in Souix
City, a few mile over the border, but Deb's eyes lit up as we entered SD
and saw the 75 mph signs. She suggested, since we were moving along so
well, with so little traffic, that we keep going to the next big town
about 50 miles away, Mitchell. None of the hotels were crowded and the
Best Western was the furthest from the highway (less noise one hopes)
and boasted a really good price for the night, so they won our business!
Lucky them!

Bruce and Deb
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
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Just curious...

2005-03-14T19:49:00.000-05:00

So, is anyone reading these posts? You are more than welcome to leave a
comment on this blog site, just click on the word COMMENT at the bottom
of the page (not the little envelope) and it will open a window where
you can leave a comment and we will get it on our e-mail!
Thanks
Deb and Bruce
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Road Trip - day 3

2005-03-14T14:43:00.000-05:00

Bruce and Deb

http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Road Trip, day two

2005-03-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

We were a little worried this morning (Saturday) when we looked out the
window and saw an inch of snow, and snow still coming down, but when we
got to the main roads, they were just wet. Much to our surprise, we
actually saw the sun, although it didn't last long! By the time we
exited Zanesville and headed to Dresden and the Longaberger factory the
car was so slopped up we could bearly see out the windoows. The squegee
at the gas station took care of the windows, but we will have to wash
the car down soon!
When we got to the far side of Dresden, we were kinda confused that
there were no signs for the Longaberger factory, so we turned into the
town to see if we could find some information. The main street of
Dresden has lots of little shops that cater to Longaberger enthusists,
selling accessories like liners, protectors, lids, and retired baskets.
We couldn't help but notice the many women walking around town in their
bathrobes and pajamas! Turned out it was a promotion that the town was
running, giving disounts to anyone wearing pajamas or robes. (Note from
Bruce, some people just don't look good in pajamas and shouldn't wear
them in public...shudder...) After checking out a couple stores we
decided to head to the Longaberger homestead and factory which we found
out were a couple miles away from town. We took a self-guided tour of
the factory (unfortunately no production today) on a mezzanine that also
had exhibits and a gift shop which Debbie says I should have kept her
away from!! We went to the family replica home, where Debbie got the
two baskets she bought signed by Wendy and Larry Longaberger! In one of
the pictures there was a huge office building in the shape of a basket,
but we figured it was't real. We asked the shuttle driver about it and
found out it was indeed real! He told us it was about 15 miles down the
road, but it happened to be the way we were going. What a sight...a
seven story office building shaped like a basket with a handle and all!
Okay, now we are hungry! We saw lots of Texas Roadhouses along our trip
so far, so we decided to look for one. No luck, so we "settled" (lol)
for Red Lobster! After we filled our tummys we started on our 7 hour
trek through Indiana and Illinois to Missouri. Of course, it got dark
by 7 and we regret we really didn't get to see much of the scenery,
although our friend, Mark, assures us we didn't miss anything. We would
have liked to have seen the mighty Mississippi. but hopefully we can
catch it on the way back.
Since we had done okay with Motel 6 last night, we looked in their book
and found one that was located on our route, just north of St. Louis.
We pulled into the parking lot and Bruce became instantly uneasy with
the area and the activity in the motel for 11:30 at night. Our
instincts told us to keep going and look for something in a
nicer neighborhood. Several miles up the road we found another Motel 6
that seemed to fit the bill.
Deb and Bruce
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Road trip - fiirst day

2005-03-12T13:46:00.000-05:00

We got out of the house by 6:00pm, had to stop for gas, something to eat
and find a detour around a traffic jam (courtesy of Pendot!). We were
making real good time until we got into the Sommerset area (about 2\3 of
the way across the state) were we ran into a mini blizzard. The
elevation was high and the highway was winding, so we had to take it
easy, but we persevered. As 11:00pm approached, we found ourselves just
outside of Washington, PA which is about 20 some miles from the border
of West Virginia. We stopped at a hotel that Bruce and his friend,
Steve, had stayed at last year on their way to Columbus for a
convention, but the Clerk claimed they only had a room with two beds
left, which was rather expensive and the clerk didn't really seem
interested in renting us a room, so we went on and ended up at a Motel 6
were the room was $30 less and certainly good enough to spend the
night.

Saturday we are off to Longaberger!

Deb and Bruce
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Iron Man by Orson Scott Card

2005-03-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

Just got home from the funnybook shop and among my prizes this week (or
left over from last week as I never got there) is the limited series,
Ultimate Iron Man written by Orson Scott Card and drawn by Andy Kubert.
I've enjoyed several of Card's SF books, "Ender's Game" and several of
the "Alvin Maker" series, so I'm looking forward to his take on a very
misunderstood character.

A little later:

I got to read the first issue last night and must admit that the concept intrigues me. As with the other Ultimate books this is an origin story and Tony Stark hasn't been born yet, so its hard to say if Card will be able to convince us with his version of the character. I can't think of any way to outline the plot without giving to much away, but I will say that Tony's dependance on technology, in this version, starts long before adulthood. I look forward to the rest of the series but, while its to early to tell, I don't know if this version will redefine Tony Stark well enough to make Iron Man a viable character.

Bruce

State Of Shock

2005-02-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

I still wasn't feeling up to snuff yesterday and after a morning of
chores, layed down to read and/or watch a movie. Deb got home about 4,
tired from working all day, and lay down and dozed off. About 6:30 I
suggested that I'd better get ready for the 7:00 surprise party for her
aunt. Deb groaned and said, "maybe they won't miss us?" eventually we
got going and drove on down to the Legion hall where the party was being
held.

It took us a minute to figure out which room it was in and as we walked
in I was surprised to see everyone pointing cameras at us and thought,
gosh, we're not running late, why would they be expecting Aunt Ruth
already? And then I noticed Aunt Ruth sitting at the table and party
poppers going off. Deb had turned around and started wallking out and it
was then I finally realized it was a surprise 25th anniversary party for
us! Wow! What a shock!

We had a wonderful time walking around and greeting all our friends and
relatives that were kind enough to attend. And you know, its strange how
you can sit down with friends that you haven't seen in some time and the
conversation picks up where it left off, as if all this time hadn't
passed. Maybe it hasn't when it comes to friends...

Looking forward 25 years seems like such a long time. Looking backwards
it seems too short.

And then there's the kids who yesterday were just "this big" and now are
planning and paying for a surprise anniversary party for mom and dad.

Then there's my poor suffering wife Debbie. She's had to put up with me
all this time! Rumor is, she's up for sainthood (and Lutheran's don't
even have saints!).

More good news! It looks like we won't have to sleep in the car on our
big trip cross country later this month.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at our 50th anniversary.

Bruce
http://rosey462.blogspot.com/
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Podcasting - small press for radio

2005-02-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

Remember Adam Curry? VJ from MTV? Apparently since we've last seen him, he's had his own internet company and when it got to be worth 68
million, sold it. So now this man of leasure has been involved in
developing Podcasting.

What is Podcasting? Podcasts are ameteur (mostly anyway) radio type programs that are uploaded in mp3 format to the internet and downloadable via an "aggregator" (collector) program. The aggregator
programs are designed to allow synchronization with an iPod (or other
mp3 players I assume), but the shows can be downloaded and listened to
with you computer. Internet radio shows are nothing new as I'm sure you
know, but the "killer application" here is the aggregation programs that
seek out your "subscribed" programs and download them to your mobile
device, whch can in turn, be listened to in your car or at work or while
you walk or jog.

And the shows themselves? There are currently around 3200 different podcasts being produced. News, music, humor, you name it. Just for instance I like to listen to:

The Dawn and Drew show - a young couple podcasting from their Wisconsin
farmhouse. Topics are, well, whatever, but usually funny and often a bit
off color.

The Daily Source Code - Adam Curry's own mostly daily show which consists of music, poodcast news, and occasionally some MTV memories.

Coverville - 3 times a week Brian hosts a 1/2 hour show featuring "covers" (songs done by other than the originator). The shows often have themes.

Various computer tech shows like Leo Laporte's computer tech show, Maccast, and the Linux Link Tech show.

If you're curious and want to try some shows out (or even want to create a show of your own) you can visit ipodder.org or podcastalley.com for
listings of shows by category and software to download (although most
can be downloaded directly form their home sites if you so choose).

Enjoy,

Bruce
notsosilentbruce on AOL IM

Linux, what's it good for?

2005-02-26T13:09:00.000-05:00

I love new toys. My first computer was a Commodore 128 in 1986. It had
no hard drive and the disk drive was not included, so at first, all my
programs were laboriously typed in and recorded on a cassette in a
"datassette." The first program that Deb and I typed in took 9 hours and
was a solitaire program. When we finally got it typed in correctly and
ran it I was so thrilled that I knocked on my neighbor's door and drug
him over to look on in splendor. He watched how it worked and then said,
"how long did this take you to type in? Nine hours!? Do you know how
many games of Solitaire I could have played in nine hours?"

To this day, I'm still a technology junkie. Anyone that even remotely
knows me can tell you that. So when I started reading about Linux (to be
fair, I've heard about it a lot over the last few years) and Open Source
programming and then listened to "The Linux Link Tech Show" podcast, I
got interested enough in it to try it out.

Linux developers are doing everything they can to get folks interested,
their best effort being "Live CD" versions of their programs. A Live CD
is a complete Linux desktop contained on a Bootable CD. Which means that
you can run it from the CD without installing anything on your computer.
I found several versions of these programs at www.linuxiso.org (be sure
that what you are downloading is an "live" file). The first I downloaded
was ubuntu. 650 mb's burnt to disk as a "disk image" (it's important
that you read the documentation on how to burn disk images at the site).
I popped it in the disk drive, restarted the computer and low and
behold! Windows booted up?! I tried again and this time noted that a
menu right at startup allowed me to push F12 to alter where the computer
booted from. Since then I've found out that while many computers boot
first from CD, then floppy, then Harddrive, not all do. If not, It is
suggested that you alter your BIOS to let your CD boot first (but how
one does this, I do not yet know!) So anyway, this time the disk worked
and in a minute or two, the ubuntu desktop showed up.

There's not much on the ubuntu desktop at first glance. Instead of the
START menu that you are used to in Windows, the menu says APPLICATIONS
and pulls down from the top left side. Programs are broken down by type.
Now here's the amazing part! There are dozens of programs included!
There is a full Office suite, a Photshop type program, CD and DVD
players, low end games (and ubuntu's version of Mahjongg is my
favorite!) like solitaire and blackjack, tetris and reversi. There is a
program that will allow you to download and install lots more (but not
while you are using the Live CD), and wonder of wonders, a web browser
called Firefox that hooks up to your web connection with no problem. I
didn't have to do a thing!

There are several versions of Linux, my current favorite being Knoppix.
Knoppix is optimized to run from the CD drive and "installs" over 2 giga
bytes of programs to temporary RAM on your system. Besides everthing I
mentioned on the ubuntu disk, Knoppix even has a Windows emulator which
allows you to run Windows programs. Knoppix allows you to read files on
your computer, no matter Windows or not. Set up properly, Knoppix will
allow you to save setting and files to the hard drive as well without
installation.

So of course I raved about all this to a good friend and his first
question was, "so why would anyone want to use this Linux?" Sigh...
(Flashback to my Commodore story earlier.) I thought about it a lot and
then one day while listening to a computer tech help podcast, it hit me!
How often do you have hear someone complaining that their computer is
not working, working very slowly, or they feel they are infected with
spyware and/or virus's? Linux is the solution, temporary or otherwise.
If you have one of these Live CD disks on hand and know how to boot from
the CD, you can use your computer, unimpeded by infection, to get on the
internet, or access file that you might not be able to on your infected
Windows system.

While no system in invulnerable, Mac OS and Linux have fewer holes for
hackers to take advantage of. Add to that the fact that hackers are busy
hacking Windows.

If nothing else, Linux is good as a rescue system. So there!

Bruce

Might I humbly recommend?

2005-02-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

I eagerly await my issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction in each month's
mail. The latest issue arrived today with a new short story by a writer
I discovered last summer in F & SF, Matthew Hughes. So far he's done
several stories featuring this character, Henghis Hapthorne. old Earths
foremost freelance discriminator. Henghis is sort of a Nero Wolfe,
reluctant to leave his studies, sending his integrator to do his
handywork.

Hughes stories take place in a distant future where things are, well, a
bit different than today. Rather than have me go on for paragraphs and
thereby reinforce my title of babbler, I'll give you Mr. Hughes website
address and let you decide if you want to know anymore:

http://archonate.com/

There are several other writers in this (April) issue of F&SF that I
have enjoyed in the past, in particular, Ron Goulart with an new story
about his turn-of-the-century supernatural investigator, Harry
Challenge.

And if you think this is a ploy on my part to help the folks at F&SF
sell more issues so they'll be sure to stay in business (and along the
way entertain me with great stories) you're absolutely right!

Bruce