ok, ok, maybe you were expecting that from me, being the resident AFi Conspiracy Theorist and all.  Of course I couldn’t resist referencing the upcoming(?) Mayan Calendar Event.  But within our hobby, there is another End-of-Days Scenario unfolding.

It’s the end of the (collecting) world as we know it…but do you feel fine?

(...)
Read the rest of Action Figure Collecting: The End of Days?

This happened in my own community, just a few miles from my home.  That’s a violating experience.  I appreciate all the calls, texts, and social media messages checking on our welfare.  While we are safe, many more families are in a state of shock, confusion, and grief.  I have friends and acquaintances that were at the theater, among the first-responders, and are currently working at the medical centers treating victims.  It’s overwhelming.

The emerging details are horrifying, frightening, and sickening.  Many lives have been forever impacted.  The anonymous armies of the net are quick to point out the various religious and political blame and finger-pointing, not to mention the usual pro/anti weapons discussion, but the assumed motivations of the person responsible shouldn’t matter right now. The focus should be on the people and lives affected.  Families out for evening of simple enjoyment may never psychologically be able to go to a movie again.  First-responders, police, and firemen were greeted with images of horror they may never forget.  As I type this, many more are actively putting their lives at risk to disarm the devices in the individual’s home.  Keep them in your thoughts.

And of course, this reopens the emotional wounds from the Columbine tragedy from thirteen years ago.  I was painfully close to the events at that time, and I found all those feelings came right back – heartbreak, confusion, frustration, sorrow.  The daily emotional ordeal from Columbine lasted for many months for me, and I anticipate this will be similar in some ways.  My head and heart hurt right now.  The unfortunate link between the events are understandable, but it’s still tough to see the entire state of Colorado being painted with a very broad and negative brush nationally.  This is a beautiful and safe community, and a wonderful place to work, live, and raise a family, but the fact is we’ve had two mass shooting tragedies in thirteen years.  That is unfathomable to me.  Combined with the recent fires in Colorado Springs, this has been a very rough summer for our us.

What will be the fallout from this?  Will anyone be able to go to a theater and feel safe?  I know my family doesn’t want to see any movies right now.  Will there be copycats?  What about foolish people playing ‘pranks’?  I hope this is an isolated incident, and we are able to get back to some sense of normalcy soon.  It’s a frightening reality that we go to places where we are vulnerable, but we cannot let the isolated actions of a depraved individual change the way we go about our daily lives.  It’s not easy, but we must.

Jessica Ghawi Redfield was on of the victims. She was an aspiring broadcaster and intern with the local sports networks, and, eerily enough, barely avoided tragedy at the Eaton Centre Mall shooting in Toronto just a few weeks ago.  She detailed her experiences on her blog.  Below is a beautiful and thought-provoking excerpt:

I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday… I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. For one man, it was in the middle of a busy food court on a Saturday evening.

I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.

Use this tragedy to think about your own life.  Find a way to help someone.  Hug your kids.  Call your parents.  Reach out to an old friend.  Donate blood.  Resolve a long-standing feud.  Volunteer.  It sounds trite, but life can change in an instant and without warning, and events like this help remind us of what we take for granted.

Please keep the people of our community in your thoughts and your prayers today, tomorrow, and the near future.  May God bless you, and keep you safe.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

The DCnU. We are nine months into the New 52, and I can say with certainty that I am no longer interested in reading about the DCnU. It’s disappointing, and sad.I’m not here to nitpick about continuity and costumes, or argue about the sales of DC and the general health of the industry, nor am I willing to discuss the legitimacy of stubborn, Silver Age fanboys that may no longer be in DC’s Target Market and how they are resistant to change. But I am writing about one thing:

It could have, and should have, been different.

(...)
Read the rest of The DCU and DCnU: What Should Have Been

Some fathers go fishing or hunting with their sons; others bond over golf, or tinker with cars.  I have friends that regularly camp with their sons, and play guitar, and build their relationship through sports.  And sadly, some fathers don’t share much of anything with their sons at all.

But my own father, he and I always had three things we shared – playing and coaching athletics (basketball and baseball in particular); an unwavering love for the hapless Chicago Cubs; and most importantly…collecting.(...)
Read the rest of Happy Father’s Day

- – - – -

I’ve read these types of stories many times on the different boards, but now I have to share a wild and dramatic tale of my own. My up-close encounter with…

A Real, Live Scalper!

(cue dramatic ‘dum-dum-dummmmmm‘!)

(...)
Read the rest of Times Past: Scalper Encounter

On May 25th, my good pal and mastermind behind this project, Rick Crandall, held the annual KEZW radiothon fundraiser for the CFM.  It went well, but the project still needed to raise at least $400k to start building.  We weren’t quite there, but then something amazing happened.

(...)
Read the rest of Colorado Freedom Memorial – VICTORY!

The Han Snowlo Project: part II.

So I started this goofy experiment in my last blog entry.  Over the course of Thursday through Sunday, I tracked the rate of snowfall using a broomstick and my son’s Han Solo.

You can see the progress of the snow below, along with the anguished plastic cries of the non-carbonite frozen Corellian.

(...)
Read the rest of The Han Snowlo Project: Part II

Fun.

So anticipating that schools will be closed tomorrow and wanting nothing to do with household responsibilities, my son and I settled upon our own homemade snow measurement system…

The Han Snowlo Project.

(...)
Read the rest of The Han Snowlo Project: Part I

For those wondering, threeA Toys (3A) produces limited-edition products based on the crazy-cool creations of the artist Ashley Wood and the universe he’s imagined with his paintbrush.  Blind Cowboy is part of the ‘Popbot’ section of the threeA universe.

You can read more about 3A and the various toylines here and here.

Here’s the specific entry on Blind Cowboy from the ThreeA wiki.

His family killed by a gang of deranged robots, his eyesight taken as payment for someone else’s debt. He now wears the rag reputedly used to mop the bloody brow of the assassinated JFK, the turgid rag now giving a clarity of vision, a clarity of justice and revenge to the Blind Cowboy. His is only friend, a horse named Ghost!

(...)
Read the rest of HipsterReview: threeA Blind Cowboy and Ghost Horse

Five blog entries in 2011.

Really?

Seriously?

It can’t be that hard…can it?

I mean, there’s plenty to discuss over the past year…MattyCollector frustrations, the whole SaveDCUC effort, the slow death of JLU, the nostalgia of toylines like G.I.Joe and ThunderCats, the appeal of toylines like threeA and Hot Toys, the depressing debacle of the DCnU, the unavoidable mentioning of Tim Tebow, films, books, art…you would think that I could squeeze out at least a few simple blogs here and there over the course of twelve months, right?

Apparently not.(...)
Read the rest of It shouldn’t be this hard to write a blog.

click for bigger image

Thanks to all of you who supported this Bracket with humor, patience, and understanding.  I am already in the planning stages for the next Bracket, hopefully to avoid some of the scheduling issues we’ve run into on the last ones.  So comment below what you guys want to see!

Teen Titans?  DCU Villains?  Legion of Superheroes?  Obscure C-List Characters?

Let me know!

Since I grew up in Arizona, you’re likely wondering why exactly was in Missouri?  Well, my family owns a summer cabin there, just outside of the small town of Warrenton and not far from Washington and Union (reportedly one of the most haunted places in MO).  The cabin itself is located in a private community, far off the main highway and at the end of a 2 mile winding gravel road through the deep woods.  At times, this brief trip can be very disconcerting, no matter the time of day. In daylight, there are all sorts of shadows and uneasy moments of odd silence. At night, the mind plays tricks and you feel like there could be anything lurking in the darkness, quietly watching your every move.

(...)
Read the rest of Superfly and his Monster: Part I

OK, so this blog is about four years later than I had promised. Yeah, yeah, I know, I am a slacker. In writing this, I realize I have never put this story down on paper.  It’s always been told to others, with much dramatic effect, so hopefully that won’t get lost on the written page.

- – - – -

Bigfoot.

Sasquatch.

I’ve always been fascinated by the legend and stories of this creature that supposedly lives in various forms all over the world.  I’m not sure what got me interested in it, but ever since I was a little kid, I visited libraries, old bookstores, tracked down any and all books, documents, stories, research papers, basically anything I could find on the subject.  It’s much easier now with the internet access, but years ago it was tough to find much of anything, especially braving the looks and attitudes of people when you inquire on the subject. But that didn’t stop me.

All the skeptics and scientists that say Bigfoot didn’t exist, and all the friends who thought I was just plain crazy, all that never made that much of a difference to me.  I always dug the idea of this unseen primitive beast who manages to stay hidden despite all of society’s technology and advances.

It was always just a hobby; I never had any real plans to actually go out in the woods and hunt for one, considering that growing up in the deserts of Phoenix made that fairly impossible.  Plus, reading some of the eerie stories of encounters made me acknowledge there was absolutely no way I would ever sit huddled alone in a tent at 2 am and listen for the horrible midnight screams of Bigfoot.

Terrifying animal screams breaking the silence, followed by sounds of branches being torn down by something huge and powerful, all that in the dead of night? Yeah, no thanks.

I’ve had my share of strange things happen in the forests of Northern Arizona and that was more than enough for me. I settled for staying up late reading personal accounts of sightings, from books with nightmare-inducing language like "Here are the true facts you should know about the controversial creature that may be lurking near your town – at this very moment." Nice, huh?

OK, so this creature, this monster, it’s not just a goofy creation of good ‘ol USA hillbillies; it has been seen in many countries worldwide and in all sorts of frightening forms.  It’s known as Yeti in the Himalayas, Yeren in China. The Yowie-Whowie in Australia.  In Native American culture, the creature goes by the name Chiye-tanka (roughly translated to great elder brother) or "the big man".

And in Missouri, the MoMo – the Midwest’s version of Sasquatch.

It apparently has orange eyes, a large pumpkin-shaped head, three-fingered claws and leaves three-toed footprints, and, unlike the shy Bigfoot, this aggressive creature was known to kill dogs and terrorize humans. Sounds playful, yes? There were actually plans for a MoMo action figure by Nevermore Creations, but the line was eventually canceled. Looks rather goofy, in my opinion. I mean, where are the blood-soaked teeth and dead dog?

Sightings of the Momo (short for Missouri Monster) have been reported since the 1940s, but it was the 1972 sightings in Louisiana, Missouri, that attracted all the press.  The report:

The press jocularly dubbed the elusive and rank-smelling critter "Momo," for "Missouri Monster."The first sighting was on the afternoon of July 11, 1972. The Harrison boys – Terry, 8, and Walley, 5 – were playing near their home at the base of Marzolf Hill, a ridge that runs the length of the town.

At some point, Terry felt an unease. He glanced up and saw something staring at him. It was big and hulking and ominous. Its face was obscured by a mat of long hair. Terry screamed. In the house, 15-year-old sister Doris, hearing their screams, ran to the window. "It was right by the trees," she would later tell reporters, "6 or 7 feet tall, black and hairy. It stood like a man, but it didn’t look like one to me."

Now, this was 1972, and, true, there were hirsute hippies roaming the forests. And at times there would be seen lumbering through town some scruffy barge hand who might prompt a double-take, but it seemed this was a new species. Both Terry and Doris said the creature seemed to have no neck, and it was carrying under its arm what looked like a dead dog flecked with blood.

Edgar Harrison came home from work and found no monster, but near the tree where his excited children said the thing had stood he found faint footprints in the dust and black hairs stuck to some twigs. Harrison tried to reassure them that what they had seen was probably a hobo who by now was long gone from the area.

Harrison was a deacon in the Pentecostal church, and that Friday, July 14, there was a prayer meeting at his home. Later, as the group socialized on the porch, they heard a series of growls and shrieks coming from the water reservoir atop Marzolf Hill. The harrowing sound got louder and louder as it drew nearer.

The neighbors, too, came out to see what manner of beast was making such a racket. One of them yelled, "Here it comes!" In a panic they one and all fled, away from the awful screams. According to the Louisiana Press-Journal, by the time police arrived on the scene, all was quiet once more.

Others began seeing Momo. About 5 the next morning, Louisiana resident Pat Howard saw a manlike creature cross the road near Marzolf Hill. He described it only as a "dark object" running like a man. On the river road that runs northward out of town, Ellis Minor, then 63, sat alone in front of his cabin. Around 10 p.m., his bird dog began to growl. Minor got his big flashlight and shined it out toward the road. "It was standing there," Minor told a UPI reporter. "I couldn’t see its eyes or face – it had hair down ’bout to its hindparts.

As soon as I threw the light on it, it whirled and took off thataway." On July 19, Louisiana police chief Shelby Ward organized a 20-man posse to search Marzolf Hill.  Spread out with walkie-talkies, they combed the ridge from end to end.  On one of the paths they saw that an old dump had been recently disturbed, rubbish dug up and strewn about.

They also discovered two disinterred dog graves with bones scattered about. It was getting weirder and weirder.The Harrison home had become a staging area for Momo seekers.

Edgar took Richard Crowe from Chicago’s Irish Times up on Marzolf Hill. Crowe would write, "As we walked up the path, we found a set of tracks. They looked like large human footprints. Even with the heel impression incomplete, it measured 10 inches long and five inches wide. There had been no rain for 10 days and we estimated that more than 200 pounds of pressure would have been necessary to make prints in the hard soil."

Meanwhile, there were Momo sightings up and down the Mississippi, from St. Charles County to Hannibal. A DJ on a country-music station in nearby Bowling Green recorded a song, "Momo the Missouri Monster," and that did more to fuel the legend than anything else. For several years after the scare, the town of Louisiana held Momo Days, with the residents walking around wearing wigs with the tresses in front. But the bottom line is he’s still out there, spooking horses, stealing dogs – just for a snack, mind you – and still smelling as funky as the river itself. (1)

The report was carried in the Chicago Sun-Times July 21, 1972 and in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner July 20 1972 and other newspapers.  Since then, there have been sightings in 29 counties throughout the state.  But mysterious creatures aren’t the only topic of local folklore; that area has had its share of oddities dating back to the 1940s.

UFOs, strange floating lights at night, fireballs in the sky, mysterious deaths.  The haunted Zombie Road.  The phantom man of River Road.  A woman’s unexplained midnight screams from an abandoned lime kiln along the Salt River.  And this – during the winter of 1954, a couple was found dead in a car along the side of River Road, north of Highway 54.  The woman sat on the passenger side and appeared to be asleep.  The man looked like he was hiding, curled up on the floor under the steering wheel and was completely naked.  His clothing was found on the highway, 20 feet behind the car and folded neatly.  Their deaths were officially listed as "asphyxiation", even though the window on the driver’s side was open in ten-degree-below-zero weather.  Creepy.

And here you thought Missouri was just full of meth labs.

At this point you’re thinking, ok, great, so there’s some weird stuff and a Bigfoot-type monster hanging out in Missouri, so what doe this have to do with Superfly, right? Trust me, we’re just getting started…

To Be Continued…

(1) William Stage writes about the Missouri Momo Monster © The River Front Times Online Archives http://www.bigfootencounters.com/creatures/momo.htm

We’ve all felt it.

It begins when you read on the forums that Figure X may have been found at retail and your heart skips a beat.  You hop in your car, get a ride, catch a bus.  With a rush of adrenalin as you enter the store’s parking lot, your mind filling with the possibilities of what awaits you in the toy aisle.  The building anxiety as you walk towards your destination, your pace and heart rate increasing with each step.  Your mind is racing.

Could it really be there?  What if someone has gotten to it first??  What if it’s a scalper???  What if he’s there RIGHT NOW WITH MY BELOVED TOY IN HIS FILTHY SCALPER HANDS????

The pressure is building.  You are almost running now.  You nearly roll an elderly woman as you dart around an endcap, focused on your goal.  It’s got to be there, it must be there!

Finally – you reach the toy aisle!  But wait -someone is already there! NO!!!

(...)
Read the rest of The Thrill of the Chase

You have to love this time of year…March Madness!

The fans have voted!

Feverishly watching the bracket and matchups!

Cheering on the overwhelming favorites and familiar faces, while secretly hoping the underdog Cinderella will sneak through to the final round, and having your hopes crushed as your choices fall by the wayside…!

I’m talking, of course, about the DCUC Fan Bracket here at AFi.

(...)
Read the rest of Bracket Fever!

A heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you that defend and preserve our freedom.

- – - – -

Bigfoot. Sasquatch. I’ve always been fascinated by the legend and stories of this creature that supposedly lives in various forms all over the world. I’m not sure what got me interested in it, but ever since I was a little kid, I found whatever books, documents, stories, and research papers, basically anything I could find on the subject.  All the skeptics and scientists that say Bigfoot didn’t exist, and all the friends who thought I was just plain crazy, all that never made that much of a difference to me.  I always dug the idea of this unseen primitive beast who manages to stay hidden despite all of society’s technology and advances.

It was always just a hobby; I never had any real plans to actually go out in the woods hunt for one, considering that growing up in the deserts of Phoenix kinda made that impossible. Plus, some of the freaky stories of encounters I had read made me think there was no way I would ever sit huddled by myself in a tent at 2 am and listen for proof of Bigfoot.” Terrifying animal screams breaking the silence, followed by sounds of branches being torn down by something huge and powerful, all that in the dead of night? Yeah, no thanks. I’ve had my share of strange things happen in the forests of Northern Arizona and that was more than enough for me. I settled for staying up late reading personal accounts of sightings, from books with nightmare-inducing language like "Here are the true facts you should know about the controversial creature that may be lurking near your town – at this very moment." Nice, huh?

OK, so this creature, this monster, it’s not just a goofy creation of good ‘ol USA hillbillies; it has been seen in many countries worldwide and in all sorts of frightening forms. It’s known as Yeti in the Himalayas, Yeren in China. The Yowie-Whowie in Australia.  In Native American culture, the creature goes by the name Chiye-tanka (roughly translated to great elder brother) or "the big man".  And in Missouri, the MoMo – the Midwest’s version of Sasquatch.  It apparently has orange eyes, a large pumpkin-shaped head, three-fingered claws and leaves three-toed footprints, and, unlike the shy Bigfoot, this aggressive creature was known to kill dogs and terrorize humans. Sounds fantastic, yes? There were actually plans for a MoMo action figure by Nevermore Creations, but the line was eventually canceled.

Sightings of the Momo (short for Missouri Monster) have been reported since the 1940s, but it was the 1972 sighting in Louisiana, Mo, that attracted all the press. Since then, there have been sightings in 29 counties throughout the state. But mysterious creatures aren’t the only topic of local folklore; that area has had its share of oddities dating back to the 1940s. UFOs, strange floating lights at night, fireballs in the sky, mysterious deaths. The haunted Zombie Road. The phantom man of River Road. A woman’s unexplained midnight screams from an abandoned lime kiln along the Salt River. And this – during the winter of 1954, a couple was found dead in a car along the roadside. The woman sat on the passenger side and seemed to be asleep. The man looked like he was hiding, curled up under the steering wheel and was completely naked.  His clothing was found on the highway, 20 feet behind the car and folded neatly. Their deaths listed as "asphyxiation", even though the window on the driver’s side was open in ten-degree-below-zero weather. And here you thought Missouri was just full of meth labs.

At this point you’re thinking, ok, great, so there’s some weird stuff and a Bigfoot-type monster hanging out in Missouri, so what doe this have to do with me, right? Trust me, we’re just getting started…

 Yes, it’s a chance to help, and it’s for a good cause, but it really is a personal request. As I have blogged before, I am an active supporter of the Colorado Freedom Memorial. This Memorial will give military families a place to pay respects to the memory of those that did not return. It will be constructed with glass panels that will reflect Colorado’s mountains and blue skies. At 14′ tall and 125′ long, the panels will be etched with the names of the over 6000 men and women who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Privates, Generals, MIAs, Civilians, all wars and all branches of service, honored in one place. There is NO memorial in America like it. And you can help support it. How?

The Chase Community Giving Summer 2010 program is currently running on Facebook. The program will award more than $5 million in funding to be shared among 200 charities, with grants ranging from $20,000 to $250,000. Voting ends at 11:59 PM EDT on July 12, so there’s only a few days left. The top vote-getter by Monday will receive $250,000 funding, and 199 others will receive $20,000. That would go a long way towards seeing the Memorial built.

Yes, yes, I know, this is a toy blog, and this topic really has nothing to do with toys or collecting. You’re right. But it’s the spirit of the collecting community that I am appealing to now. AFi has an amazing core group of individuals who share in a common bond, and we all can easily forget how the simplest of freedoms required heroic sacrifices. Please help me ensure these sacrifices are not forgotten by voting for the CFM. It’s free, it’s important, and it takes a few seconds. Being grateful for your Freedom is certainly worth the effort!

Cast your vote for the Colorado Freedom Memorial HERE

Colorado Freedom Memorial on Facebook

Thank you for your support!

Some fathers fish, or hunt with their sons. Others camp, or work on cars, or more sadly, don’t do much of anything together at all. But my own father, he and I always had three things we shared – playing sports, basketball and baseball in particular; a love for the Chicago Cubs, and my collecting of toys.

(...)
Read the rest of Happy Father’s Day

On an extremely personal note, I wanted to share with you my involvement with the Colorado Freedom Memorial. (www.cfmf.net) This will be the first Monument in America to honor local veterans of all wars, by name, in one place. Regardless of one’s rank, one’s branch of service, and one’s generation of conflict – giving your life for your country is the highest price to be paid.

(...)
Read the rest of Remember their Sacrifices, and Help Honor Their Memory with the CFM

As the decade comes to a close, it’s time to reflect upon this bizarre hobby of collecting tiny plastic men. This past decade saw a renaissance of sorts in the toy collecting hobby, with the increased focus on adult collector-only lines, and a rebirth of many of the 1980s properties we cherished as kids. We saw old favorite lines continued, some in varied forms (Star Wars, Transformers, McFarlane, DC Direct, WWE), new favorite lines begin (Marvel Legends, Minimates, LOTR, JLU, DCUC, Hellboy, Hot Toys), and some end too early (MOTU, Street Fighter, Muppet Show, Sigma 6, Indiana Jones). And some were even resurrected (G.I.Joe, TMNT, MOTU, Ghostbusters).

We all have our likes, dislikes, characters we love, companies we hate, that one beloved character that finally was produced, or the ones that never saw the light of day. But regardless, we are all passionate about this hobby. Passionate…and opinionated. Now, as we all know, collectors can be quite the opinionated group. Especially when it comes to “top ten” lists.

So below, in my own flawed personal opinion, are the Top 10 action figures from 2000 through 2009. Just in time for the ending of the 2000s? 00s? Zeros? Anyway, feel free to read and gaze in bewilderment with my choices. With all the amazing figures to be released in the past decade, it was difficult to narrow down the choices, and I’m sure I have left off more than a few excellent figures. As a disclaimer, I’m a huge DC and Marvel fan, and I don’t collect Star Wars or any McFarlane lines. Other toy lines, like Transformers, Minimates, and Hot Toys, for example, I only follow and purchase certain items. And to be fair, the following list is in no particular order, and is my own opinion, so feel free to share your comments below or on the forum (link at the end of the article).

(...)
Read the rest of Reflection Part I: Top Ten Action Figures of the Decade

In the wake of the attack, 16 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Crosses, four Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars were awarded to the American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl Harbor.

Remembering is an act of reverence, for learning from the past. Let’s always remember Pearl Harbor, its brave men and women and the sacrifices they made that day.

 - – - – -

This Thanksgiving Day, it may be all-too-easy to dwell on the negative thoughts and feelings, and all the struggles of the past year. But the best part about Thanksgiving, is it gives each and every one of us the chance to take one day to set aside all the troubles. Despite our own personal difficulties, we all have the opportunity to count our blessings today, no matter how seemingly small and inconsequential.

Whether we are surrounded by a loud houseful relatives, or celebrating the day quietly at home or working, we all are loved by our friends and family. Focus on the unity and togetherness.

The overwhelming majority of us have dinner this day, and there are enough compassionate people in our communities who care enough to ensure that no one needs to go hungry today.

We will go to bed tonight without worry that a bomb could be dropped on the roof over our heads. And there is a roof underneath which, for most, it’s warm and dry. Some people can’t say the same.

And due to the valiant sacrifices of our fellow man, we have the freedom to think and say what we want, within moderation of course. The toughest decisions for many are not life and death, but what kind of action figure to buy.

On the things that matter most – our basic needs for food, health, freedom, safety, friendship and family – are pretty good, for the great masses, compared to most everyplace else.

One’s sense of how lucky one is can be a relative thing. Some years we just have to look harder than others to find something to celebrate, but it’s there. May we find satisfaction in the simpler things today, and count our blessings, while hoping for a better tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you that defend and preserve our freedom.

"Fear will rise. Willpower will gather. And a wave of light will unleash the truth behind the power of the ring."

                                                                                                        ~From the Book of OA 

The spectrum of emotions and the culmination of the War of Light collide with the long-awaited Blackest Night saga that arrives today in shops. We’ve been waiting for this story since the seeds were planted way back in the 2004 Green Lantern: Rebirth series, which was actually published before the Marvel Zombies stories. Five years is a long time to wait, and I’m hoping it will pay off.

This should be loads of fun, despite the vocal outcries of fans seeing beloved deceased characters like E2 Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Firestorm return in unflattering forms. Personally, I think it will make for some excellent storytelling…seeing a loved one or colleague return from the grave, after you have made your peace and now respect their memory, now that could bring up lots of interesting insights and unresolved issues in all these characters we enjoy so much. Yes, seeing the original Superman return as a hideous zombie could be blasphemous. And yes, Black Hand looks like the Gimp from Pulp Fiction. But the Black Lanterns are all powered by the corpse of the Anti-Monitor, so I’m sold. A zombiefied Terra swapping spit with Gar Logan is just gravy.

And, of course, hopefully a few of these heroes (and villains) will return to the land of the living. We shall see.

 

So my beloved Cubbies have once again clinched the division. And even secured the all-important Home-Field Advantage. But, of course, they are the Cubs so I’m tempering my giddy dancing.

To get you through the week, here’s a fun little tune, “Someday All The Way", cooked up by fellow Cubs fan and grunge rocker Eddie Vedder. Inspired by legendary Cubbie Ernie Banks, it’s a great addition to the incurable little world I like to call "The Endless Hope". Audio here. If you care to download the song, you can do so for 99 cents at Pearl Jam.com. Vedder made it available at Ernie Banks’ request.

Lyrics:

Yeah, don’t let them say that it’s just a game.
Well, I’ve seen other teams and it is never the same.
When you go to Chicago, you’re blessed and you’re healed, The first time you walk into Wrigley Field.

Heroes with pinstripes and heroes in blue, Give us the chance to feel like heroes do.
Whether we’ll win and if we should lose, we know Someday we’ll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we’ll go all the way.

We are one with the Cubs, with the Cubs we’re in love.
Hold our heads tall as the underdogs.
We are not fairweather, but farweather fans.
Like brothers in arms, in the suites and the stands.
There’s magic in the Ivy and the old score board.
The same one I stared at as a kid keeping score.
In a world full of greed, we could never want more.
Someday we’ll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we’ll go all the way.

Here’s to the men and the legends we’ve known.
Giving us faith and giving us hope.
United we stand and united we’ll fall
Down to our knees the day we win it all.
Yeah Ernie Banks said, “oh, let’s play two”.
I think he meant two hundred years.
Playing at Wrigley, our diamond, our jewel.
The home of our joy and our fears.
Keeping traditions, and wishes anew,
The place where our grandfathers’ fathers they grew.
The spiritual feeling if I ever knew.
And when the day comes for that last winning run, and I’m crying and covered with beer.
I look to the sky and know I was right today.
Someday we’ll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we’ll go all the way.

It’s gonna be a long month…… 

But not last night!

I stopped by after work to grab some quick groceries, and as I exit the car I got my hopes up as usual. I hoped for the best, but I fully expected to leave the store discouraged, like so many other Wal-Mart runs. But this day was different!

Finally, finally, after dozens and dozens of Wal-Mart shopping trips – I get a cart with four working wheels!

Seriously! I didn’t get any pics, but I’m telling the truth, I swear! All the wheels worked. No “klunk klunk klunk” as I wander through the store, no horrible skidding, scraping wheel sound. No irritated looks from strangers as I struggle down the aisle. I know you probably don’t believe me, that I made it all up, but it happened. It was awesome.

Oh, new action figures? yeah, well, I didn’t find any of those. But the cart! Oh, the cart…

it was joyous.

The Voice, Swoonatra, The Bony Baritone.

The Innkeeper, The Groovy Galahad, The Swing-Shift Caruso.

Frankie Boy.

10 years ago today the Chairman of the Board passed on. Francis Albert Sinatra died of a heart attack on Thursday night, May 14, 1998. Same night as the final Seinfeld show.

With a swagger that drove women mad, a style that men aspired to emulate and unequalled charisma and charm, Frank Sinatra was more than just another Hollywood star – He was a legend, an enigma. Simultaneously relatable and untouchable. But I was never really aware of any of that growing up.

I honestly never really cared much about Frank Sinatra when I was a kid. My older brother Scott is a huge Frank fan, and I would often hear his music playing when we would spend time together. I always liked it well enough, but it really didn’t do much for me. Being younger, I recall foolishly thinking it was “old people’s music” and not really giving it a second thought. When I grew older, though, I began to appreciate Frank Sinatra. The nuances in Frank’s voice, the arrangement of the music and way the songs sounded. Not just the words and melody, but the way the songs sounded. The way he emphasized certain parts of a song. Frank had an amazing ability to really draw you in to his music and make it a meaningful experience.

Dean, Sammy, Nat, hey I love you guys too. But Frank, man…Frank is The End.  My favorite Sinatra songs change all the time, from season to season, even moment to moment.  It depends on what’s going on my life at the time. Anything, everything can relate to Sinatra. That’s what’s amazing about the man’s music.

David Patrone summed it up perfectly on his blog recently: You hear this phrase a lot: "The thing about Frank Sinatra is…" well that’s just it.  Sinatra did it all; his life, his music, an Oscar, eleven Grammies, two Golden Globes, uncountable other awards, his philanthropy, his failures, his ups his downs, his pain, his love, his luck (both good and bad) and his success tell an amazing story.  His was a full life and if you haven’t had a chance to read about it, you really should.  You could learn a lot about livin’ from Frank Sinatra.  He climbed to the top and landed at the bottom and pulled it back up to the top again several times in Global Proportions.  He was loved and hated and revered and despised, sometimes by the same person.  His actual life was a piece of art; simultaneously beautiful and ignoble in the making, sublime and terrible in the examination.  I’ve never heard anyone discount Sinatra as an artist; they may say something like, "I like so and so better" or, "that guy was a real @$$@!" but I’ve never heard anyone say, "I don’t like Frank Sinatra."  He was bonified.  He was 100% real.

Tina Sinatra recently commented, "The world stopped 10 years ago May 14th. All over the world, cities were draped in black. It was bizarre. But it tells me, then and now, that music is universal and that the emotional triggers of music never pass in people. You don’t forget an emotional moment, good or bad, particularly if it is connected to a song. And Dad was the kind of singer that you listened to if you were happy, if you were sad, and when you were intimate. It was said when he died that he underscored our lives – and I think he did. All singers do that. He just did it a little better and he did it for longer."

She’s right.

So tonight, all you cats out there raise a glass and, like Frankie said, "Live every day like it’s your last."

Indiana Jones is three weeks away!

And the Indy toys are great fun and make me feel like a little kid again.

dudemadness.com

Megan Fox

words that annoy me: persnickety, erudite, jocular, penultimate, antidisestablishmentarianism

words that please me: soufflé, macabre, noodle, poop deck, Fukudome

I also like "Plethora” simply because El Guapo used it in "The Three Amigos."

Jimmy John’s = good eats.

How does one perfectly good shoe just end up in the road?

The Red Wings may have swept the Avs and be the better team. But they still suck.

coworkers who use big words to impress others are morons. I say, never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

It’s my money and I need it now!

I really dig “Catch my Disease” by Ben Lee.

Acronyms are lame. And so are the people who use them but have no idea what they represent.

Megan Fox, again.

I want to punch that guy from the Tax Masters ad.

The Cubs are starting to play like the Cubs again. Wonderful.

This news story made my week: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/sports/baseball/30vecsey.html?em&ex=1209700800&en=9bbff492af3949f1&ei=5087%0A

And in regards to the above, huge props to Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace of Central Washington for doing the right thing and reminding the world winning isn’t everything.

He died a true hero: jumping on a grenade, taking the explosion in order to save his comrades.

On September 29, 2006, Michael Monsoor was part of an operation in Baghdad. He was on a rooftop along with two other SEALs and three Iraqi soldiers when a grenade suddenly came from out of nowhere. It bounced off his chest and landed in an area where it likely would have killed all of them. Next to the door which exited the rooftop, he was in a position to escape through the door before the explosion, but instead leapt on the grenade.

“He recognized immediately the threat, yelled ‘grenade’ and due to the fact that two other SEAL snipers, our brothers, could not possibly escape the blast, he chose to smother it with his body, absorbed the impact and lost his life in the process,” said Lt. Cmdr. Seth Stone, Mansoor’s platoon commander.  Another fellow SEAL that he saved was quoted, “Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, ‘You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.’”

How many of us would choose that path?  Honestly?  I guess we really can’t answer a question like that until we are in that situation, facing the reality of ultimate sacrifice. Michael Monsoor didn’t need to jump on that grenade. He had already been honored with his valor, receiving the Silver Star for running out into a firefight to drag an injured fellow SEAL to safety, while enemy bullets flew around them.  He had also earned the Bronze Star for his work with Iraqi soldiers. That might have been enough for some people. Serve your country, earn a medal or two and come back safely to live out the rest of their life.

But not Michael Monsoor. He was a Navy SEAL. He is a hero.

Take a few moments this week to remember that there are still true heroes out there, risking their lives daily to preserve our way of life. And if you know someone who has previously or is currently serving our country, tell them “thank you”.  It’s the least you can do for Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor. Hero.

drinking cold beer in Moab

Ellen Page

I hope DCUC goes on forever

phrases that annoy me: from the get go, the whole kit and caboodle, hunker down

words that annoy me: underling, discharge, synergistic, barista, snuggle, jiggy

Richard Marx had a weird head

The Illuminati

this car is a mess and smells like it’s infected

dinosaurs are cool

I wish I had high-powered lasers on this car, so I could incinerate that jackhole that just threw his trash out the window

I miss Pepsi Blue

ButchNeedsaKidney.com

don’t trust anything that bleeds for 5 days and doesn’t die

LOST starts this week

the social atmosphere in the workplace is just like high school, with all the same annoying people

I should have called in sick

I posted this least year, but here it is again in case you missed it. You savvy Seinfeld viewers are no doubt familiar with this holiday, but for those who aren’t – a brief summary on the phenomenon known as Festivus.

Created as a plot device for a Seinfeld episode, Festivus is a nondenominational celebration of the shunning of the traditional commercialism and materialism that accompanies the holiday season. Frank Costanza created the holiday in response to the frustrations he felt regarding the usual holiday celebrations, relating the origins to Kramer.

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Read the rest of A Celebration of Festivus!

 They were stuck in Minneapolis traffic on their way home from work.
 

They were bound for the Metrodome to see the Twins play the Royals. They were going to spend time with in-laws, work out, pick up a child from the sitter, teach a folk dancing class, eat at an African restaurant, deliver a truckload of bread to Iowa. Alongside the cars were workers in hard hats, laying down a new surface of concrete on a nondescript 40-year-old highway bridge.
 

Then the 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. At that moment, the lives of nearly 200 people were suddenly and irrevocably linked.
 

The Star Tribune has identified the drivers and occupants of 76 of 84 cars, trucks and other non-construction vehicles that remained on the bridge or sank in the river, as well as six of the road construction workers. Each number on this aerial photo represents who was on the bridge that evening. Click on the numbers to read their stories, hear their voices and see the faces of the survivors and the relatives of those who died.
 

Thirteen people were killed as their cars crashed or the water overcame them. One hundred forty-four others suffered cuts, broken backs, crushed legs and other injuries in the cascade of concrete, steel and water. The number who carry the wounds in their minds is much larger – the next-of-kin, the witnesses, the rescuers, those who got off the bridge seconds earlier or took a last-minute detour.

http://www.startribune.com/projects/bridge/

Still, it was a fun ride while it lasted, and such a great time for Colorado fans.  And as we Cubs fans like to say, "there’s always next year!"

It starts tonight – ROX vs SOX! 

Man I can’t believe the run the Red Sox are getting, even here in town. And I’m surprised just how much disrespect is being thrown Colorado’s way, from all over the country. Well, ok, I can believe it – I mean, who are the Rockies? Especially compared to a team with great tradition like the Sox. And the myopic east coast media has pretty much handed Boston the crown. But it ain’t over yet.

The Rockies have earned their spot. They deserve to be here. And they’re gonna give the Sox hell!

It’s gonna be a great Series!

This town is crazy right now, with Rockies stuff flying off the shelves.   And stores have a tough time selling stuff during the year, and now they can’t keep in in stock in October?! People are actually selling conterfeit Rockies merchandise. What has the world come to??

So WS tickets go on sale here online at 10:00 am, but I’m probably not even going to try to get ‘em. There’s about 17,000 tickets available and about 150,000 people that want them, and about 16,500 are those are filthy scalpers. I’ve got a coworker that’s a ticket "broker" and he said he could get me in the door for about $800, or I could get a seat in his suite for only $1100. Yeah, okay.

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Read the rest of ROX vs SOX!

The Cubs are my team, my family’s team, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the Colorado Rockies. Their first season here was the same year I moved to Denver, and I remember skipping class to go to Rockies games. A warm summer day, the hapless Rockies, the knowledge that the rest of your sucker classmates were stuck inside, working hard on projects while you enjoy a few beers in the sun - that’s a tough afternoon to beat.

But they just could never put it together. Blake Street Bombers?  Speed & Smallball?  Mike Hampton?  They could never get any of those plans to work. Until now.  Before the season, the Rockies would have been lucky to finish 3rd, happy even. I don’t think they ever imagined they’d win 14 of their last 15 games to clinch a playoff spot. No one did. But that”s the magic of baseball. Strange things can happen – look at the Mets.

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Read the rest of First the Cubs, now the Rockies??!!

No matter how weak the division is, the Cubs went from last in 2006 to first this year, from 30 games under .500 to 84 wins so far – unbelievable!!! The Brewers gave it a great run, but the Cubs pulled it out. WOO HOO!!

My Pop and I spent the entire evening on the phone following both games, and we’ve been watching the celebration in Cinci in the Cubs clubhouse. Silly? of course. But these moments, sharing this with my Dad, this is what life is about.

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Read the rest of CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Petty?  maybe.  But I’m sick of seeing just how dumb everyone is.  This entire country needs a dictionary for Christmas.  Bah!

Sure, we’re excited about the new house. But that excitement wears off when you realize just how much crap you’ve acquired and decided to keep in those 300 heavy boxes, some of which the cat decided to pee all over for some unknown reason and you have to unpack and repack, just to keep it packed up.  Specifically, I had no idea just how much space my collection takes up, or how much heavy-lifting would be involved.  Before we moved last year into our current place, I had much of my collection on display and it took about a week to carefully pack it all up.  I’ve kept most of packed during the past year, but I’ve also bought lots of new items since last August, so that needed to be packed up too.  The result was at least 100 boxes of toys.  It took 11 separate trips in our van over a week just to move all my stuff alone, and that’s just collectibles – I still had dozens of boxes full of artwork, art supplies, books, prints, client files and discs, 31 comic boxes full of books.  I made trips every stinking night, after a long day at work, carefully loading it all up like Jenga pieces and making two or three trips until midnight or longer.  But I had to do it, since I don’t want anyone else moving my collection.  Stubborn, yes.  But if something breaks or gets damaged, then I only have myself to blame instead of one of my clumsy oaf friends. And I have plenty of those.

We gave ourselves about a month to be out of the current place, and we figured that was enough time.  But now we’re down to our last week and we are going to cut it pretty close.  Our previous house, when it sold we had to be out in 10 days so we actually hired movers.  Way expensive, and they ended up being a truckload of total morons and messing up some of our furniture too.  So this time we decided to do it ourselves and save the money.  But man, what a pain.  I’ve made 4 trips in a 16’ truck, and we’ve done about 25 trips in the van, and we still have a half-dozen more van loads to go.  When did we get all this crap??  Seriously, there were boxes of baby clothes, broken kids toys, dozens of photo books, VHS movies, lingerie I’ll never see, big heavy books, my tools I never use, old Maxim magazines, outdated too-small shoes, long-forgotten stuffed animals, I have no idea when we bought all this stuff.  Who needs like 3 boxes of marital aids?

Add all that to getting the address changed on everything, setting up internet and phone and TV all over again, utilities, cleaning, putting away all your daily-use items, getting pets acclimated, the whole thing sucks.  The cat has already taken a dump in our clothes closet after being in the house like one day.  The toughest part is physically, we’re totally exhausted.  I could take off the next couple days just to sleep, but there’s just too much to get done to take any breaks.  Yesterday I spent the morning at work, then got the moving truck again and moved all the remaining stuff in the current house and garage into the new place by my lonesome from 11:00 in the morning to 10:30 last night.  And I also moved all the heavy furniture and washer & dryer upstairs using the hand cart, which I really should not have been doing alone. Every part on my body hurts today, and my back is one gigantic monkeyfist.  I’ll be happy when this whole thing is all over.

But for all my complaining, I still feel pretty blessed.  With all the mortgage issues and foreclosures so people are going through, we feel lucky to have our house and be in a good situation.  Once everything gets settled, I’m sure it will be fine. I just need to find a way to keep the cat from crapping everywhere.