We had a "meeting" at three. It was over the phone with all the other WCABs in the state and the people "in charge" of setting up the system in which people can view public records.
In the "meeting," I learned that there are only supposed to be two people who take requests to view files and process them. These two people are supposed to have their own phone lines so messages can be left for them after hours and when they are on breaks (hopefully not at the same time, but this is the state and we don't actually do things that make sense). These two people are also supposed to handle any redaction that needs to happen. My office has decided to ignore that guideline (or suggestion or rule or whatever they want to call it) and keep our current system of whomever happens to be at the counter or happens to answer the phone first.
I also learned that if it's requested, we are supposed to charge people for copies. The injured worker gets charged $.10 per page plus any postage (although I was told to use "common sense" and not charge an injured worker if they don't want many pages copied; when I asked how many pages wasn't too many, I was told I already know). Anyone else who wants us to make a copy for them gets charged $1.00 for the first copy of each page and $.20 for additional copies of a page. (That means if you're not the injured worker and you ask me to make three copies of three pages, you have to pay me $4.20 for the nine copies before I hand the copies over to you.) All people who are not the injured worker must pay with a check or money order. The injured worker may pay with cash, but we do not have petty cash to make changes, so if the injured worker wants to pay in cash but doesn't want to run down the street to the bank to get dimes, he or she has to give up the whole bill. (I'm looking forward to the day I'm handed a twenty for copying 15 pages and I get to tell them that I'm keeping the $18.50 because the state doesn't allow us a bit of petty cash, but that he or she gets a nifty receipt saying that he or she was charged $1.50 for the copies.)
I was told that we are not allowed to ask to see ID because the person does not have to identify his or herself. I am, however, allowed to ask to see ID if I want to verify the person's identity.
If the person who wants to view the file doesn't want to fill out the request to view form, I'm supposed to read that person the questions and fill it out for him or her.
I learned that there are people to contact if I have questions, but not to actually contact them until I'm sure the question hasn't already been answered for someone because the people I'm to contact to ask questions will be busy answering questions. Oh, and I'm not to contact the person who did most of the speaking over the phone and who also put together the packets everyone had (and the new forms we use) because that person now works for another department. No one was trained to replace the person who created the packet (and the new forms we use).
Now that was a productive 90 minutes or work.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Update
Got this letter from JSIC:
I understand that you have requested an Alternate Work Schedule (AWS) to stay until 6pm. I will not approve a request to work past 5:30pm.*sigh*
9/8/80
Eight weeks ago, I put in a request for an alternative work schedule. I wanted to work Tuesday through Friday from 7AM until 6PM starting the beginning of October. The next Monday, The Supervisor came over to me and said that JSIC would never approve of that schedule. She told me that he didn't want anyone working those hours. She handed me back my request, without signing it (which she's supposed to do whether she approves it, or doesn't), and told me she'd be happy to give me the other alternative work schedule.
The other alternative work schedule is a 9/8/80. That means in a two week period a person works one eight hour day, eight nine hour days, and has one day off.
I thought about it for a while and then three weeks ago, I put in for the 9/8/80, with every other Monday as my day off (starting on November 13th) and those eight nine hour days would be from 8AM 'til 6PM. The next Monday, The Supervisor came over to me and said she couldn't approve it because she doesn't know if the state allows people to stay until 6PM, but she'd speak with JSIC to make sure. The next day she came to me and said she'd spoken with JSIC and he didn't know and he said he'd check into it.
Yesterday, I went to The Supervisor and asked her if there'd been any answer about my alternative work schedule because I wanted to start it next week. She told me that wouldn't be possible but she spoke with JSIC on Wednesday (I think she was bullshitting me) and he still hadn't heard from the personnel department, but he's sent several e-mails. She told me to be patient and maybe I'd get it approved before December.
It's nice to know that the people I work for want to help their employees.
The other alternative work schedule is a 9/8/80. That means in a two week period a person works one eight hour day, eight nine hour days, and has one day off.
I thought about it for a while and then three weeks ago, I put in for the 9/8/80, with every other Monday as my day off (starting on November 13th) and those eight nine hour days would be from 8AM 'til 6PM. The next Monday, The Supervisor came over to me and said she couldn't approve it because she doesn't know if the state allows people to stay until 6PM, but she'd speak with JSIC to make sure. The next day she came to me and said she'd spoken with JSIC and he didn't know and he said he'd check into it.
Yesterday, I went to The Supervisor and asked her if there'd been any answer about my alternative work schedule because I wanted to start it next week. She told me that wouldn't be possible but she spoke with JSIC on Wednesday (I think she was bullshitting me) and he still hadn't heard from the personnel department, but he's sent several e-mails. She told me to be patient and maybe I'd get it approved before December.
It's nice to know that the people I work for want to help their employees.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Because I don't have anything interesting to say today.
Επειδή δεν έχω τίποτα που ενδιαφέρει για να πω σήμερα.
나는 오늘 말하기 위하여 아무것도가 관심을 끌 있지 않기 때문에
Потому что я не имею что-нибыдь интересовать для того чтобы сказать сегодня.
Omdat ik om het even wat niet heb die interesseert vandaag te zeggen.
Puisque je n'ai rien intéresser pour dire aujourd'hui.
나는 오늘 말하기 위하여 아무것도가 관심을 끌 있지 않기 때문에
Потому что я не имею что-нибыдь интересовать для того чтобы сказать сегодня.
Omdat ik om het even wat niet heb die interesseert vandaag te zeggen.
Puisque je n'ai rien intéresser pour dire aujourd'hui.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Blog Post Idea Realized
This may ramble and not make a lot of sense, but here's where my NaNoWriMo is going to be coming from.
After the World Trade Center fell, my aunt was so afraid that she questioned letting her kids go to school. She lives 3,000 miles from New York. The green sign on the side of the highway that tells you that you have entered the town she lives in has about two hundred people. The entire county has about 55,000 people in it. The tallest building is, I think, six stories, but that's three miles away from the school her kids went to.
When I school started a few weeks later, I heard some of the students saying that they were scared to be there. What if something like what happened in New York happened there. And I thought they were crazy because no one was going to crash a plane into a university that no one, outside of the state, had heard of.
But hearing these sorts of things got me thinking. How would people like my aunt and those scared students react if terrorists attacked the US like they have attacked Israel? What would the average person here do if coffee shops or pizzerias were bombed? What if the places bombed were a store that had hundreds of branches in the US, earns billions of dollars each year, and nearly everyone has visited at one time or another? What if several bombings happened at exactly the same time? What if there was at least one bombing in each state?
How would people react? How quickly would people be able/willing to get on with their lives? Would those people try to have the exact same life as they had before? Would people be able to simply go to the grocery store to pick up some milk? Would the people in the cities and towns that weren't bombed be able to move on faster than the people in the cities and town that were bombed, or would they constantly be waiting for the other shoe to drop?
What would the government do? If the multibillion dollar company began failing, would they bail it out? Would stores start placing metal detectors at the doors? Would government security be provided for the stores? Would people be screened before they could enter a store to buy some ice cream? Would only a limited amount of people be allowed in at a time? (At the time, I wondered if the government would start looking at passports to get into the US from Canada or Mexico, but since that's starting at the end of this year I no longer have to speculate.)
So, I've been wondering these sorts of things for about five years, but I couldn't figure out how to use them (other than log on to some terrorist website and say, "Hey, guys, I have a suggestion..." but that didn't seem like a smart thing to do). Last month, I figured out how I can use them. Looking at all the thoughts now, it would probably make for a decent political thriller, but that's not my sort of thing (Okay, I enjoy watching political thrillers, but I don't think I could write one, at all.) and it seems like the usual way an idea like this would go.
Late last month, I figured out how to use this stuff and make it a real human story, how to make it about someone more than about something. I filed it away in my brain and assumed that I'd never write it. A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a blog that mentioned the writing month and, after much hemming and hawing, I decided that this would be the place to get this out of me.
I only hope it works.
After the World Trade Center fell, my aunt was so afraid that she questioned letting her kids go to school. She lives 3,000 miles from New York. The green sign on the side of the highway that tells you that you have entered the town she lives in has about two hundred people. The entire county has about 55,000 people in it. The tallest building is, I think, six stories, but that's three miles away from the school her kids went to.
When I school started a few weeks later, I heard some of the students saying that they were scared to be there. What if something like what happened in New York happened there. And I thought they were crazy because no one was going to crash a plane into a university that no one, outside of the state, had heard of.
But hearing these sorts of things got me thinking. How would people like my aunt and those scared students react if terrorists attacked the US like they have attacked Israel? What would the average person here do if coffee shops or pizzerias were bombed? What if the places bombed were a store that had hundreds of branches in the US, earns billions of dollars each year, and nearly everyone has visited at one time or another? What if several bombings happened at exactly the same time? What if there was at least one bombing in each state?
How would people react? How quickly would people be able/willing to get on with their lives? Would those people try to have the exact same life as they had before? Would people be able to simply go to the grocery store to pick up some milk? Would the people in the cities and towns that weren't bombed be able to move on faster than the people in the cities and town that were bombed, or would they constantly be waiting for the other shoe to drop?
What would the government do? If the multibillion dollar company began failing, would they bail it out? Would stores start placing metal detectors at the doors? Would government security be provided for the stores? Would people be screened before they could enter a store to buy some ice cream? Would only a limited amount of people be allowed in at a time? (At the time, I wondered if the government would start looking at passports to get into the US from Canada or Mexico, but since that's starting at the end of this year I no longer have to speculate.)
So, I've been wondering these sorts of things for about five years, but I couldn't figure out how to use them (other than log on to some terrorist website and say, "Hey, guys, I have a suggestion..." but that didn't seem like a smart thing to do). Last month, I figured out how I can use them. Looking at all the thoughts now, it would probably make for a decent political thriller, but that's not my sort of thing (Okay, I enjoy watching political thrillers, but I don't think I could write one, at all.) and it seems like the usual way an idea like this would go.
Late last month, I figured out how to use this stuff and make it a real human story, how to make it about someone more than about something. I filed it away in my brain and assumed that I'd never write it. A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a blog that mentioned the writing month and, after much hemming and hawing, I decided that this would be the place to get this out of me.
I only hope it works.
Because My Brother is Brilliant (Sometimes)
I had to share these.
This last gets pretty big, if you click it.
Go and see some (but not enough) of his art on his MySpace page.
This last gets pretty big, if you click it.
Go and see some (but not enough) of his art on his MySpace page.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
An Idea For a Blog Post
I've been having trouble writing the things that I want to be writing here. Mostly stuff about comics (especially the JSA, apparently there are some comic fans (more specifically they're DC comic fans) who don't get it) and some horrible news about one of my favorite TV shows and the general loathing I have toward my job and, by extension, my life right now. Also, there are two letters that I should really respond to right now (I should have responded to one last week, actually). I can't/don't, for some reason.
In my private stall this afternoon, I was pondering the reasons for the lack of motivation. Am I just lazy? Do I have nothing to say? Am I trying to save writing for NaNoWriMo? Which I thought was silly. You can't save writing, can you? Maybe you can. Maybe you want to write, but don't and that need to write just builds up inside of you until, in a fluffy of activity, you churn out four long blog posts and a rough draft for a short story and an outline for a screenplay in on day. What I really mean is that I can't save up writing. If I don't do it, it just disappears. Gone. Forever gone.
That led me to thinking about my idea for my NaNoWriMo and how I haven't written anything down. I haven't written sketches about the main characters, not even their names. I haven't outlined the main points the plot should hit. I haven't even come up with a title. Should I be doing these things? Is it cheating? It won't be part of the finished product, so I could do it, right?
And then I was wondering if I should just share my idea here. I'm going to be seeing many of the people who read this stuff on a semi-regular basis on Saturday and I expect that at least one person, who isn't a parent, to ask me about it. (Although he could be distracted by the goings on, and even if he's not distracted by the goings on he's usually easy to distract with certain topics.) Maybe I should head off any questions and just write about my idea here.
That's when some jackass voice said not to. Said that I should keep it a secret. Why keep it a secret? The only person I (sort of) know who's doing this madness as well has her own ideas and would never use mine. So, what's the point of keeping mine secret.
The jackass voice had no response to that.
So, guess what I'm going to do! Tomorrow, though, because it's almost time to go and I'm going to see a movie tonight.
In my private stall this afternoon, I was pondering the reasons for the lack of motivation. Am I just lazy? Do I have nothing to say? Am I trying to save writing for NaNoWriMo? Which I thought was silly. You can't save writing, can you? Maybe you can. Maybe you want to write, but don't and that need to write just builds up inside of you until, in a fluffy of activity, you churn out four long blog posts and a rough draft for a short story and an outline for a screenplay in on day. What I really mean is that I can't save up writing. If I don't do it, it just disappears. Gone. Forever gone.
That led me to thinking about my idea for my NaNoWriMo and how I haven't written anything down. I haven't written sketches about the main characters, not even their names. I haven't outlined the main points the plot should hit. I haven't even come up with a title. Should I be doing these things? Is it cheating? It won't be part of the finished product, so I could do it, right?
And then I was wondering if I should just share my idea here. I'm going to be seeing many of the people who read this stuff on a semi-regular basis on Saturday and I expect that at least one person, who isn't a parent, to ask me about it. (Although he could be distracted by the goings on, and even if he's not distracted by the goings on he's usually easy to distract with certain topics.) Maybe I should head off any questions and just write about my idea here.
That's when some jackass voice said not to. Said that I should keep it a secret. Why keep it a secret? The only person I (sort of) know who's doing this madness as well has her own ideas and would never use mine. So, what's the point of keeping mine secret.
The jackass voice had no response to that.
So, guess what I'm going to do! Tomorrow, though, because it's almost time to go and I'm going to see a movie tonight.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Election Coming
I voted last night. (Absentee!) Filled in several bubbles completely, leaving no white areas, with a number two pencil.
I voted for the weasel, not the block of wood because I'm hoping that the celebrity of the block of wood will wear off in the next eighteen days and the people of this state will realize that the block of wood hasn't been much of a leader. In nineteen days I expect to have my hopes crushed.
I really want to get into this whole thing, especially the history of all of this and then the dumbest move ever for decreasing the state's debt. (I do not look forward to the day that those bonds come due. I guess cutting spending and increasing taxes just wasn't the way to go if you want to keep your popularity up and not actually govern.)
I can't get into it, though. I don't have the time and I can't conjure up the words to properly express my vehement repulsion at the ignorant voting masses.
I used to be one of those people who believed that everyone should vote; now I'm a person who thinks that only people who go out of their way to become informed about the elections should be allowed to vote, but if that happened, I guess no one would be allowed to vote in the US of A.
I voted for the weasel, not the block of wood because I'm hoping that the celebrity of the block of wood will wear off in the next eighteen days and the people of this state will realize that the block of wood hasn't been much of a leader. In nineteen days I expect to have my hopes crushed.
I really want to get into this whole thing, especially the history of all of this and then the dumbest move ever for decreasing the state's debt. (I do not look forward to the day that those bonds come due. I guess cutting spending and increasing taxes just wasn't the way to go if you want to keep your popularity up and not actually govern.)
I can't get into it, though. I don't have the time and I can't conjure up the words to properly express my vehement repulsion at the ignorant voting masses.
I used to be one of those people who believed that everyone should vote; now I'm a person who thinks that only people who go out of their way to become informed about the elections should be allowed to vote, but if that happened, I guess no one would be allowed to vote in the US of A.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Mark Foley
Bill Maher's take on it.
And I quote:
I'm not saying that Foley was right, but at least those boys are still alive.
And I quote:
Read the labels on your food. It turns out the healthiest thing you can put in your body is Mark Foley's penis. He was probably the first fruit those pages ever came into contact with that wasn't drenched in pesticide.(via Mark Evanier's blog)
I'm not saying that Foley was right, but at least those boys are still alive.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Out of Context Quote of the Day
"Are grand balls just for the sake of showing off that important?"
From this comment to this blog post.
Yes, I do feel like a snickering child today.
From this comment to this blog post.
Yes, I do feel like a snickering child today.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Interrupted!
Since my writing about comic books was interrupted by work, I'm just going to link a bunch of comic strips that I thought were funny.
Bob The Angry Flower: The Cult of Skaro (What can I say, Daleks are awesome.)
How To Be Happy: Importance of Mood
From the creator of Cat and Girl: Mr. Smarty Pants
Real Life Comics: Lord of the Rings: The Abridged Version
Cat and Girl: They're Both Right
Diesel Sweeties: Fifty States, Fifty Slogans
ShortPacked!: The Future of Fandom
Bob The Angry Flower: The Cult of Skaro (What can I say, Daleks are awesome.)
How To Be Happy: Importance of Mood
From the creator of Cat and Girl: Mr. Smarty Pants
Real Life Comics: Lord of the Rings: The Abridged Version
Cat and Girl: They're Both Right
Diesel Sweeties: Fifty States, Fifty Slogans
ShortPacked!: The Future of Fandom
Monday, October 16, 2006
Thanks
First, thanks everyone who wrote comments on last Friday's post. I meant to turn comments off because I had no clue what might be written. It's nice to know that the 'net isn't just full of assholes who should be out buggering roosters.
Second, I'm glad none of you used the s-word. It's a word that most people use to dismiss.
Third, after reading the comments, I think I need to clarify. I know the basics of going up to people and speaking and I'm not afraid of making an ass of myself in front of anyone. (Probably half of what I say makes me come off as a jackass.) What I meant by asking "how do people do it?" is how do people physically speak around people they don't know.
When I want to speak with someone at a party, or something, and I don't know the person, I walk up to him or her and open my mouth and nothing comes out. I physically can not speak. When a person I don't know says something to me, I can answer, but it's usually short and sort of dismissive, like the example from the comic shop.
That's all. Tomorrow, something more light-hearted.
Second, I'm glad none of you used the s-word. It's a word that most people use to dismiss.
Third, after reading the comments, I think I need to clarify. I know the basics of going up to people and speaking and I'm not afraid of making an ass of myself in front of anyone. (Probably half of what I say makes me come off as a jackass.) What I meant by asking "how do people do it?" is how do people physically speak around people they don't know.
When I want to speak with someone at a party, or something, and I don't know the person, I walk up to him or her and open my mouth and nothing comes out. I physically can not speak. When a person I don't know says something to me, I can answer, but it's usually short and sort of dismissive, like the example from the comic shop.
That's all. Tomorrow, something more light-hearted.
Friday, October 13, 2006
I don't know how to deal with people.
Example: I picked up my comics yesterday and as I was paying, Chris, who is spotty at remembering my name for reasons that will soon become clear, asked me what I was doing. Here's the perfect moment to try and make a friend, right? He likes comics and I like comics. Sometimes even the same comics. (Last week he seemed genuinely happy to see me picking up 52, American Splendor, True Story, Swear To God, and some Legion of Super-Heroes back issues and said that my stack that week looked exactly like his. I made a comment about him already having the Legion issues. He said something about trades. I left.) What do I say? I told him I'm going to try and gets lots of sleep. He laughed. I smiled and left. When I got out to the street to cross, I realized that I'm a real asshole and maybe it would have been nice to geek-out for a while with an actual person in person rather than occasionally spout off here or throw out two sentences on another blog or hope to see my brother (HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!).
So, I'm wondering how do people do it? How do they just start talking to someone they hardly know? How do they go around posting huge comments on blogs of people they've never met?
I haven't, and this may be hard for some people out there to believe, made a friend without the help of a friend since the fourth grade. That's, shit, eighteen years ago. The really great friends I made in high school I met because one of my elementary friends had infiltrated another group and had decided to pull me in with him. (I'm still not sure why. Especially since he went a different direction soon after.) For that, I'll always be grateful because I still see and e-mail some of those people several times a year.
*sigh*
Also, Tuesday was the birthday of someone who was my best friend for years and years. This was the first time, ever, that I didn't send a birthday greeting via e-mail or as a card. I haven't seen this person in over a year. I don't know why I didn't do it.
So, I'm wondering how do people do it? How do they just start talking to someone they hardly know? How do they go around posting huge comments on blogs of people they've never met?
I haven't, and this may be hard for some people out there to believe, made a friend without the help of a friend since the fourth grade. That's, shit, eighteen years ago. The really great friends I made in high school I met because one of my elementary friends had infiltrated another group and had decided to pull me in with him. (I'm still not sure why. Especially since he went a different direction soon after.) For that, I'll always be grateful because I still see and e-mail some of those people several times a year.
*sigh*
Also, Tuesday was the birthday of someone who was my best friend for years and years. This was the first time, ever, that I didn't send a birthday greeting via e-mail or as a card. I haven't seen this person in over a year. I don't know why I didn't do it.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Lies?
I want to be six to eight inches taller. The fat on my body converted to muscle. I'll go to the gym everyday, but only to spend an hour or so to keep myself toned. I want to look good, but not like I'm trying to look good. I should look effortlessly good. My jaw is better defined, more square, and my eyes are perfect so I won't ever need glasses. I want to be taller than nearly everyone out there so they all have to look up at me when we're standing around talking. I want to look good in and out of anything.
I want to spend ten minutes every morning carefully mussing my hair with a variety of products. It should look similar to the carefully mussed hair of guys appearing on TV and in magazines. When it gets longer, I'll use product to place the bangs in such a way that they constantly look like their going to fall in my eyes, but I can be confident that nothing will fall in my eyes.
I want to go to work wearing a suit. Some days I use a belt, some suspenders. Each tie matches only one shirt and they are all full of power. I have a different jacket for each day of the week and an overcoat that stays in my office, just in case.
I want to believe that every idea my boss has is a good one. I just go to work knowing that I'm doing what's needed, what's right. I know that my boss has my best interests in mind. I want to never have a thought against anything my boss says or does. I defend all the choices my boss makes and am quick to agree with my boss' boss because I know that in time that person will one day be my boss.
I want to work at a place that says it's out to help the world so I feel good about working there. Any bad press can be easily ignored because I believe what I'm told. I want the place that I work to reward me, in some small way, for believing everything I'm told.
I want to go out every night with people I barely know, but I call friends. Each night I'll go to a different "hot spot," but only hit the major party clubs on weekends. I can drink more than anyone there and not get drunk. I dance much better than I'm expected to and know all the current moves. I have the ability to charm any woman I see into going home with me, but since I'm a courteous fellow, I only do that on Friday and Saturday nights because I don't want to disturb anyone's ability to do the best they can for their employer.
I want to spend ten minutes every morning carefully mussing my hair with a variety of products. It should look similar to the carefully mussed hair of guys appearing on TV and in magazines. When it gets longer, I'll use product to place the bangs in such a way that they constantly look like their going to fall in my eyes, but I can be confident that nothing will fall in my eyes.
I want to go to work wearing a suit. Some days I use a belt, some suspenders. Each tie matches only one shirt and they are all full of power. I have a different jacket for each day of the week and an overcoat that stays in my office, just in case.
I want to believe that every idea my boss has is a good one. I just go to work knowing that I'm doing what's needed, what's right. I know that my boss has my best interests in mind. I want to never have a thought against anything my boss says or does. I defend all the choices my boss makes and am quick to agree with my boss' boss because I know that in time that person will one day be my boss.
I want to work at a place that says it's out to help the world so I feel good about working there. Any bad press can be easily ignored because I believe what I'm told. I want the place that I work to reward me, in some small way, for believing everything I'm told.
I want to go out every night with people I barely know, but I call friends. Each night I'll go to a different "hot spot," but only hit the major party clubs on weekends. I can drink more than anyone there and not get drunk. I dance much better than I'm expected to and know all the current moves. I have the ability to charm any woman I see into going home with me, but since I'm a courteous fellow, I only do that on Friday and Saturday nights because I don't want to disturb anyone's ability to do the best they can for their employer.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
*sarcasm* Great */sarcasm*
Got this in my e-mail this morning:
What a huge crock of shit. It's the only thing that I got, that wasn't from the union, about what yesterday was and it wasn't sent until eight o'clock last night
I feel more used than appreciated.
It sucks that he'll be re-elected in November, but that's the stupidity of people when they're blinded by celebrity rather than actually using their brains.
To all employees:
On behalf of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, I want to thank each of you for your dedication to public service and for the job that you do. Your day-to-day contributions help California's workers and employers to be successful and it goes a long way to making the Golden State a better place to live.
Public service is a noble calling and we know that it often requires sacrifices. We not only appreciate your commitment to the State of California, but also the sacrifices you continue to make in order to serve the people of California.
Thank you for all that you do!
Vickie
======================
October 4, 2006, as "Thank You State Workers Day"
PROCLAMATION by the Governor of the State of California
Managing the affairs of the eighth-largest economy in the world is no small task. Without the dedicated team of men and women who work for California, our state's progress and prosperity would come to a grinding halt.
Few organizations in the world call upon such a fantastic array of talents to ensure that its goals are met. In California, we rely on state workers who represent almost every field imaginable: law enforcement, medicine, information technology, food services, administrative support, law, engineering, education, science, maintenance, aviation and architecture, just to name a few. Each serves in a different capacity, but all serve the common good of our Golden State.
Today is a special day set aside to honor the tremendous accomplishments of each and every one of our more than 215,000 state workers. No matter the responsibility, they are an integral part of what makes our state the successful and enjoyable place it is to live, work and play. I extend my gratitude for their contributions towards making California the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim October 4, 2006, as "Thank You State Workers Day."IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 3rd day of October 2006.
What a huge crock of shit. It's the only thing that I got, that wasn't from the union, about what yesterday was and it wasn't sent until eight o'clock last night
I feel more used than appreciated.
It sucks that he'll be re-elected in November, but that's the stupidity of people when they're blinded by celebrity rather than actually using their brains.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Link Dump, Sept '06
I don't want to talk about it.
Here's Mat Weddle - "Hey Ya" (Cover) from YouTube, the one that mixes in the original video. It's been my obsession this afternoon. I always thought the original version was a lot of fun, but this one seems to have more pathos to it.
The Veronica Mars season premier. I won't be complaining next Tuesday about missing the show.
The creepiness of bunnies yawning.
Two bits about fan reaction to things. One is "Entitlement and the Modern Fandom" and the other is "Fandamentalism." Both are geared toward comic fans, but they relate to many different types of fans out there.
Straczynski and Zabel's Star Trek re-boot proposal from 2004. Reading it made me wonder what the other four seasons of Dark Skies would have been like.
The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny because who doesn't like to see a Care Bear Stare nail Jackie Chan and Abe Lincoln? It's been passed around for a while, but we can always use a reminder.
A memo that helps to explain why the South Park movie came out the way it did.
Kevin Smith's Career Highlights as told by the people at The Onion.
Here's Mat Weddle - "Hey Ya" (Cover) from YouTube, the one that mixes in the original video. It's been my obsession this afternoon. I always thought the original version was a lot of fun, but this one seems to have more pathos to it.
The Veronica Mars season premier. I won't be complaining next Tuesday about missing the show.
The creepiness of bunnies yawning.
Two bits about fan reaction to things. One is "Entitlement and the Modern Fandom" and the other is "Fandamentalism." Both are geared toward comic fans, but they relate to many different types of fans out there.
Straczynski and Zabel's Star Trek re-boot proposal from 2004. Reading it made me wonder what the other four seasons of Dark Skies would have been like.
The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny because who doesn't like to see a Care Bear Stare nail Jackie Chan and Abe Lincoln? It's been passed around for a while, but we can always use a reminder.
A memo that helps to explain why the South Park movie came out the way it did.
Kevin Smith's Career Highlights as told by the people at The Onion.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Guide
I dreamed that the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy referred to whales as "dolphins with down syndrome."
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
So, TV
Well, tonight begins the (probable) last season of Gilmore Girls and I won't be there to see it.
*sigh*
(I do have TV, this time, but it uses bunny ears and only gets three channels, one of which is the Spanish station. I was going to try for that Comcast deal where it's like $30 a month for cable, internet, and phone service for 12 months, but they don't offer the phone service here, yet, and that means no deal for me.)
I'm really curious about this new season because it's the first where the show isn't run by its creator and her husband. And, although I'm in the minority, thought last season was consistent with its characters (see this stuff here) and was pretty good over all.
The buzz on the show is mixed, some hate it some think it’s just what it has always been. I'm hoping for the latter, but probably won't know for myself until this season is on DVD, but that won't be for another 10-12 months.
Oh, well.
Instead of dwelling on it, I'm going to go and see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for only $4.50 and after the movie I'll dwell on missing a favorite TV show.
Next Week: I can't believe I'm missing the season premiere of Veronica Mars. Why can't I just be like a normal American and luxuriate in growing debt instead of wanting to get read of it?
*sigh*
(I do have TV, this time, but it uses bunny ears and only gets three channels, one of which is the Spanish station. I was going to try for that Comcast deal where it's like $30 a month for cable, internet, and phone service for 12 months, but they don't offer the phone service here, yet, and that means no deal for me.)
I'm really curious about this new season because it's the first where the show isn't run by its creator and her husband. And, although I'm in the minority, thought last season was consistent with its characters (see this stuff here) and was pretty good over all.
The buzz on the show is mixed, some hate it some think it’s just what it has always been. I'm hoping for the latter, but probably won't know for myself until this season is on DVD, but that won't be for another 10-12 months.
Oh, well.
Instead of dwelling on it, I'm going to go and see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for only $4.50 and after the movie I'll dwell on missing a favorite TV show.
Next Week: I can't believe I'm missing the season premiere of Veronica Mars. Why can't I just be like a normal American and luxuriate in growing debt instead of wanting to get read of it?
*eye roll*
TMSV came into work yesterday, beaming, and said, "Happy autumn solstice, everyone."
Last winter she talked about the equinox. In the spring she got excited about all the solstice festivals. During summer she said it was her favorite equinox. I corrected her each of those times and even pointed out the similarities between the words "equal" and "equinox" and how "equal" relates to spring and fall, not summer an winter.
Yesterday, I didn't correct her.
It's her lifestyle choice, after all.
Last winter she talked about the equinox. In the spring she got excited about all the solstice festivals. During summer she said it was her favorite equinox. I corrected her each of those times and even pointed out the similarities between the words "equal" and "equinox" and how "equal" relates to spring and fall, not summer an winter.
Yesterday, I didn't correct her.
It's her lifestyle choice, after all.
Comic Book Monday Continued To Tuesday
Here I go again.
Cowls:
Great for hiding faces, bad for movement, it's just that simple. The cowl can put broad strokes over features of the head watering down the details of a face, but it, by definition, is attached to something else, a cape or the suit itself are the most obvious examples, and that makes it hard to turn the head. It's a bad choice.
Capes:
They may look good, but they'd only get in the way. Heavy material would be a drag on a hero and light material is harder to control and is more likely to get caught on things. Capes can not serve any purpose that's it's worth getting tangled and strangled over.
Masks:
The only way a mask would be a good idea is if it were made to have eyeholes large enough to allow full range of vision with the eyes, with or without goggles. Goggles could cause a problem due to smudging, scratching, cracking, and possibly warping vision, but those problems are acceptable because they'd provide so much extra protection they'd add to the eyes. Personally, I'd go for goggles since they could be made to my prescription as well.
Gloves:
The standard reason for a superhero to wear gloves is so they don't leave finger prints so they can protect their identities, right? I get that. The problem is, though, that gloves dull the sensations to fingertips and that makes it harder to do certain things. To cope I suppose a hero could find some ultra thin material to allow more feeling, but any material will smooth out the hands and make them slicker than they usually are, I don't want to see Nightwing jump off the roof of one building grab the fire escape on the one he aimed for only to slip off and fall to his death, or severe back trauma, because of his gloves. Some sort of grips could be added to the gloves, but that interferes with fingers being able to feel anything. I've worn gloves with little rubber grippers on them, all I could feel were the grippers pressing into my palms and finger tips. And then there are the heroes, Batman and Captain America come to mind, who look like they have leather gloves on, leather gloves do not allow for much movement of the fingers, even with lots of use. I don't think that, in the real world, gloves would be useful for superheroes, except when it's cold, but that's just common sense.
Shoes:
We all know the problem with female characters wearing high heels, right? We know it's stupid to expect someone, in real or fictional life, in those things to jump off of buildings, land perfectly, and chase after someone, right? (Frankly, I think heels are stupid in general and high heels in particular. It's just unfortunate that they make people appear taller which usually gives them confidence.) So, on a real life hero, no high heels. (Although I do like that American Maid, from The Tick cartoon, used hers as weapons. That was awesome.) No boots, either. It's insane that Robin wears things that look like boots. Those are not the sort of things that anyone should wear boots while performing acrobatic stunts and running across narrow walk ways. Some sort of soft, high lacing slipper thing that has a soft rubber soul would make more sense, it just wouldn't last long being treated that brutally on hard, rough surfaces. And then there's the problem with the runners. There are tons of different kinds of shoes built for runners, but how many of them can stand up to running thousands of miles a day at speeds faster than 700 MPH? Going barefoot wouldn't work for a runner either because it would just tear up the soles of their feet because their moving too fast on surfaces that too rough for calluses to build and any calluses that were built would probably be ripped off after the third step because there's just so much force the skin couldn't hold up (unless the person is (nigh-)invulnerable, I guess).
Utility Belt:
Nope, bad idea. To be of any use the belt needs pouches large enough to carry the equipment the hero needs, but strapping those around the waist limits movement. It must be so uncomfortable for Batman to sit down with his belt on. I have no idea what would be good for a hero to carry, but the best I could come up with was the pouch Jack-in-the-Box carries, but it seem like there'd be too many opportunities for it to get snagged or lost, and no one who depends on equipment wants to be without it. The best idea is not to be a superhero without superpowers, if you depend on equipment too much, expect it to get lost, stolen, and broken, with or without a utility belt.
Armor:
Heavy, limits movement, requires lots of upkeep. Unless you're a hero who's going to stand there and hope the criminal runs over to you and surrender, you're screwed. Even super strong heroes would have trouble with armor because they wouldn't want to be so rough that they rip the armor apart. Electronic armor, like Iron Man's, would be even worse because it depends too much on power to keep it running, cut off its power supply and the person inside is screwed, he or she can't even lift a leg and may not even be able to get out of the armor. Avoid armor at all cost.
Cowls:
Great for hiding faces, bad for movement, it's just that simple. The cowl can put broad strokes over features of the head watering down the details of a face, but it, by definition, is attached to something else, a cape or the suit itself are the most obvious examples, and that makes it hard to turn the head. It's a bad choice.
Capes:
They may look good, but they'd only get in the way. Heavy material would be a drag on a hero and light material is harder to control and is more likely to get caught on things. Capes can not serve any purpose that's it's worth getting tangled and strangled over.
Masks:
The only way a mask would be a good idea is if it were made to have eyeholes large enough to allow full range of vision with the eyes, with or without goggles. Goggles could cause a problem due to smudging, scratching, cracking, and possibly warping vision, but those problems are acceptable because they'd provide so much extra protection they'd add to the eyes. Personally, I'd go for goggles since they could be made to my prescription as well.
Gloves:
The standard reason for a superhero to wear gloves is so they don't leave finger prints so they can protect their identities, right? I get that. The problem is, though, that gloves dull the sensations to fingertips and that makes it harder to do certain things. To cope I suppose a hero could find some ultra thin material to allow more feeling, but any material will smooth out the hands and make them slicker than they usually are, I don't want to see Nightwing jump off the roof of one building grab the fire escape on the one he aimed for only to slip off and fall to his death, or severe back trauma, because of his gloves. Some sort of grips could be added to the gloves, but that interferes with fingers being able to feel anything. I've worn gloves with little rubber grippers on them, all I could feel were the grippers pressing into my palms and finger tips. And then there are the heroes, Batman and Captain America come to mind, who look like they have leather gloves on, leather gloves do not allow for much movement of the fingers, even with lots of use. I don't think that, in the real world, gloves would be useful for superheroes, except when it's cold, but that's just common sense.
Shoes:
We all know the problem with female characters wearing high heels, right? We know it's stupid to expect someone, in real or fictional life, in those things to jump off of buildings, land perfectly, and chase after someone, right? (Frankly, I think heels are stupid in general and high heels in particular. It's just unfortunate that they make people appear taller which usually gives them confidence.) So, on a real life hero, no high heels. (Although I do like that American Maid, from The Tick cartoon, used hers as weapons. That was awesome.) No boots, either. It's insane that Robin wears things that look like boots. Those are not the sort of things that anyone should wear boots while performing acrobatic stunts and running across narrow walk ways. Some sort of soft, high lacing slipper thing that has a soft rubber soul would make more sense, it just wouldn't last long being treated that brutally on hard, rough surfaces. And then there's the problem with the runners. There are tons of different kinds of shoes built for runners, but how many of them can stand up to running thousands of miles a day at speeds faster than 700 MPH? Going barefoot wouldn't work for a runner either because it would just tear up the soles of their feet because their moving too fast on surfaces that too rough for calluses to build and any calluses that were built would probably be ripped off after the third step because there's just so much force the skin couldn't hold up (unless the person is (nigh-)invulnerable, I guess).
Utility Belt:
Nope, bad idea. To be of any use the belt needs pouches large enough to carry the equipment the hero needs, but strapping those around the waist limits movement. It must be so uncomfortable for Batman to sit down with his belt on. I have no idea what would be good for a hero to carry, but the best I could come up with was the pouch Jack-in-the-Box carries, but it seem like there'd be too many opportunities for it to get snagged or lost, and no one who depends on equipment wants to be without it. The best idea is not to be a superhero without superpowers, if you depend on equipment too much, expect it to get lost, stolen, and broken, with or without a utility belt.
Armor:
Heavy, limits movement, requires lots of upkeep. Unless you're a hero who's going to stand there and hope the criminal runs over to you and surrender, you're screwed. Even super strong heroes would have trouble with armor because they wouldn't want to be so rough that they rip the armor apart. Electronic armor, like Iron Man's, would be even worse because it depends too much on power to keep it running, cut off its power supply and the person inside is screwed, he or she can't even lift a leg and may not even be able to get out of the armor. Avoid armor at all cost.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Comic Book Monday
Over the weekend, I spent more time than I should have thinking about the costumes that superheroes wear. (It's all due to Ragnell and her post at Blog@Newsarama and then the one at her own blog about Arisia's new costume (or uniform, if you want to be that way).) Not in the same way as Ragnell because, for the most part, I don't mind extra skin (although I do like changes in costumes to show changes in maturities if the character is supposed to be becoming more mature mentally, I'm looking forward to the day Supergirl grows up and lowers her shirt). No, I've been thinking about the practicality of the costumes they wear.
The first place I started was with the skin tight spandex. Is that really practical?
For the heroes who spend lots of time in space, I think it's exactly right. A thin layer of material pressing against the body could provide a decent pressure suit keeping the blood vessels in the skin from bursting and causing bruising and other problems. If the material also insulates and regulates body temperature and perspiration, then there's no need to wear anything else.
For heroes who spend most of their time on Earth, I'm not so sure.
Runners, like the Flash, it makes sense since spandex would cut down on wind resistance and would be less likely to be shredded by air moving past, but what about the friction created by the body while moving? Wouldn't the armpits and crotch area be worn out right away? I'm also guessing it wouldn't provide much, if any, support for female runners, which probably isn't a great idea. (Well, a sports bra thing would work, but then they'd have to be drawn with flatter chests, and that's not going to be happening anytime soon.) I guess a special material would have to be made that can't be worn away while running. (Unless, of course, the runners' sweat is also a lubricant that soaks through the costume and provides a nearly frictionless glide.) (An aside, while I liked the design of the Kingdom Come Flash, I always thought his nudity would be a problem because running at those speeds with no support, his junk must bounce around something fierce.) I also assume that runners create a lot of heat, which keeps them at a comfortable temperature all the time. Which leads to...
Heroes who aren't runners or nigh-invulnerable probably shouldn't be wearing spandex because that stuff provides no protection from the wind or cold. Take Nightwing, he does a lot of waiting on rooftops and skulking around at night (or he should, at least), that's a cold place to be. While he's running around chasing guys and doing crazy flips off of buildings he'll be nice and warm, also sweaty, but when he stops and a breeze comes through, his teeth'd be chattering so hard they might chip. What if it gets caught on something? How annoying would that be? (Although not as bad as other items, which will be discussed later.)
The (nigh-)invulnerable heroes who don't really feel changes in temperature can get away with the spandex because if they're not feeling it, it must not be happening, right?
Work is almost over, so I'll have more costume conundrums tomorrow, including, but not limited to, cowls and capes.
The first place I started was with the skin tight spandex. Is that really practical?
For the heroes who spend lots of time in space, I think it's exactly right. A thin layer of material pressing against the body could provide a decent pressure suit keeping the blood vessels in the skin from bursting and causing bruising and other problems. If the material also insulates and regulates body temperature and perspiration, then there's no need to wear anything else.
For heroes who spend most of their time on Earth, I'm not so sure.
Runners, like the Flash, it makes sense since spandex would cut down on wind resistance and would be less likely to be shredded by air moving past, but what about the friction created by the body while moving? Wouldn't the armpits and crotch area be worn out right away? I'm also guessing it wouldn't provide much, if any, support for female runners, which probably isn't a great idea. (Well, a sports bra thing would work, but then they'd have to be drawn with flatter chests, and that's not going to be happening anytime soon.) I guess a special material would have to be made that can't be worn away while running. (Unless, of course, the runners' sweat is also a lubricant that soaks through the costume and provides a nearly frictionless glide.) (An aside, while I liked the design of the Kingdom Come Flash, I always thought his nudity would be a problem because running at those speeds with no support, his junk must bounce around something fierce.) I also assume that runners create a lot of heat, which keeps them at a comfortable temperature all the time. Which leads to...
Heroes who aren't runners or nigh-invulnerable probably shouldn't be wearing spandex because that stuff provides no protection from the wind or cold. Take Nightwing, he does a lot of waiting on rooftops and skulking around at night (or he should, at least), that's a cold place to be. While he's running around chasing guys and doing crazy flips off of buildings he'll be nice and warm, also sweaty, but when he stops and a breeze comes through, his teeth'd be chattering so hard they might chip. What if it gets caught on something? How annoying would that be? (Although not as bad as other items, which will be discussed later.)
The (nigh-)invulnerable heroes who don't really feel changes in temperature can get away with the spandex because if they're not feeling it, it must not be happening, right?
Work is almost over, so I'll have more costume conundrums tomorrow, including, but not limited to, cowls and capes.
Technorati
Claimed because I'm bored and I don't want to work and I don't want to write and I don't want to read.
Technorati Profile
Technorati Profile
Feed Change
For the two people who use it (and I'm assuming you're not going to see this at all), the site feed has changed to http://ticknart.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/summary.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Surrogate Family Syndrome
While at work:
If so, you may have Surrogate Family Syndrome (SFS).
SFS is a disease that comes on suddenly for some people and creeps up slowly on others. People with SFS often don't even know they have it.
Symptoms include:
If you have stopped complaining about the useless, time consuming celebrations and the expectations to chip in for the gift, if you feel the urge to volunteer to pick-up the doughnuts, if you talk about office karaoke night without irony, if you attend office karaoke night and sing or buy everyone a round, or if you find the people you work with becoming the only people you choose to socialize with, you are on the path to a full blown case of SFS.
To keep SFS from developing, here are some things you should do:
Surrogate Family Syndrome is a preventable and curable disease, please help us to wipe it out.
Brought to you by People Who Think Work Should Be About Work And Not About Creating A New Family That Has More Assholes And Fuckwits In It Than The Family You Were Born Into.
- Are there birthday celebrations which include a cake, singing, and small talk on every birthday?
- Are gifts mandatory when a co-worker's grandchild is born?
- Do "Get Well" cards get passed around when someone is sick longer than three days?
- Does the whole office "chip in" to buy flowers for a co-worker who attended a funeral?
- Does the office become divided over issues about the copy machine, printers, or who cleans the refrigerator in the break room?
- Is there an office luncheon when someone is promoted, transfers to another department, moves, or finds a better job?
- Are you expected to socialize with co-workers outside of the office and pay for your own drinks?
If so, you may have Surrogate Family Syndrome (SFS).
SFS is a disease that comes on suddenly for some people and creeps up slowly on others. People with SFS often don't even know they have it.
Symptoms include:
- Purchasing of birthday/get well/congratulation cards.
- Collecting money for cake, doughnuts, or pizza.
- Harassing others to chip in for any of the above.
- Organizing office karaoke nights.
- Shouting at a co-worker for talking about how certain others never refill the paper in the printer or copy machine.
- Encouraging people to join the "team" even though your office doesn't have or sponsor any sports teams.
If you have stopped complaining about the useless, time consuming celebrations and the expectations to chip in for the gift, if you feel the urge to volunteer to pick-up the doughnuts, if you talk about office karaoke night without irony, if you attend office karaoke night and sing or buy everyone a round, or if you find the people you work with becoming the only people you choose to socialize with, you are on the path to a full blown case of SFS.
To keep SFS from developing, here are some things you should do:
- Spend time with people who are not your coworkers: a spouse, a girlfriend or boyfriend, your children, old friends, or maybe even a family member.
- Do not sing at any birthday celebration.
- When non-birthday celebrations occur take food, but return immediately to your desk on the pretense that you have work.
- Do not chip in, no matter what.
- Sign all cards with clichés such as "Happy Birthday." or "Get well soon." If the chance occurs, write "Have a nice summer." and use a smiley face or a heart to dot the "i."
- Never attend an outside of work office get together that isn't thrown by your boss and therefore may as well be a work assignment.
- Always fill the printer and copy machine with paper.
- Do not store any food or other items in the break room refrigerator for more than one day. Make sure your items are out of the fridge every Friday.
Surrogate Family Syndrome is a preventable and curable disease, please help us to wipe it out.
Brought to you by People Who Think Work Should Be About Work And Not About Creating A New Family That Has More Assholes And Fuckwits In It Than The Family You Were Born Into.
In Comic News
Marvel sure did prove which side is the correct side in this weeks issue of Civil War, didn't it?
To spoil it, since I don't think anyone who visits here care's about the comic, Iron Man's pro-Registration team is going to be using the help of super villians like Venom and Bullseye and that guy with the flaming pumpkin head who doesn't chase Ichabod Crane around and others.
The book tries to be "objective" by having the mother of the killed Goliath say her son was breaking the law, but come on? Who out there (in the Marvel Universe or the regular universe) thinks the team that uses convicted killers is the correct side?
So much for showing how both sides can be right.
(And for the record, in the comic book universe, I'm on Captain America's side because I know the heroes are heroes and even a government trained super team could have a super villian blow-up in a school. Then what good would the Registration act do?
In real life, things would be quite a bit fuzzier.)
To spoil it, since I don't think anyone who visits here care's about the comic, Iron Man's pro-Registration team is going to be using the help of super villians like Venom and Bullseye and that guy with the flaming pumpkin head who doesn't chase Ichabod Crane around and others.
The book tries to be "objective" by having the mother of the killed Goliath say her son was breaking the law, but come on? Who out there (in the Marvel Universe or the regular universe) thinks the team that uses convicted killers is the correct side?
So much for showing how both sides can be right.
(And for the record, in the comic book universe, I'm on Captain America's side because I know the heroes are heroes and even a government trained super team could have a super villian blow-up in a school. Then what good would the Registration act do?
In real life, things would be quite a bit fuzzier.)
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Question Asked
99% chance the question has been read by now.
0% chance there is an answer right now.
100% chance I can wait.
50% chance of an actual answer.
0% chance there is an answer right now.
100% chance I can wait.
50% chance of an actual answer.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Eighteen Months
I remember reading or hearing that 28 is the best time to get married and start having kids because that's the point in a person's life that everything is starting to come together and stabilize.
I guess that means I have about eighteen months to get over my personal problems and find a girl who'll put up with me for, presumably, the rest of her life.
At least my shit will be together by the end of those eighteen months even if I'm not married, right? Right?
Well, shit.
Today is just one of those days where I want to say "fuck you" to each and every person I see. I want to make them all miserable.
There is no logic to this. It just is.
I guess that means I have about eighteen months to get over my personal problems and find a girl who'll put up with me for, presumably, the rest of her life.
At least my shit will be together by the end of those eighteen months even if I'm not married, right? Right?
Well, shit.
Today is just one of those days where I want to say "fuck you" to each and every person I see. I want to make them all miserable.
There is no logic to this. It just is.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
2 Questions
1. Is it possible to ask a person, though e-mail, who you sort of know an intensly personal question without upsetting the person?
2. Would it help to first ask the person if it's okay to ask a personal question?
2. Would it help to first ask the person if it's okay to ask a personal question?
Fun With Legal Documents
So, I was checking out Newsarama, as usual, and I saw an article titled "ELLISON SUES FANTAGRAPHICS." In the article is a link to the complaint filed in Los Angeles, which I simply had to read.
It's much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Here are some of my favorite parts:
Paragraph 1
"Harlan Ellison, a Los Angeles resident, is a famous author, screenwriter, commentator and public speaker."
". . . known publicly as the writer of some of the best loved original Star Trek and Out Limits episodes."
'
". . . Ellison is a well-know fearless champion of artist's rights . . ."
Paragraph 2
"Fantagraphics is a tiny but hostile publishing outfit which both men, Goth and Thompson, run out of their shared home in Seattle."
Paragraph 4
"The interview was characteristically candid, and Ellison provided Goth with a long, controversial and gripping piece."
Paragraph 5
"Specifically, for example, Ellison suggested one would have to be a 'derange-o' and/or 'bugfuck' to write like Fleisher."
Paragraph 6
"These offhanded if provocative remarks were quite clearly non-actionable 'opinions' about Fleisher's writing and its laudable literary origins . . ."
Paragraph 7
"...to have it made plain in the courtroom hallway that it was Ellison's contribution that had saved Groth from a large damage award proved too much for the immature and now furious Groth to bear."
Paragraph 8
"In most regards Groth has been cowardly about his 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' routine with Ellison . . ."
Paragraph 9
"Groth's First Big Lie"
Paragraph 10
"However, Groth did not reveal this fact to Ellison and Groth continued to receive and happily spend check from Ellison for his own selfish purposes."
Paragraph 14
"These defamatory remarks demonstrate a fecklessness clearly intended to trash Ellison's fifty year long honorable and distinguished career."
"All appeals to the defendants to cease and desist, to retract and correct . . . were met with arrogance, insult, threats, or silence."
Paragraph 15 takes a huge shift in writing style and tone. Suddenly it's in legalese.
Now I don't know much, if anything, about the feud between Fantagraphics and Ellison and I do think he's written some excellent Science Fiction in his life time, but I still think some of the "fun" from a legal document should be shared.
I'm not the first and I won't be the last to throw this around the blogohedron, but the farther it goes, the funnier it'll get.
It's much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Here are some of my favorite parts:
Paragraph 1
"Harlan Ellison, a Los Angeles resident, is a famous author, screenwriter, commentator and public speaker."
". . . known publicly as the writer of some of the best loved original Star Trek and Out Limits episodes."
'
". . . Ellison is a well-know fearless champion of artist's rights . . ."
Paragraph 2
"Fantagraphics is a tiny but hostile publishing outfit which both men, Goth and Thompson, run out of their shared home in Seattle."
Paragraph 4
"The interview was characteristically candid, and Ellison provided Goth with a long, controversial and gripping piece."
Paragraph 5
"Specifically, for example, Ellison suggested one would have to be a 'derange-o' and/or 'bugfuck' to write like Fleisher."
Paragraph 6
"These offhanded if provocative remarks were quite clearly non-actionable 'opinions' about Fleisher's writing and its laudable literary origins . . ."
Paragraph 7
"...to have it made plain in the courtroom hallway that it was Ellison's contribution that had saved Groth from a large damage award proved too much for the immature and now furious Groth to bear."
Paragraph 8
"In most regards Groth has been cowardly about his 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' routine with Ellison . . ."
Paragraph 9
"Groth's First Big Lie"
Paragraph 10
"However, Groth did not reveal this fact to Ellison and Groth continued to receive and happily spend check from Ellison for his own selfish purposes."
Paragraph 14
"These defamatory remarks demonstrate a fecklessness clearly intended to trash Ellison's fifty year long honorable and distinguished career."
"All appeals to the defendants to cease and desist, to retract and correct . . . were met with arrogance, insult, threats, or silence."
Paragraph 15 takes a huge shift in writing style and tone. Suddenly it's in legalese.
Now I don't know much, if anything, about the feud between Fantagraphics and Ellison and I do think he's written some excellent Science Fiction in his life time, but I still think some of the "fun" from a legal document should be shared.
I'm not the first and I won't be the last to throw this around the blogohedron, but the farther it goes, the funnier it'll get.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Task
Okay, give me a useless task, and I will complete it, but I still resevere the right to mutter, "Fuck you you horrible bitch." as I walk around the office.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
This Is A Wonderful Idea
NRAMA: Sounds like you had a family that encouraged you.From the Ethan Van Sciver interview at Newsarama today.
EVS: Yeah, they always did. Before we could read or write, my mom had this idea to give us all blank journals. And the whole idea was that she would ask us at the end of each day, why don't you draw a picture of what you did today or what you were thinking about today? And she would give us some crayons, and we would fill up a page. And then she would ask us what it was we had drawn, and she would write down verbatim what we said.
Now I have these wonderful picture journals with some of my earliest drawings, from when I was three or four, with my actual words written out by my mom. So from a very early age, I was encouraged to tell stories with pictures.
I wonder if I'll ever be able to do anything like that?
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Productivity
This afternoon was the most productive afternoon I've ever had at work.
At two fifteen, I took a lawyer's file for an injured worker and began copying what he had so I could recreate the file for us.
Two and a half hours and eight hundred odd pages later, I finished.
When I got back to my desk SHTK asked me the name of the person on the file. I told her. She said it was found a while ago. I checked the shelves. Sure enough, it was there.
Tomorrow morning, I get to shred eight hundred odd pages. It should only take me about fifteen minutes.
It was the best afternoon I've had at work in a long time.
At two fifteen, I took a lawyer's file for an injured worker and began copying what he had so I could recreate the file for us.
Two and a half hours and eight hundred odd pages later, I finished.
When I got back to my desk SHTK asked me the name of the person on the file. I told her. She said it was found a while ago. I checked the shelves. Sure enough, it was there.
Tomorrow morning, I get to shred eight hundred odd pages. It should only take me about fifteen minutes.
It was the best afternoon I've had at work in a long time.
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRG!
I have Allan Sherman's "Night and Day (With Punctuation Marks)" stuck in my head.
I really enjoy the song when I'm listening to it, but having it just rattle around my brain for the last four hours isn't much fun.
I really enjoy the song when I'm listening to it, but having it just rattle around my brain for the last four hours isn't much fun.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Year 2
It began at 8:00 AM this morning.
Last night, I watched Ghost World, again. I've decided that when I'm in a certain mood I shouldn't watch the end of that movie. It makes me wistful. That means I won't be watching it again until some time after Easter.
I've spent much of this day looking at the state's website looking for a new job. There's nothing local and I still don't have enough money to move, but it's nice to dream, right? I discovered that I can search based on the department and I've spent a lot of that time looking through the Department of Consumer Affairs listing. I think that could be a really interesting department to work for. Even if it isn't, I'd get a better picture of how corrupt the state is.
Well, here's to another potential year working here and continuing to bitch about it.
Goals for my next year worth of work:
Last night, I watched Ghost World, again. I've decided that when I'm in a certain mood I shouldn't watch the end of that movie. It makes me wistful. That means I won't be watching it again until some time after Easter.
I've spent much of this day looking at the state's website looking for a new job. There's nothing local and I still don't have enough money to move, but it's nice to dream, right? I discovered that I can search based on the department and I've spent a lot of that time looking through the Department of Consumer Affairs listing. I think that could be a really interesting department to work for. Even if it isn't, I'd get a better picture of how corrupt the state is.
Well, here's to another potential year working here and continuing to bitch about it.
Goals for my next year worth of work:
- Not to buy a gun. I'll only hurt people.
- Lie to my mom about making friends, wherever I end up.
- Stop correcting the older people in the office by telling them that it was Kenny Rogers, not Roy Orbirson, who sang "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and other such trivia about music, movies, TV shows, and books that were made before I was born.
- Thank Bunny Christ, if he deems my humble tortilla for a visit, for the pay raise and "bonus" that will come with my pay check in October.
- Other things that I haven't thought of, yet.
Thanks
My thanks go out to Ragnell for linking yesterday's post to When Fangirls Attack.
It's a bit frightening to see a spike in my numbers, but it's also nice.
It's a bit frightening to see a spike in my numbers, but it's also nice.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Comic Book Monday
I didn't get many comics last week. My usual bi-weekly shipment didn't make it because of the holiday.
I haven't been able to read Mystery in Space because I was, for some crazy reason, expecting Jim Starlin art along with the Jim Starlin writing. It's just his writing which is fine, just a bit disappointing. I'm sure I'll be able to get through it soon.
I've been thinking about the JSA recently. The new series will, hopefully, be coming out in a couple of months, which is nice, but I still don't understand why it was cancelled the last time. Were sales dropping? Infinite Crisis didn't destroy the JSA like it did the JLA, so that's not a reason to cancel the book. What happened?
The only answer I can come up with is that DC figures a new #1 will bring in higher sales and that they don't want JSA to have a higher number than the new JLA. I think DC cancelled it to re-establish the JLA as the premier team of the DCU line. I hope that's not the reason, but I still suspect.
Anyway, I've been staring at this picture way too much today. (And not just for the obvious reason.)
The first thing that gets me is how lanky both Hourman and the new Liberty Belle look. I'm not denying that Eaglesham and Thibert can draw some very nice pictures, but those two characters look wrong to me, stretched out, especially in that first panel. Maybe it's because they're not standing on the ground, but "Damage Smasher's" face. Maybe the coloring will solve that problem. In the second panel, though, Liberty Belle still seems wrong. Maybe it's because she's posing and Jesse Chambers has never struck me as the type of woman who would "strike a pose," especially the way she has her arm curled around Hourman in the first panel.
I have to admit, I don't have a clue what happened to her after the Savitar stuff in The Flash, so I don't know what she was like when she was a member of the Titans. (Was she ever a member of the Outsiders?) Did she pose a lot there?
I'm of two minds about Jesse joining the team as Liberty Belle.
I'm glad to know that she's out there doing the superhero thing. She's the kind of person who would do it even if her parents hadn't been heroes in the past. She's also a legacy character, which I'm a huge fan of. (She was the first legacy character I experienced because I didn't know about Hourman until both "Hourmen" appeared in an issue of JSA.)
On the other hand, I always thought of her as a normal person with superpowers who would help out if she needed to, not as a full time adventurer. She didn't fit in with the Conglomerate, which is why they never came back after that JLQ. And she certainly didn't fit in with the Flash family; she was only there to be a patsy which made her look stupid which she should never be. And I still don't know about her time with the Titans because I don't want to look it up.
Wasn't she the curator of the JSA museum after Alex Montez finished drinking Eclipso's diamonds? Or was that when Ma Hunkel came back? She was involved some how, right?
I always pictured Jesse as a normal person first/superhero when she had to be because she decided to go to school rather than be a superhero like her father was. She wanted her degree more than she wanted to be a hero. She should be running the JSA organization full time. She should be in charge of watching their budget. She should be signing the checks for the museum tour guides. She should be managing the JSA charities. And if her help is needed, she'll put on the tights, head out, and help save the day, but when it's over, she's back to work making sure the janitorial staff has enough cleaning supplies.
Maybe it's just me.
Although, I must admit that she looks really good in those tights, especially with that Veronica Lake hair thing going on.
I haven't been able to read Mystery in Space because I was, for some crazy reason, expecting Jim Starlin art along with the Jim Starlin writing. It's just his writing which is fine, just a bit disappointing. I'm sure I'll be able to get through it soon.
I've been thinking about the JSA recently. The new series will, hopefully, be coming out in a couple of months, which is nice, but I still don't understand why it was cancelled the last time. Were sales dropping? Infinite Crisis didn't destroy the JSA like it did the JLA, so that's not a reason to cancel the book. What happened?
The only answer I can come up with is that DC figures a new #1 will bring in higher sales and that they don't want JSA to have a higher number than the new JLA. I think DC cancelled it to re-establish the JLA as the premier team of the DCU line. I hope that's not the reason, but I still suspect.
Anyway, I've been staring at this picture way too much today. (And not just for the obvious reason.)
The first thing that gets me is how lanky both Hourman and the new Liberty Belle look. I'm not denying that Eaglesham and Thibert can draw some very nice pictures, but those two characters look wrong to me, stretched out, especially in that first panel. Maybe it's because they're not standing on the ground, but "Damage Smasher's" face. Maybe the coloring will solve that problem. In the second panel, though, Liberty Belle still seems wrong. Maybe it's because she's posing and Jesse Chambers has never struck me as the type of woman who would "strike a pose," especially the way she has her arm curled around Hourman in the first panel.
I have to admit, I don't have a clue what happened to her after the Savitar stuff in The Flash, so I don't know what she was like when she was a member of the Titans. (Was she ever a member of the Outsiders?) Did she pose a lot there?
I'm of two minds about Jesse joining the team as Liberty Belle.
I'm glad to know that she's out there doing the superhero thing. She's the kind of person who would do it even if her parents hadn't been heroes in the past. She's also a legacy character, which I'm a huge fan of. (She was the first legacy character I experienced because I didn't know about Hourman until both "Hourmen" appeared in an issue of JSA.)
On the other hand, I always thought of her as a normal person with superpowers who would help out if she needed to, not as a full time adventurer. She didn't fit in with the Conglomerate, which is why they never came back after that JLQ. And she certainly didn't fit in with the Flash family; she was only there to be a patsy which made her look stupid which she should never be. And I still don't know about her time with the Titans because I don't want to look it up.
Wasn't she the curator of the JSA museum after Alex Montez finished drinking Eclipso's diamonds? Or was that when Ma Hunkel came back? She was involved some how, right?
I always pictured Jesse as a normal person first/superhero when she had to be because she decided to go to school rather than be a superhero like her father was. She wanted her degree more than she wanted to be a hero. She should be running the JSA organization full time. She should be in charge of watching their budget. She should be signing the checks for the museum tour guides. She should be managing the JSA charities. And if her help is needed, she'll put on the tights, head out, and help save the day, but when it's over, she's back to work making sure the janitorial staff has enough cleaning supplies.
Maybe it's just me.
Although, I must admit that she looks really good in those tights, especially with that Veronica Lake hair thing going on.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Too Much Coffee Man - Opera
I wasn't going to post anything today because I couldn't bring myself to answer some e-mail, but then I came across this poster and had to share it.
Then I decided to explore what Shannon Wheeler had about the opera and I found this wonderful animation to watch. You have to watch it at least twice because you have to read the Italian "translation."
Tickets are reasonably priced. If I could afford a trip to Portland, I'd be there.
The world needs more Too Much Coffee Man.
Then I decided to explore what Shannon Wheeler had about the opera and I found this wonderful animation to watch. You have to watch it at least twice because you have to read the Italian "translation."
Tickets are reasonably priced. If I could afford a trip to Portland, I'd be there.
The world needs more Too Much Coffee Man.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
What I've Been Trying To Do At Work
I'm not finished. This is a first draft with a quick run through MS Word's spell/grammar check.
I just thought I share.
It doesn't have a title, either.
Herbert sat in the classroom hating. He hated his classmates. He hated how they could all get together in pairs or small groups and he was stuck without anyone. He hated the teacher for letting them ignore him. He hated the school for having a few too many students for the third, fourth, and fifth grades and creating a class for the extra. He hated that his only friend, Anne, was in that other class. He hated that the other class had recess at a different time because the third graders were just little kids and needed it earlier. And he hated his name.
Herbert.
To the kids he hated his name meant he was either a sort of ice cream, even though there's no "r" anywhere near the "t", or dry, green things sprinkled over a chicken before it's roasted. After the movie came out, he was a car. There was just no way for him to win with his name.
He once asked his mom if he go by his middle name, Arthur, so that no matter what other thought and said, he'd know that his name was one shared by a great leader. She said that he couldn't. She said that his name was his grandfathers and then asked him if he'd like to disappoint his grandfather by choosing to be called Arthur rather than Herbert. He just hung his head and mumbled no before shuffling off to his room.
Herbert was stuck with his name just like he was stuck with his classmates. There was nothing he could do about it.
"Take out your readers," said Mrs. Janowski, lifting up her copy and opening it. "Turn to page 173, please."
Herbert lifted the top of his desk, pulled out his book, and placed it on his desk. The rest of the class seemed to have trouble because there was talking between students and clunking in desks and Alex fell out of his seat. Herbert sighed, rolled his eyes, opened the book, and wondered what was wrong with everyone else.
"Settle down, class," said Mrs. Janowski. "Settle."
Mrs. Janowski was old, but not that old. Not as old as his last teacher, who was about the same as Herbert's grandparents. She was older than his parent's, though. She had short blonde hair that was sort of puffy. He liked to imagine that the way she got it cut was by sticking her finger in a light socket so it stuck up everywhere then made a force field around her head in a perfect bubble which cut all the hair poking out, but he knew that's not really how her hair was cut. She also had glasses that she only needed when she read something, so when she would ask the class a question, she'd move them to the end of her nose and look over the frames or she'd put them up in her hair, where they never seemed to move, not even a jiggle, like she had some creatures with sticky fingers and sticky feet living in there who were only there to keep the glasses on her head because she always seemed to give her glasses a sharp tug to pull them out. He also knew that there weren't any creatures on her head, unless she had lice, like Jamie did last year, but those didn't have anything to do with glasses.
"Class, settle down," she said.
Herbert didn't know how long she had been teaching, but even with his few years in school he knew that saying "settle" wasn't a way to calm kids down. He thought that a bomb dropping in the room probably wouldn't settle these people down. He knew, though, that no bomb would be dropped on the class and it was silly to even think it.
He sighed again and started to read the story on the page. It was a chapter from a book about a boy and his dog, like too many of the stories in the reader. He rolled his eyes at the story because he knew how it would end: either the boy would start to grow up and leave the dog behind because the older he got the more he just forgot about the things he liked as a kid, or the dog would do something heroic, probably rescuing the boy from a bear or mountain lion, and die which would make the boy sad, but losing the things that were important to a kid is part of growing up and the boy will be a better person because the dog died.
Herbert hated stories about a boy and his dog. He wished he could read a story about a kid who was normal. A kid who lived in a little town and went to a little school. A kid who had a pet lizard that was magic and would make the day more fun by changing erasers into tiny pigs and pencils into little men that liked to wrestle the eraser pigs. And they'd go on adventures in the playground by shrinking and trying not to get squashed by the other students or by encouraging the trees to get up and block the doors so no one could get in or out.
"Class," said Mrs. Janowski in her no-more-nonsense tone.
The class quieted.
"Open to page 173," she said. "Today, instead of splitting into our usual reading groups, I though it would be nice to read out loud together. Who wants to go first?"
Jamie's hand shot up and started to wiggle around. She sat right in front of Herbert and always came to school in light colored (today's was a light purple), fluffy dresses. She had really short hair that was almost black and freckles all over her cheeks and arms. Jamie was always the first to volunteer to do something or answer a question for the teacher. She was like a little yappy dog, too. She couldn't be still when she was excited. Her hand shivered when she put it in the air. At recess, while waiting in line for the swings she'd start shaking and the shaking would get worse the closer she got to it being her turn. Sometimes, Herbert thought that she could shake herself apart if she had to wait too long for the swings, but he knew that people didn't shake apart. He figured that if Tinkerbell was real, she'd look and act an awful lot like Jamie.
For the record, even though she hasn't appeared yet, I created Anne during my last year of college in a short story I wrote for my only creative writing class. I don't want anyone to read into her character when actually does appear.
I just thought I share.
It doesn't have a title, either.
Herbert sat in the classroom hating. He hated his classmates. He hated how they could all get together in pairs or small groups and he was stuck without anyone. He hated the teacher for letting them ignore him. He hated the school for having a few too many students for the third, fourth, and fifth grades and creating a class for the extra. He hated that his only friend, Anne, was in that other class. He hated that the other class had recess at a different time because the third graders were just little kids and needed it earlier. And he hated his name.
Herbert.
To the kids he hated his name meant he was either a sort of ice cream, even though there's no "r" anywhere near the "t", or dry, green things sprinkled over a chicken before it's roasted. After the movie came out, he was a car. There was just no way for him to win with his name.
He once asked his mom if he go by his middle name, Arthur, so that no matter what other thought and said, he'd know that his name was one shared by a great leader. She said that he couldn't. She said that his name was his grandfathers and then asked him if he'd like to disappoint his grandfather by choosing to be called Arthur rather than Herbert. He just hung his head and mumbled no before shuffling off to his room.
Herbert was stuck with his name just like he was stuck with his classmates. There was nothing he could do about it.
"Take out your readers," said Mrs. Janowski, lifting up her copy and opening it. "Turn to page 173, please."
Herbert lifted the top of his desk, pulled out his book, and placed it on his desk. The rest of the class seemed to have trouble because there was talking between students and clunking in desks and Alex fell out of his seat. Herbert sighed, rolled his eyes, opened the book, and wondered what was wrong with everyone else.
"Settle down, class," said Mrs. Janowski. "Settle."
Mrs. Janowski was old, but not that old. Not as old as his last teacher, who was about the same as Herbert's grandparents. She was older than his parent's, though. She had short blonde hair that was sort of puffy. He liked to imagine that the way she got it cut was by sticking her finger in a light socket so it stuck up everywhere then made a force field around her head in a perfect bubble which cut all the hair poking out, but he knew that's not really how her hair was cut. She also had glasses that she only needed when she read something, so when she would ask the class a question, she'd move them to the end of her nose and look over the frames or she'd put them up in her hair, where they never seemed to move, not even a jiggle, like she had some creatures with sticky fingers and sticky feet living in there who were only there to keep the glasses on her head because she always seemed to give her glasses a sharp tug to pull them out. He also knew that there weren't any creatures on her head, unless she had lice, like Jamie did last year, but those didn't have anything to do with glasses.
"Class, settle down," she said.
Herbert didn't know how long she had been teaching, but even with his few years in school he knew that saying "settle" wasn't a way to calm kids down. He thought that a bomb dropping in the room probably wouldn't settle these people down. He knew, though, that no bomb would be dropped on the class and it was silly to even think it.
He sighed again and started to read the story on the page. It was a chapter from a book about a boy and his dog, like too many of the stories in the reader. He rolled his eyes at the story because he knew how it would end: either the boy would start to grow up and leave the dog behind because the older he got the more he just forgot about the things he liked as a kid, or the dog would do something heroic, probably rescuing the boy from a bear or mountain lion, and die which would make the boy sad, but losing the things that were important to a kid is part of growing up and the boy will be a better person because the dog died.
Herbert hated stories about a boy and his dog. He wished he could read a story about a kid who was normal. A kid who lived in a little town and went to a little school. A kid who had a pet lizard that was magic and would make the day more fun by changing erasers into tiny pigs and pencils into little men that liked to wrestle the eraser pigs. And they'd go on adventures in the playground by shrinking and trying not to get squashed by the other students or by encouraging the trees to get up and block the doors so no one could get in or out.
"Class," said Mrs. Janowski in her no-more-nonsense tone.
The class quieted.
"Open to page 173," she said. "Today, instead of splitting into our usual reading groups, I though it would be nice to read out loud together. Who wants to go first?"
Jamie's hand shot up and started to wiggle around. She sat right in front of Herbert and always came to school in light colored (today's was a light purple), fluffy dresses. She had really short hair that was almost black and freckles all over her cheeks and arms. Jamie was always the first to volunteer to do something or answer a question for the teacher. She was like a little yappy dog, too. She couldn't be still when she was excited. Her hand shivered when she put it in the air. At recess, while waiting in line for the swings she'd start shaking and the shaking would get worse the closer she got to it being her turn. Sometimes, Herbert thought that she could shake herself apart if she had to wait too long for the swings, but he knew that people didn't shake apart. He figured that if Tinkerbell was real, she'd look and act an awful lot like Jamie.
For the record, even though she hasn't appeared yet, I created Anne during my last year of college in a short story I wrote for my only creative writing class. I don't want anyone to read into her character when actually does appear.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Car Report
On Sunday, my dad and I drove to my grandparents' house, pushed the car into the shade, and struggled with getting the belts around the damn fan and onto the pulleys. One belt is just a little too short (like a quarter of an inch, but the belt that's one size larger is too big, the slack just isn't taken up) to get on, so it had to be forced, the other went on fine. Then we added water, and added water, and added water. I figured this was because the car had gotten so hot all those weeks ago. All this car stuff took about an hour, much better than the last time we replaced the belts.
We puttered around the house making sure the cats had food and the garden was water because my grandparents are in Washington visiting my uncle and his daughters and then headed back to my parents' house.
I noticed that my car was driving a bit hotter than it usually does and figured that it just didn't get quite enough water.
I parked my car and decided to let it cool off so I could check it later.
Later, I popped the hood, took the cap off the radiator and looked down the deep dark hole. Nothing to be seen. I took the hose off the porch and added water, and added water, and added water.
I got in the car and drove it for a while. Down to a shopping center then up a back road. Past the house Heels and Johnny Logic live in to see if I could remember the way, and back to my parent's house. At first, my car was running nice and cool. Soon, the needle pointed about halfway. A bit later, it was back at the 2/3rds mark, trying to sneak above. I drove it to my parent's house, parked, popped the hood, and heard a hissing.
Shit.
I got my dad and he listened.
It was decided that something was leaking. We pulled the spare tire out (yes, it's on top of the engine), broke out some flashlights and looked around. We poked and prodded at hose. We tried to peer around immovable parts. We could see a little water in one part, but it didn't look like it was pooling. The engine was turned on and off several times.
Eventually, I got sick of looking and turned around. When the hissing stopped, my dad got on his back and squeezed under the car. He called me over. There was a drop dripping.
"I think it's the water pump," he said.
I started cursing.
The car is still in Cowtown. I borrowed a different car to return to North Bay.
We'll see what the future brings.
We puttered around the house making sure the cats had food and the garden was water because my grandparents are in Washington visiting my uncle and his daughters and then headed back to my parents' house.
I noticed that my car was driving a bit hotter than it usually does and figured that it just didn't get quite enough water.
I parked my car and decided to let it cool off so I could check it later.
Later, I popped the hood, took the cap off the radiator and looked down the deep dark hole. Nothing to be seen. I took the hose off the porch and added water, and added water, and added water.
I got in the car and drove it for a while. Down to a shopping center then up a back road. Past the house Heels and Johnny Logic live in to see if I could remember the way, and back to my parent's house. At first, my car was running nice and cool. Soon, the needle pointed about halfway. A bit later, it was back at the 2/3rds mark, trying to sneak above. I drove it to my parent's house, parked, popped the hood, and heard a hissing.
Shit.
I got my dad and he listened.
It was decided that something was leaking. We pulled the spare tire out (yes, it's on top of the engine), broke out some flashlights and looked around. We poked and prodded at hose. We tried to peer around immovable parts. We could see a little water in one part, but it didn't look like it was pooling. The engine was turned on and off several times.
Eventually, I got sick of looking and turned around. When the hissing stopped, my dad got on his back and squeezed under the car. He called me over. There was a drop dripping.
"I think it's the water pump," he said.
I started cursing.
The car is still in Cowtown. I borrowed a different car to return to North Bay.
We'll see what the future brings.
Comic Book Tuesday
Solo
The last issue of this wonderful series came out last week. It featured Brendan McCarthy. I'm not going to write about the single issue, though. I want to write about the series.
The day I picked up the first issue, Tim Sale, I knew I was holding something really great. Every issue was set to spotlight a different penciler who, if he (since they were all guys) wanted, could do everything else in the issue. Some did write and ink and letter and color, some didn't. Each creator had the entire DC universe to explore in anyway he wanted as well as create new things.
What other series would have a story about Robin and Batgirl in the future in one book and the story of a creature who steps out of his bones every night in another and a story about how Sergio Aragonés killed Marty Feldman? None that I can think of.
This series varied wildly from issue to issue in both art and story. It existed only to give artists a chance to do whatever they wanted and, hopefully, bring their work to a larger audience.
Before issue 12, I never knew about Brendan McCarthy. Same goes for Damion Scott in issue 10. These are two artists that I'll try to watch out for because they're something different from just about anything else out there.
It's really hard for me to write about this series because I liked it so much. I liked how each issue was different from the last. I liked how different each of the stories within an issue could be from each other. I never knew what to expect, even from artist I've seen before, like Tim Sale, Darwyn Cooke, and Mike Allred. Each issue was exciting for all those reasons and more.
My only problem with the series was knowing it was doomed from the moment I picked up issue one. I read it, saw who the next artist was, and figured I'd be lucky to get a year's worth of books out of this series. The average fan doesn't want anthologies. The average fan doesn't want to experience shifting styles of art. The average fan is content sticking with what they know. The average fan may have picked up an issue for an artist they know, but there weren't many of those in Solo. Maybe if there had been a Bryan Hitch, Frank Quietly, or *shudder* Michael Turner issue that spike would have been enough for another issue or two, but we'll never know and I'm happy with the ones I got.
In an alternate universe, Solo is still coming out and the next two year's worth of artists are Dave McKean, Kyle Baker, Sam Kieth, Robert Crumb, James Kochalka, Mike Wieringo, Lauren Weinstein, Moebius, Stan Sakai, Bill Sienkiewicz, Al Jaffee, and Chuck Wojtkiewicz and my alternate self is thrilled. It's too bad we can't cross the universal divide so I can read the new issues, too.
The last issue of this wonderful series came out last week. It featured Brendan McCarthy. I'm not going to write about the single issue, though. I want to write about the series.
The day I picked up the first issue, Tim Sale, I knew I was holding something really great. Every issue was set to spotlight a different penciler who, if he (since they were all guys) wanted, could do everything else in the issue. Some did write and ink and letter and color, some didn't. Each creator had the entire DC universe to explore in anyway he wanted as well as create new things.
What other series would have a story about Robin and Batgirl in the future in one book and the story of a creature who steps out of his bones every night in another and a story about how Sergio Aragonés killed Marty Feldman? None that I can think of.
This series varied wildly from issue to issue in both art and story. It existed only to give artists a chance to do whatever they wanted and, hopefully, bring their work to a larger audience.
Before issue 12, I never knew about Brendan McCarthy. Same goes for Damion Scott in issue 10. These are two artists that I'll try to watch out for because they're something different from just about anything else out there.
It's really hard for me to write about this series because I liked it so much. I liked how each issue was different from the last. I liked how different each of the stories within an issue could be from each other. I never knew what to expect, even from artist I've seen before, like Tim Sale, Darwyn Cooke, and Mike Allred. Each issue was exciting for all those reasons and more.
My only problem with the series was knowing it was doomed from the moment I picked up issue one. I read it, saw who the next artist was, and figured I'd be lucky to get a year's worth of books out of this series. The average fan doesn't want anthologies. The average fan doesn't want to experience shifting styles of art. The average fan is content sticking with what they know. The average fan may have picked up an issue for an artist they know, but there weren't many of those in Solo. Maybe if there had been a Bryan Hitch, Frank Quietly, or *shudder* Michael Turner issue that spike would have been enough for another issue or two, but we'll never know and I'm happy with the ones I got.
In an alternate universe, Solo is still coming out and the next two year's worth of artists are Dave McKean, Kyle Baker, Sam Kieth, Robert Crumb, James Kochalka, Mike Wieringo, Lauren Weinstein, Moebius, Stan Sakai, Bill Sienkiewicz, Al Jaffee, and Chuck Wojtkiewicz and my alternate self is thrilled. It's too bad we can't cross the universal divide so I can read the new issues, too.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Actual Fun At Work
I'm off to Cowtown for the weekend. I'll be visiting my parent's and fixing my car. Last night I was told that new belts have been purchased all that is needed now is time and effort to get the thing running safely again. Let's all hope it won't be too hot.
In other news, I had an interesting conversation with SHTK earlier.
It all started with an attorney asking, "Is there a way to call the judge?"
After he was dealt with I looked at SHTK and said, "It's funny that so many of them ask if there's a way to call the judge because every time I hear them say that I want to say, 'Sure, just stand there and scream. She may hear you.'"
"When they ask me that," she said, "I stand here like this." She put her hands around her mouth, squinted her eyes, and pretended to yell. "Some of them don't think it's funny, though."
"People should be more precise when they speak," I said. "It's like when I was little and we were at my grandparents' house for a party or something and someone asked me if we have a bathroom. I said, 'No, it has a toilet, too.'" SHTK started to laugh. "My grandma wasn't too thrilled with me. I guess it was a sign that I'd end up being an English major in college."
"What about 'restroom'?" she asked.
"I know."
"I don't know about you, but I don't do a lot of resting when I'm in there."
"Maybe if there was a couch, or something," I said.
"Yeah but if it was near the toilets, I wouldn't want to sit there."
"It could be called a 'restroom,' though, because there'd be a place to rest after the strain."
We both laughed.
"Another name is 'the loo."
"I always thought of it as an insult, like calling it a 'John."
"I don't think it's spelled that way."
"Still, that's what I've always thought. It's like the first time I heard someone say, 'I'm going to hit the head.' I was confused. I was wondering why anyone on a boat would want to hit their head on anything."
"I wondered why they'd hit their heads on a toilet."
We started to laugh again.
"My grandmother," she said, "refused to call it perfume. She'd go around saying, 'It's nothing but toilet water, plain and simple!'"
And with that latest fit of laughter, we were told to get back to work.
In other news, I had an interesting conversation with SHTK earlier.
It all started with an attorney asking, "Is there a way to call the judge?"
After he was dealt with I looked at SHTK and said, "It's funny that so many of them ask if there's a way to call the judge because every time I hear them say that I want to say, 'Sure, just stand there and scream. She may hear you.'"
"When they ask me that," she said, "I stand here like this." She put her hands around her mouth, squinted her eyes, and pretended to yell. "Some of them don't think it's funny, though."
"People should be more precise when they speak," I said. "It's like when I was little and we were at my grandparents' house for a party or something and someone asked me if we have a bathroom. I said, 'No, it has a toilet, too.'" SHTK started to laugh. "My grandma wasn't too thrilled with me. I guess it was a sign that I'd end up being an English major in college."
"What about 'restroom'?" she asked.
"I know."
"I don't know about you, but I don't do a lot of resting when I'm in there."
"Maybe if there was a couch, or something," I said.
"Yeah but if it was near the toilets, I wouldn't want to sit there."
"It could be called a 'restroom,' though, because there'd be a place to rest after the strain."
We both laughed.
"Another name is 'the loo."
"I always thought of it as an insult, like calling it a 'John."
"I don't think it's spelled that way."
"Still, that's what I've always thought. It's like the first time I heard someone say, 'I'm going to hit the head.' I was confused. I was wondering why anyone on a boat would want to hit their head on anything."
"I wondered why they'd hit their heads on a toilet."
We started to laugh again.
"My grandmother," she said, "refused to call it perfume. She'd go around saying, 'It's nothing but toilet water, plain and simple!'"
And with that latest fit of laughter, we were told to get back to work.
HOORAY!
After Mark Waid told me "NO!" at WonderCon in February, Beefeater is showing up in next weeks 52! Just check out the page! Sure, he's not fighting Kilwog, destroying a JLI embassy, mouthing off at a Frenchman, or telling a story about his father, but it's nice to know that this crazy Brit wasn't punched out of existence.
Thank you, 52 team. Thank you.
Thank you, 52 team. Thank you.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
A Green Lantern Problem
I went back and re-read Green Lantern: Rebirth last night. (I couldn't find issue 1, though. But I remember the important stuff: Coast City reappears, Hal whines, John gets mad at Batman, Guy explodes, Kyle crashes.) While I'm still not a fan of the whole idea that it was a giant bug that infected Hal, that's not what I'm here to write about.
The Yellow Impurity is.
After Rebirth, yellow is the color of fear and green is the color of willpower. The Green Lantern's power is a mixture light and willpower collected from the universe.
Ever since Rebirth, I've read and heard that it's really cool that yellow is fear and that the color yellow is part of the color green because to get to willpower, people have to push through their fears. So, it makes sense to have that color scheme. But it doesn't.
White light, like pigments, is composed of three primary colors: Red, Green, and Blue. From these three primary colors of light, all other colors are derived. The primary pigment colors are made by mixing the primary light colors. Magenta comes from mixing Red and Blue. Cyan comes from Blue and Green. And Yellow, on the RGB scale, comes from Red and Green. (Feel free to learn more from the Wikipedia article.)
Anyone who has done enough editing in HTML to change the colors of a blog page and anyone who has used Photoshop to play with a picture should be familiar with this. They've all seen the hexadecimal scale that shows #000000 for black and #FFFFFF for white... I'm not going to get into the science of RBG color, although I'd like to.
I'll admit, the fear being part of willpower theory is a nice one, but it doesn't hold up. Fans have known for years that the Green Lantern energy is light based. Light doesn't work like the pigments we learned when we were little. It's science, sorry.
And if Geoff Johns came up with the fear/willpower thing thinking it'd be cool for fans to discover, then maybe instead of taking a flight in an F16 he should have looked up some basic color theory.
The Yellow Impurity is.
After Rebirth, yellow is the color of fear and green is the color of willpower. The Green Lantern's power is a mixture light and willpower collected from the universe.
Ever since Rebirth, I've read and heard that it's really cool that yellow is fear and that the color yellow is part of the color green because to get to willpower, people have to push through their fears. So, it makes sense to have that color scheme. But it doesn't.
White light, like pigments, is composed of three primary colors: Red, Green, and Blue. From these three primary colors of light, all other colors are derived. The primary pigment colors are made by mixing the primary light colors. Magenta comes from mixing Red and Blue. Cyan comes from Blue and Green. And Yellow, on the RGB scale, comes from Red and Green. (Feel free to learn more from the Wikipedia article.)
Anyone who has done enough editing in HTML to change the colors of a blog page and anyone who has used Photoshop to play with a picture should be familiar with this. They've all seen the hexadecimal scale that shows #000000 for black and #FFFFFF for white... I'm not going to get into the science of RBG color, although I'd like to.
I'll admit, the fear being part of willpower theory is a nice one, but it doesn't hold up. Fans have known for years that the Green Lantern energy is light based. Light doesn't work like the pigments we learned when we were little. It's science, sorry.
And if Geoff Johns came up with the fear/willpower thing thinking it'd be cool for fans to discover, then maybe instead of taking a flight in an F16 he should have looked up some basic color theory.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Discoveries
I've discovered a few things about Beta Blogger:
1. I can greatly skew visits to my blog, and I have been, by accident. I've been going through old posts and adding labels (or tags or whatever they should be called) to them. Afterward, I have to repost. Each time I do it my blog becomes the next in the cue for the "Next Blog" button. I only have around 500 posts left to update.
2. My blog no longer has a "Next Blog" button on it, but I'm sure the good people at Blogger are working on that.
3. So far, I like Beta Blogger a lot. I just hope that the html editor will be back soon. I really miss the Comic Sans font.
1. I can greatly skew visits to my blog, and I have been, by accident. I've been going through old posts and adding labels (or tags or whatever they should be called) to them. Afterward, I have to repost. Each time I do it my blog becomes the next in the cue for the "Next Blog" button. I only have around 500 posts left to update.
2. My blog no longer has a "Next Blog" button on it, but I'm sure the good people at Blogger are working on that.
3. So far, I like Beta Blogger a lot. I just hope that the html editor will be back soon. I really miss the Comic Sans font.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Secretary
Yesterday, working as a secretary for a half a day a week was voluntary.
Ten minutes ago, I found out it's mandatory.
I don't get an increase in pay.
I just get skills I don't want and time to waste in another space.
Ten minutes ago, I found out it's mandatory.
I don't get an increase in pay.
I just get skills I don't want and time to waste in another space.
Messin' Around
I'm playing with Beta Blogger today. This may look odd for a while because I'm not allowed to screw with the html, but there are labels. Keep your fingers crossed that it's coming soon.
PS If you know how to create a post like this the one Ragnell created on August 20th and August 23rd, the check the archived week, would you please post a comment about how to do it, or e-mail me? Thanks.
PS If you know how to create a post like this the one Ragnell created on August 20th and August 23rd, the check the archived week, would you please post a comment about how to do it, or e-mail me? Thanks.
Monday, August 28, 2006
... something.
The day is almost over
and that makes me... something.
All day long I've been
really, really... something.
One of the secretaries
had her last day today.
Pizza was served at noon
and we were supposed to eat
together as if we were all... something.
Now we're down two secretaries
and once again we OTs
are supposed to... something.
On my desk are five bits
of work that I haven't... something.
They've been sitting there
since two-thirty all because
I'm trying to... something.
Wasting six to seven hours
a day at work isn't as
much fun as... something.
Wasting six to seven hours
a day outside of work
and not acheiving anything
is really something.
and that makes me... something.
All day long I've been
really, really... something.
One of the secretaries
had her last day today.
Pizza was served at noon
and we were supposed to eat
together as if we were all... something.
Now we're down two secretaries
and once again we OTs
are supposed to... something.
On my desk are five bits
of work that I haven't... something.
They've been sitting there
since two-thirty all because
I'm trying to... something.
Wasting six to seven hours
a day at work isn't as
much fun as... something.
Wasting six to seven hours
a day outside of work
and not acheiving anything
is really something.
365 Days Ago At This Time...
I was in Pittsburgh visiting friends. We had left the Warhol Museum (where I watched old people watch porn and take it seriously, even though there was Kleenex for people to clean up with) and were on our way to a baby shower for the expecting parents thrown by people she had worked with at Home Depot before she started working at a coke factory.
Sometimes, it's hard to believe that was a year ago. Sometimes, it feels like it happened yesterday. Sometimes, it feels like it happened a decade ago.
Sometimes, it's hard to believe that was a year ago. Sometimes, it feels like it happened yesterday. Sometimes, it feels like it happened a decade ago.
Comic Book Monday
Justice League of America #1
For being 38 pages long, noting happened.
Okay, I'm exaggerating, a bit. Members are introduced, but there weren't any scenes when someone actually said that they'd be a member of the new league. Three mysteries--Who want's Red Tornado's body? Who ambushed Vixen? Who's killing "super villains"?--were introduced, but I'm pretty sure that they will all come together neatly in the end. But there was no action.
When Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire started their league, the UN was attacked.
When Morrison started his league, the last league's satellite crashed to earth and Metamorpho died, again.
When Meltzer starts his league, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman sit around a table and talk, Vixen goes to a bar, Green Lantern and Arsenal go to a boxing match, and Black Lightening talks to a junkie.
I know that this is all setup for what's going to happen in the rest of Meltzer's run, but it doesn't help. The first issue of any superhero comic should jump out and pull the readers in. We shouldn't sit there full of exposition and be expected to buy the next issue because the guys writing and drawing it have done some good stuff in the past. The first issue should show why the second issue is worth buying, not sort of hint at some things that might, possibly, happen.
I am only going to pick at three nits (knits?) for this comic:
Why? Because the first comic I ever bought was a Justice League comic and I'm hoping that this one will get better. Even if it doesn't, Meltzer is gone after issue twelve and the roster and the tone of the book will probably change with the next writer, hopefully for the better.
Jeez, I hope Geoff Johns is going to be on the new JSoA for the long run. Comics are so much better when the writing is consistent.
For being 38 pages long, noting happened.
Okay, I'm exaggerating, a bit. Members are introduced, but there weren't any scenes when someone actually said that they'd be a member of the new league. Three mysteries--Who want's Red Tornado's body? Who ambushed Vixen? Who's killing "super villains"?--were introduced, but I'm pretty sure that they will all come together neatly in the end. But there was no action.
When Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire started their league, the UN was attacked.
When Morrison started his league, the last league's satellite crashed to earth and Metamorpho died, again.
When Meltzer starts his league, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman sit around a table and talk, Vixen goes to a bar, Green Lantern and Arsenal go to a boxing match, and Black Lightening talks to a junkie.
I know that this is all setup for what's going to happen in the rest of Meltzer's run, but it doesn't help. The first issue of any superhero comic should jump out and pull the readers in. We shouldn't sit there full of exposition and be expected to buy the next issue because the guys writing and drawing it have done some good stuff in the past. The first issue should show why the second issue is worth buying, not sort of hint at some things that might, possibly, happen.
I am only going to pick at three nits (knits?) for this comic:
- The first is the cover. Why wasn't this a wrap-around or folded cover so all of us out there could get the full picture on one book? Even if (probably when) I buy the other cover, there's still going to be that annoying line down the center of the picture, and I always have trouble lining these things up well. If DC wanted to do two covers, they could have done one book with the wrap-around with this artwork and one with the awesome promotional artwork.
- The second is the fact that Kathy Sutton knows who Hal and Bruce are. She's a civilian, the wife of Red Tornado. It should be unlikely that she'd know the secret identity of Green Lantern and there's no way she should know Batman's secret identity. Meltzer started this with Identity Crisis, the having all the heroes and their families know all the identities, and I don't like it. The best thing to come out of Dan Jurgens run on his version of the JLA was that no one knew Superman's secret identity. I thought that added a nice bit of tension. Obviously, Mr. Meltzer disagrees.
- And third, when someone decides to do the retro dot coloring, make sure the colorist has actually seen a comic with that sort of coloring. That means, when it comes to back-in-the-day flesh tones, there is no cyan, only magenta, yellow, and white. That's why all the white heroes were the same color. Cyan was used only when they were in shadows. There was no shading in the 70s. Also, don't do the dots over modern day coloring. Do not dot blonde hair that fades to white to show highlights. Do not dot a face that has obvious shading. It just looks bad.
Why? Because the first comic I ever bought was a Justice League comic and I'm hoping that this one will get better. Even if it doesn't, Meltzer is gone after issue twelve and the roster and the tone of the book will probably change with the next writer, hopefully for the better.
Jeez, I hope Geoff Johns is going to be on the new JSoA for the long run. Comics are so much better when the writing is consistent.
Friday, August 25, 2006
More Than Doubled
I was doing my daily perusal of my Site Meter statistics and I noticed that there's been a huge (for me) jump in readership.
I'm sure it won't last, but it's nice to feel like a big blog for a short time.
So, I am going to thank kalinara (I've read several of her posts that ragnell has linked to in her posts. kalinara is really good, too.) for linking this post at When Fan Girls Attack.
Thank you.
Oh, and for those of you who left my praise post and found the last post more offensive than funny, sorry.
I had to get it out of my system, though. It's been stuck in my head since I was shaving this morning and it made me think of the episode of Leave It To Beaver where Wally dulls Ward's razor blades by shaving off nothing at all and that led me to wondering what Ward was like beneath his "father knows best" exterrior and what it would be like if he showed it on accident.
I think it's funny.
I'm sure it won't last, but it's nice to feel like a big blog for a short time.
So, I am going to thank kalinara (I've read several of her posts that ragnell has linked to in her posts. kalinara is really good, too.) for linking this post at When Fan Girls Attack.
Thank you.
Oh, and for those of you who left my praise post and found the last post more offensive than funny, sorry.
I had to get it out of my system, though. It's been stuck in my head since I was shaving this morning and it made me think of the episode of Leave It To Beaver where Wally dulls Ward's razor blades by shaving off nothing at all and that led me to wondering what Ward was like beneath his "father knows best" exterrior and what it would be like if he showed it on accident.
I think it's funny.
A Leave It To Beaver We Never Got To See
And perhaps, never should see.
Written by me.
Wally: Dad, can I ask you for some advice?
Ward: Certainly, son.
Wally: Well, there a dance coming up at school and I don't know who to ask.
Ward: Who were you thinking of asking?
Wally: There's Cindy. She's really neat. She's a member of the pep squad. And then there's Sarah. She pretty and she gave me a plate of cookies she made in her Home Economics class.
Ward: I see.
Wally: I just don't know which one to ask. What should I do?
Ward: Son, have you considered asking both of them to the dance?
Wally: Gee, dad, I couldn't do a thing like that. What if they both said yes?
Ward: (wistfully) What if...?
Wally: I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
Ward: Wally, the way I see it is there are three possibilities: First, they both say no and you need to find someone else to take. Second, one says yes and the other says n" and that solves your problem. Third, they both say yes and that opens up a whole world of possibilities.
Wally: What do I do if they both say yes?
Ward: You tell them, separately, that you'll meet them at the dance.
Wally: But won't they get mad when they see each other?
Ward: Maybe, but what if they don't, son? What if they're into it? What if, after the dance, they want to see more of you and they take you to that seedy motel out by the highway? Think of the possibilities?
Wally: Dad...
Ward: And what if they both get angry. Cindy may run to her big, mean, football playing friends and have them rough you up. They might throw you to the ground and give it to you until they're too exhausted and have to fall asleep.
Wally: Dad?
Ward: Either way, son, I want you to tell me all about it when you’re done. What's the point of having a son in high school if you can't live your life through him?
Written by me.
Wally: Dad, can I ask you for some advice?
Ward: Certainly, son.
Wally: Well, there a dance coming up at school and I don't know who to ask.
Ward: Who were you thinking of asking?
Wally: There's Cindy. She's really neat. She's a member of the pep squad. And then there's Sarah. She pretty and she gave me a plate of cookies she made in her Home Economics class.
Ward: I see.
Wally: I just don't know which one to ask. What should I do?
Ward: Son, have you considered asking both of them to the dance?
Wally: Gee, dad, I couldn't do a thing like that. What if they both said yes?
Ward: (wistfully) What if...?
Wally: I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
Ward: Wally, the way I see it is there are three possibilities: First, they both say no and you need to find someone else to take. Second, one says yes and the other says n" and that solves your problem. Third, they both say yes and that opens up a whole world of possibilities.
Wally: What do I do if they both say yes?
Ward: You tell them, separately, that you'll meet them at the dance.
Wally: But won't they get mad when they see each other?
Ward: Maybe, but what if they don't, son? What if they're into it? What if, after the dance, they want to see more of you and they take you to that seedy motel out by the highway? Think of the possibilities?
Wally: Dad...
Ward: And what if they both get angry. Cindy may run to her big, mean, football playing friends and have them rough you up. They might throw you to the ground and give it to you until they're too exhausted and have to fall asleep.
Wally: Dad?
Ward: Either way, son, I want you to tell me all about it when you’re done. What's the point of having a son in high school if you can't live your life through him?
An Astronomical Week
On Monday, NASA put out a press release saying it found proof that dark matter exists. Today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the International Astronomical Union voted that Pluto is not a planet. (Scroll to the bottom to find out what a planet is.)
*sigh*
I guess "My Very Eager Mother Just Us Served Nine," now.
*sigh*
I guess "My Very Eager Mother Just Us Served Nine," now.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Holy Fucking Jealousy, Batman
I was walking to the comic book shop on my lunch (The new Wonder Woman is the only thing I've read so far. The last page was hilarious, especially after the third issue of All Star Superman.) when I heard a guy and a gal talking behind me.
She was, sort of, talking about enjoying a Suicide Girls show that was near here last October. She said, "We really liked that band that was with them. Who were they? Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi?"
"Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re," he said. "Go back and read the interview I did with them. None of them could speak any English. The could only say things like, 'Having very much fun.' and 'We make many new friends.'" He laughed. "And then I'd tell them to put the next girl on."
He laughed again and they continued to chat.
We walked past the newspaper building and they both went in the employee only door. He may sound like a jerk, but I totally want his job.
In other jealousy news, my mom is posting stories and pictures from her (along with my dad) trip to Baja California.
She was, sort of, talking about enjoying a Suicide Girls show that was near here last October. She said, "We really liked that band that was with them. Who were they? Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi?"
"Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re," he said. "Go back and read the interview I did with them. None of them could speak any English. The could only say things like, 'Having very much fun.' and 'We make many new friends.'" He laughed. "And then I'd tell them to put the next girl on."
He laughed again and they continued to chat.
We walked past the newspaper building and they both went in the employee only door. He may sound like a jerk, but I totally want his job.
In other jealousy news, my mom is posting stories and pictures from her (along with my dad) trip to Baja California.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
New Readin'
The woman formerly known as "The Supervisor" is "training" the woman who's supposed to become The Supervisor. That means I don't have to watch over my shoulder as much as I waste time reading stuff on the 'net. Which is a great thing because I found a blog that I really enjoy.
Basically, it's a woman who likes comics and likes to talk about comics and she does it with a bit of a feminist slant. On my own, I rarely think of comics in anyway except as a form of escapist entertainment and I like the way she, on her own, looks deeper into the stories and art.
I think I should explain what happens to me when I find a blog with a front page I like. I start reading the archives. From the beginning. I see how the blog started. Usually the first post is a generic this-is-my-blog post, but her fist one is called This is My Sister's Fault. Wonderful. I'm now up to the 25th week of her archives.
An early post compares members of the Green Lantern Corps to the Knights of the Round Table. That was when I knew I'd be checking back daily.
My favorite post, so far is Where's My Adolescent Power Fantasy?
People like her make me wish I participated in more discussion groups. It's unfortunate that most discussion groups quickly devolve into insult-the-poster time rather than actually discussing the topic.
Oh well, at least I have this blog to read.
Basically, it's a woman who likes comics and likes to talk about comics and she does it with a bit of a feminist slant. On my own, I rarely think of comics in anyway except as a form of escapist entertainment and I like the way she, on her own, looks deeper into the stories and art.
I think I should explain what happens to me when I find a blog with a front page I like. I start reading the archives. From the beginning. I see how the blog started. Usually the first post is a generic this-is-my-blog post, but her fist one is called This is My Sister's Fault. Wonderful. I'm now up to the 25th week of her archives.
An early post compares members of the Green Lantern Corps to the Knights of the Round Table. That was when I knew I'd be checking back daily.
My favorite post, so far is Where's My Adolescent Power Fantasy?
People like her make me wish I participated in more discussion groups. It's unfortunate that most discussion groups quickly devolve into insult-the-poster time rather than actually discussing the topic.
Oh well, at least I have this blog to read.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
What?
My sort of/somewhat/perhaps future sister-in-law wrote in her blog that she's "been in this sorta family mode....like wanting to have a kid, get married, be a stay at home mama...you know, all that cheesy shit." Then she goes on and gives a glossing over of some of the weirdness she's gone through with a certain member of her family and other family things. To me, it seems like she misses having a family that she doesn't have to take care of, that she doesn't have to be the one trying all the time.
I wish that I felt comfortable enough to yell at her that being a sort of/somewhat/perhaps future sister-in-law of mine, she does have a family, mine/my brothers/possibly hers. There are two problems with that though. The first is that the majority of the family is about 150 miles to the east. The second is that parts of the family did try to get to know her a while ago, but something horrible happened in her life and it stunted whatever sort of relationship may have developed between them and any steps the family tried to make at that time were rebuffed, but steps tried more recently have also been rebuffed (mostly by my brother, though). That means to start new a getting-to-know-you period she'd have to take the first step. I doubt she will.
I wish she would, though. I really like her, even if she does admit to enjoying Brittany Spears for the music and not the cleavage. She's smart and funny and has a wonderfully insane amount of pop culture trapped in her brain and has a lot of energy. I'm waiting for the day when she finds something that interests her enough that she really focuses her entire being on it. Nothing will stop her when she finds that thing.
Anyway, my day has been spent thinking about that, and looking busy... and trying to remember the Thundercats's theme song.
I wish that I felt comfortable enough to yell at her that being a sort of/somewhat/perhaps future sister-in-law of mine, she does have a family, mine/my brothers/possibly hers. There are two problems with that though. The first is that the majority of the family is about 150 miles to the east. The second is that parts of the family did try to get to know her a while ago, but something horrible happened in her life and it stunted whatever sort of relationship may have developed between them and any steps the family tried to make at that time were rebuffed, but steps tried more recently have also been rebuffed (mostly by my brother, though). That means to start new a getting-to-know-you period she'd have to take the first step. I doubt she will.
I wish she would, though. I really like her, even if she does admit to enjoying Brittany Spears for the music and not the cleavage. She's smart and funny and has a wonderfully insane amount of pop culture trapped in her brain and has a lot of energy. I'm waiting for the day when she finds something that interests her enough that she really focuses her entire being on it. Nothing will stop her when she finds that thing.
Anyway, my day has been spent thinking about that, and looking busy... and trying to remember the Thundercats's theme song.
Monday, August 21, 2006
F---ing Cars
I left my parent's house a little after noon, last Sunday the 13th, for those who maybe confused),thinking that it’d be a good way to beat the crazy traffic heading out of Cowtown. And it was. There were people on the road, but it wasn’t insane, and I figured that I’d beat the most horrible traffic. I was probably right, too.
I was singing along to the music (I don't remember what it was) when I saw a CHP car behind me with its lights spinning and its headlights doing that bizarre alternating flash thing. There wasn't a siren, but I figured that I'd better follow the law and pull off to the right. The CHP car passed about ten more cars when it turned to block the lane at an intersection. The officer got out of his car and started to drop orange cones in the road. I knew what that meant: a grass fire along the highway. Some jackass probably threw a cigarette out the window into the dry grass.
That sort of thing has happened to me before, so I cut my engine. The last time it happened it delayed me over an hour and I was stuck behind a full garbage truck in 100+ degree weather. Misery. That sort of a time delay was not to be, however, and I knew it from the get go because we were right at an intersection and with a left then one right and then one more left, I'd be back on the correct highway. Of course, it took fifteen minutes before the CHP officer let us make that first left. Ah, well, it was time basking in the rising temperature of my car as the sun caressed me through the windshield. I finally started when I saw the officer stand and, as usual, my car started with a groan and a growl.
The left, the right, and the other left later, and I was back on the highway cruising toward, in a roundabout way, The Northbay.
At the point where they highway goes from two lanes to four and then the opposite directions split apart all together, I noticed that my battery was at a lower number than it usually is when I’m driving. Then I heard this strange sound; I even rolled up the windows to hear it better. Then I looked at the gauges again and noticed that the temperature had climbed to near the red. (Whenever the temperature gets that high, I get a little freaked out, since I have killed an engine through overheating. The guy who drove the car before me put the damn hose on backward, so the reinforced end was in air and the regular end was up against the hot, hot, so very hot engine.) I immediately pulled over and hoped that, even though I added some before I left, the water was low. As I was moving on to the shoulder, I turned on the hazard lights. This was just over the top of the first real hill after the highway split, miles from any pay phone.
I popped the hood and stepped out of my car, after checking to make sure there was no traffic whizzing by that could rip the door off my car. Immediately, I heard the hissing of steam trying to blow the cap off the radiator. I started to curse at my car. Then I realized that, even though I doubt it, if my car could hear me, it probably wouldn't like the cursing, so I turned my back to my car and started cursing at the landscape. I raised the hood and looked at the water reservoir, empty. I looked at the engine and noticed that one of the belts was loose. I looked closer. Sure enough, one belt was loose, and so was the other. The other, in fact was shredded. I was going no where.
See, my dad and I replaced the belts in my car once before. It's not easy. A six year old would have trouble getting his arm to fit in there and a crowbar is needed to apply tension to the belts. We decided that the easiest way, but not the cheapest way, to put belts on my car would be to pull the entire engine out, slip new belts on, tighten it, and put the engine back. I think it took us about five hours to get the belts on last time. There was no way I was going to be able to do that on the side of the road. Plus, I don't have any tools in my car to do it with.
For the next twenty minutes, I tried to wave down a car, or truck, or whatever so I could use a phone and call a tow truck. No luck. So I decided to walk back the way I came because, even though it was far away, I knew there was a pay phone in that direction. I put some water in my bag and started walking. I passed two ranches on my walk, both had locked gates. A CHP car drove by, but didn't stop. After an hour of walking, I came across a stranded mobile home (Which ironically had shredded a belt, too. But for them, to replace a belt, all they needed was a new belt, a ratchet, and a person willing to do the work. They were waiting for one of the people's mother to bring a new belt.) and borrowed a phone.
I called a tow truck.
Twenty minutes later, it picked me up at the mobile home. Five minutes later, my car was loaded up. Thirty minutes later, my car was being dropped off at my grandparent's house (about 10 miles away from my parent's house) and I was using my credit card to pay $155 for the tow. Fifteen minutes later, my uncle was driving me back to my parent's, who were in Baja California, house. After I arrived, I started looking for keys to their cars so I could "borrow" one of them so I could get back to The Northbay. I did.
Nine and a half hours after my first one, I was in the shower washing the dust and sweat from my walk off of me.
I was singing along to the music (I don't remember what it was) when I saw a CHP car behind me with its lights spinning and its headlights doing that bizarre alternating flash thing. There wasn't a siren, but I figured that I'd better follow the law and pull off to the right. The CHP car passed about ten more cars when it turned to block the lane at an intersection. The officer got out of his car and started to drop orange cones in the road. I knew what that meant: a grass fire along the highway. Some jackass probably threw a cigarette out the window into the dry grass.
That sort of thing has happened to me before, so I cut my engine. The last time it happened it delayed me over an hour and I was stuck behind a full garbage truck in 100+ degree weather. Misery. That sort of a time delay was not to be, however, and I knew it from the get go because we were right at an intersection and with a left then one right and then one more left, I'd be back on the correct highway. Of course, it took fifteen minutes before the CHP officer let us make that first left. Ah, well, it was time basking in the rising temperature of my car as the sun caressed me through the windshield. I finally started when I saw the officer stand and, as usual, my car started with a groan and a growl.
The left, the right, and the other left later, and I was back on the highway cruising toward, in a roundabout way, The Northbay.
At the point where they highway goes from two lanes to four and then the opposite directions split apart all together, I noticed that my battery was at a lower number than it usually is when I’m driving. Then I heard this strange sound; I even rolled up the windows to hear it better. Then I looked at the gauges again and noticed that the temperature had climbed to near the red. (Whenever the temperature gets that high, I get a little freaked out, since I have killed an engine through overheating. The guy who drove the car before me put the damn hose on backward, so the reinforced end was in air and the regular end was up against the hot, hot, so very hot engine.) I immediately pulled over and hoped that, even though I added some before I left, the water was low. As I was moving on to the shoulder, I turned on the hazard lights. This was just over the top of the first real hill after the highway split, miles from any pay phone.
I popped the hood and stepped out of my car, after checking to make sure there was no traffic whizzing by that could rip the door off my car. Immediately, I heard the hissing of steam trying to blow the cap off the radiator. I started to curse at my car. Then I realized that, even though I doubt it, if my car could hear me, it probably wouldn't like the cursing, so I turned my back to my car and started cursing at the landscape. I raised the hood and looked at the water reservoir, empty. I looked at the engine and noticed that one of the belts was loose. I looked closer. Sure enough, one belt was loose, and so was the other. The other, in fact was shredded. I was going no where.
See, my dad and I replaced the belts in my car once before. It's not easy. A six year old would have trouble getting his arm to fit in there and a crowbar is needed to apply tension to the belts. We decided that the easiest way, but not the cheapest way, to put belts on my car would be to pull the entire engine out, slip new belts on, tighten it, and put the engine back. I think it took us about five hours to get the belts on last time. There was no way I was going to be able to do that on the side of the road. Plus, I don't have any tools in my car to do it with.
For the next twenty minutes, I tried to wave down a car, or truck, or whatever so I could use a phone and call a tow truck. No luck. So I decided to walk back the way I came because, even though it was far away, I knew there was a pay phone in that direction. I put some water in my bag and started walking. I passed two ranches on my walk, both had locked gates. A CHP car drove by, but didn't stop. After an hour of walking, I came across a stranded mobile home (Which ironically had shredded a belt, too. But for them, to replace a belt, all they needed was a new belt, a ratchet, and a person willing to do the work. They were waiting for one of the people's mother to bring a new belt.) and borrowed a phone.
I called a tow truck.
Twenty minutes later, it picked me up at the mobile home. Five minutes later, my car was loaded up. Thirty minutes later, my car was being dropped off at my grandparent's house (about 10 miles away from my parent's house) and I was using my credit card to pay $155 for the tow. Fifteen minutes later, my uncle was driving me back to my parent's, who were in Baja California, house. After I arrived, I started looking for keys to their cars so I could "borrow" one of them so I could get back to The Northbay. I did.
Nine and a half hours after my first one, I was in the shower washing the dust and sweat from my walk off of me.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Finished
Last night, I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I have one question: Why wasn't I handed this book fifteen years ago?
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Subjects
The movie was funny, like the TV show it was based on. The food was not had because the movie an hour later than I thought. Didn't want to hang around for an extra hour after eating. Brie on croissants and zapped in the microwave was enjoyed instead.
To Kill a Mockingbird was started yesterday and I am enjoying it far more than I thought I would. Hope I'll be finishing it tonight, but that depends on how phone call goes.
Been seriously considering buying Alan Moore's (along with Melinda Gebbie) new book. It's expensive, though. Bet a lot of people will be talking about it without having read it. Want to be one who talks about it because he's read it.
Was asked about my passion a few weeks ago. Was asked about my hobby on Sunday. The two different people asked about the same thing. Hobby or passion? Bliss? Wrote these two comics about bliss over a year ago. They're still true.
Need something outside of work to make work worth it. Something besides TV and Mario Kart and Fresh Air.
To Kill a Mockingbird was started yesterday and I am enjoying it far more than I thought I would. Hope I'll be finishing it tonight, but that depends on how phone call goes.
Been seriously considering buying Alan Moore's (along with Melinda Gebbie) new book. It's expensive, though. Bet a lot of people will be talking about it without having read it. Want to be one who talks about it because he's read it.
Was asked about my passion a few weeks ago. Was asked about my hobby on Sunday. The two different people asked about the same thing. Hobby or passion? Bliss? Wrote these two comics about bliss over a year ago. They're still true.
Need something outside of work to make work worth it. Something besides TV and Mario Kart and Fresh Air.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Would I Be Able To Bring My Toothpaste On A Plane?
Ever wonder "What If 9/11 Never Happened?" I know I do. The best in the series is the one written as a blog. The most accurate one is the one with the picture.
In other news, I'm taking myself to the Chinese buffet place tonight and then I'm going to see Strangers With Candy for the low price of only $4.50. I think I deserve it after my car went kaput on my way back to The North Bay (A story I won't be telling here until Thursday, I'll explain then.), don't you?
In other news, I'm taking myself to the Chinese buffet place tonight and then I'm going to see Strangers With Candy for the low price of only $4.50. I think I deserve it after my car went kaput on my way back to The North Bay (A story I won't be telling here until Thursday, I'll explain then.), don't you?
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