A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Torchwood: Miracle Day: "Dead of Night" - With Rex and Esther now part of Torchwood, the crew really gets going. Vera the doctor is brought into the team, Jack has a night out, and Gwen goes undercover. Not as bad as I was expecting from the controversy, and the plot slowly moves forward with what might be the discovery of the big bad. Not too bad.


• Ghost Hunters: "Pearl Harbor Phantoms" - The crew gets a Hawaiian vacation with Josh Gates and his snark. It's a nice location to visit for them in the middle of winter. The two hangers at the Pacific Aviation Museum are good places to check out, and the crew is respectful of the location. I like the stories of the staff, they seem to clearly admire their ghosts rather than fear them, and love telling stories. It was nice to see the place, and fun to watch a bunch of people running around in hangers all night long. This episode may be unique in that there wasn't a reveal or summary at the end, that's for the next episode. Which hasn't aired yet, I think.


• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Dead Justice" - Of all the things I expect from Scooby-Doo, depth is not one of them. So seeing the strange antagonism between the mayor and the sheriff in this one, tied up with Fred's desperation to impress his father, was a little bit of a surprise. With only a couple of more episodes, will the big mystery be revealed?


• History Detectives: "Season 9, Episode 6 - Japanese Carved Cane; Kittery Telescope; Baker's Gold (repeat)" - The Japanese Internment Camps are a sick blot on our history, and learning more about them and keeping memory of them alive is good. The cane is beautiful. The telescope was a very exciting story, as the thing just seemed to get older and older, and the possible history in it was great. I have to wonder if the owner would consider donating it to a museum. NOTE: all of the next episode is repeats.

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This week's movie was The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure (Princeton and Mexico, 1916). Still watching the borrowed DVD Set. We're into the "older Indy" stories, with a new actor playing Indy. In this one, Indy pairs up with Nancy Drew (sort of) to solve a mystery and get to the prom. Then he finishes an adventure he had in the first movie (which was originally the second part of the very first episode). It took awhile to get used to the older Indy, but he grows on you. Not bad, but I'm still wishing I could see the show as it originally aired.

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While at the Oz convention, hubby-Eric picked up Dinosaurs Across California, a strange little comic LOADED with information about California tourist sites and famous people who have come from California. It has an Oz connection when the time traveling dinos stop in to meet L. Frank Baum at Ozcot in a single panel. I don't know that I would recommend this for casual reading, but it certainly was crammed of great images that are worth pouring over for details and information that is worth thinking about.

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My Kindle book this week was The Flying Girl and Her Chum by L Frank Baum. I read the Flying Girl, and enjoyed it, and then decided to dress up as Orissa at the Winkie Convention this year. So I decided I ought to read the sequel before I tried to play her. So I loaded the Google books version onto my Kindle and finished this book two nights before the convention started. Probably good timing, for I had the character in my thoughts while headed to the convention. As it turned out, I wasn't the only Orissa in the masquerade, but that worked out ok. Anyway, the story is weaker than the first Flying Girl book, but it was clearly meant as the second book of a trilogy. I bet the final book would have been better. As it was, Orissa tries a new plane with a passenger on board, and something goes wrong. As Orissa and her chum struggle to stay alive, their friends on land start the hunt for them. This is a survival story, an adventure tale, and a classic friends story as well. I enjoyed it, and wish the last book had been written. Maybe I'll have to write it myself some day.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Almost as Cool as Bacon-Wrapped Deep-Friend Chocolate-Covered Doublestuff Oreos on a Stick!

Spock is not impressed with Torvald and Wil. I'm not sure how Spongebob fits into the whole storyline. If you click the image, it'll take you to a full-sized version of the original Wil Wheaton and Torvald picture that I took at Emerald City Comicon in 2008.

As for the title of this blog post, that's the new Emerald City Androgums catchphrase invented at Androcon III.

Shed Cats!

When I went out to checking on my watering yesterday afternoon, shortly before the Androgums invaded my house, I peeked around the corner and saw TWO shed cats!

I decided not to sneak up on them, as they never seem to appreciate it, and I know the black and white one was already freaked out enough from me getting close to it the day before. So I did my usual checking of the watering, only aimed the phone's camera at them and took progressive pictures as I approached. The black and white cat (aka Shed Cat One) saw me coming and took off under the shed to watch from the safety of a small space. The second shed cat eventually woke up and lazily looked up at me, and I got this shot.


A moment later Shed Cat Two's eyes were wide open, and its whole body had tensed. It didn't run, but it looked terrified, so I slowly backed away, then turned my back so it could run without thinking I might attack. I finished checking on the watering and looked back toward the shed. SC1 was still hiding under the shed, but SC2 had vanished completely.

I'm not sure what to do about them, if anything. Both look scruffy, but they might have homes nearby. They aren't in my yard all the time. I don't want to encourage them so feeding them is out of the question, although I'm considering putting water out. I don't want them in my garden plot, but they don't seem to be doing anything to it now that the plants are big. I think for the moment I'll just let them alone and possibly put out water later if the heat calls for it. It shouldn't be tough to empty and replace water for shed cats while I'm out tending the plants.

Update: I put some water out. I saw the legs of SC1 poking out from under the shed when I looked out the window. No idea if the water has been appreciated or not.

The Shed Cat

Alert!

"Brent Anderson had a lot of art stolen in San Diego. His car was broken into at the San Diego Zoo and the following original art was stolen: 50 pages from Astro City Vols. 1 & 2 & Local Heroes; AC: Dark Age Books 1 (#s 1-4), 2 (#s 1-4) & 3 (#s 1-4) (50 pages). Green Lantern and Rising Stars artwork was stolen as well. Please share this to as many venues as possible, to get the thief caught and the art returned."

Via The Beat. Please spread the news.

Stepford Plants Report

I've become a common enough sight for two of the cats who hang out under my shed that they no longer automatically run and hide when I appear. One, a tawny gold cat, still is skittish and will hide if I move toward it. The other, a black and white cat, is now willing to sit still while I check the plants each morning and afternoon, and only gets worried if I go around the shed and out of sight.

The usual view of the black and white cat is legs and head sticking out from under the shed, lazily watching me as I go about my business in the garden plot. The golden cat usually is sitting next to the shed, between the shed and fence. Since the plants really started to grow I haven't caught any in my garden plot. I'll try to capture pictures of both of them, instead of just the one's legs.

I did manage to catch the black and white cat being a cat the other day when my family was visiting. As I helped load the car for them to leave, I glanced over and spotted the cat frolicking in the yard, chasing some bug. As soon as it noticed I was there, it hunkered down and watched me. But for a brief moment I saw joy.

CameraPhone Zen

Some Links

I'm there. Totally sold. Say no more. It's already on my pull list.

Fish Scale Plastic Replacement. Via Boing Boing.

Sexism on the 'net.

Harnessing the wind even now.

Are bananas about to become extinct? short answer: no, not really

The town of Quartzsite Arizona is in bad shape, and now half the police department is on leave after accusing the police chief of corruption. And, being Arizona, no one in the state government is helping deal with the problem. There's a history of the whole dispute here.

Turnabout should be fair play, but William Saletan of Slate is an honest man.

First-person account of Utøya.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Torchwood: Miracle Day: "Rendition" - And the action really starts in Torchwood style. Gwen is fantastic in this one, and Rex is growing on me, although his decision to arrest Torchwood and take them to the States seems overwhelmingly nasty on the surface. By the end of the story I'm enjoying his role. I'm definitely hooked now.


• History Detectives: "Season 9, Episode 5 - Drone Propeller; Clara Barton Letter (repeat); Teddy Roosevelt War Club" - The drone propeller story gave me some information that I've never heard about from WWII. I thought drones were a more recent phenom. The Teddy Roosevelt story was hilarious, partcularly the nature of the guy that made that club. It was a lovely tale, and a very strange artifact. I'd already seen the Clara Barton letter piece, but it was good to watch again.

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This week's movie was The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Journey of Radiance (Beneres and Peking, 1910). Still watching the borrowed DVD Set. In the first half, Indy is led on a spiritual journey by Jiddu Krishnamurti while Indy's tutor Helen Seymour questions Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant about their beliefs. Corey Carrier puts in a great performance as Indy in this one, while Margaret Tyzack's portrayal of Miss Seymour gives her added depth. There's another age jump as we enter the second episode. In this story Indy's father is detained and the rest travel around China, but Indy gets sick. This becomes another story of Indy's mother's strength, as she is determined to save her child. That journey with Miss Seymour and Ah Pin would be one worth seeing, too bad it happened off-screen. Another fun adventure with Indy.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Jun 8th
• Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1 - And so we learn how Aquaman sank Europe, and to a lesser extent why. I love the steampunk Vulko look, and how his hair is shown as properly trailing off in the water. I also like the inclusion of Rodunn, a relatively new character in the Aquaman family. Very nicely done.
• Flashpoint: Deathstroke The Curse of the Ravager #1 - I'm not really familiar with Deathstroke, but this is clearly tied into Aquaman and his villains, so I picked it up. Pretty good for a pirate book.

• Birds of Prey #13 - To make a threat that actually is dangerous to the Birds seems unlikely anymore, so it was nice that this threat got built up so well that it worked. Still, that combination of heroes shouldn't have much to fear from anyone in the DCU.
• All New Batman Brave and the Bold #8 - This one made me laugh so hard I very nearly fell on the floor. Particularly one bit while Aquaman and Batman are in the whirlpool. I'm still giggling about it. I may well be giggling about it for years to come, in fact. Oh, and the rest of the book was good, too. More Vulko in a week is always a good thing.
• Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Tomar Re - It would have been nice to get these Prequels before the movie came out, but no such luck. Still, a slightly interesting story of how Tomar Re's choices result in events that happen in the movie.
• Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Kilowog - Rookies are so foolish! Um. That's about all I can say about this one.
• Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #3 - Still trying to figure out what is happening here, although most of it is obvious. I'm really enjoying parts of this story, especially Amy's characterization.
• Spongebob Comics #3 - I just want to note that Mermaid Man is on the cover... on the cover of a comic book that Spongebob is waiting for! And there's a nice little Mermaid Man story, broken up with a framing sequence. Fun!
• Jun 15th
• Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #1 - And so we learn why Wonder Woman is so angry with Aquaman. And we get to see Garth for a short time, as well. Wonderful little tale to start and seemed to be leading up to a fairy tale ending. Good stuff.
• Power Girl #25 - Ah, this is not an entirely bad way to end this story and this book, but I'd like to know when Batman had time to review the black box recordings and come to that conclusion? The sequence of events is missing something.
• Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Abin Sur - I like the movie version of Waller even more now. I didn't think that was possible.
• Tiny Titans #41 - The Flashes race around. I loved the Spanish sequence with Mas Y Menos and Blue Beetle, all the more because I understood every word of it (except the backpack, I had to check the key for those bits). And Aqualad was in it! yay!
• Northlanders #41 - Another done-in-one, this about a girl who is heir to her father's island. A strange little character study, with the requisite amount of swearing and gore for this book.
• Doctor Who Ongoing v2 #6 - Poor Rory. In for death again. But hey, Sontarans! Awesome!
• Soldier Zero #9 - Every time I pick up a new issue of this book to read out of our pile I wonder why we got it, then I read it and enjoy it and it stays on the list.
• Jun 22nd
• Action Comics #902 - So... Doomsday gained intelligence and wants to *what*? Pretty typical Superman story. Not my cuppa.
• Justice League of America #58 - Still chaotic and overwrought. I'm just wanting this whole thing to end, the sooner the better.
• Zatanna #14 - This whole story is just filled with frustration, enough to annoy me even though I'm not the victim. It ended on a sour note, and I think I didn't really enjoy it.
• Young Justice #5 - Great story from Aqualad, but then, I would say that, wouldn't I? The cliffhanger is nicely done as well, as I'm thinking it'll lead into a good little bit of much-needed therapy for Superboy.
• DMZ #66 - This is about Zee and how she got involved, and what she thought of it. A good little character study, and a nice lead-in to the final story-arc.
• Fables #106 - While the end of the main story was clear enough, because I haven't read a ton of the previous issues, a lot of the tying up of loose ends went over my head. I really need to get the previous trades so I can catch up.
• Jun 29th
• Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1 - Fairly standard, except for the whole being at war thing. Yippee.
• Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #11 - Done-in-one tale of Guy Gardner being... Guy. Not bad.
• Justice Society of America #52 - I'm really beginning to feel sorry for Mr Terrific, while at the same time admiring his determination. As for the JSA bringing in specialists... really? Seriously? I would have waited for Dr Fate to come back.
• JSA 80 Page Giant 2011 - A decent set of stories. It's a mixed anthology, no particular theme except maybe "what does it mean to be a hero?" Like any anthology, some of them were fine, some not so fine.
• Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Hal Jordan - Meh. Not much there, really.
• Usagi Yojimbo #138 - And so ends the saga of the Scorpion gang. Wow, another intense one. And another worthy comic in the Usagi adventures. As always, I love this book.

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My library book this week was Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama. This is the story of how a young man torn between multiple cultures learns to accept himself. My interest in the book has a bit to do with the family connection I have with Obama. His mother is a Dunham, and I'm a Dunham, and we share a common ancestor a few generations back. So I read the bits about the Dunham side of his family with great interest, knowing that there was a tiny link with me there. The story of growing up black in America is alien to me, and I know that I will never truly understand it. I was taught that there is one race, "human", and that ethnicity and culture only matter as far as you let it. However, it's true that a lot of people have hang-ups about ethnicity and impose their views on others, making that hopeful teaching of my youth a little naive. I've met outright racists. I've had conversations with them. And, growing up in a racist culture I'm sure that I'm racist to some degree as well, no matter how much I wish I could protest that I'm not. This book doesn't have the answers to that, any more than it gives answers to Obama's questions about his background. But at least it raises the questions, more than once, and in a decent manner. To some extent, as long as we keep asking the questions and never allow ourselves to believe that this generation is post-racist, then that is a good thing. This isn't a great book, but it's good. Worth reading if you have the time and interest.

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This is Endtown. A mutagenic plague has turned humans into animal-like mutants, and they are hunted by "pure" human survivors of the war that followed the plague. Retreating underground, the mutant survivors create a community and try to hold onto themselves and come to terms with their new forms. I received an Endtown promotion comic from creator Aaron Neathery, and have read two of the storylines online (all availabe in the goComics archives). I'm technically reviewing the promotion, a nice done-in-one comic that fit into a long envelope, but I'll say a little about the other two stories. The first story was about a survivor living with the mutants who seems to have not changed from human. He and his girlfriend go on a quest, and have some terrifying adventures that define this new world. The second story is the current tale, which involves a wanderer who finds Endtown and joins in, only to feel like he doesn't fit in. The promo comic is about the Mayor of Endtown struggling to recapture some of the familiar past. The art is good, sketchy and evocative. The stories are strange and wonderful. And the characters are built up so nicely that you can't help but be pulled into their world, feeling their struggles. I've become fond of this comic strip, and I'm glad to recommend it to you.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Norway

My heart is sick.

Yet Another Linkdump

Very well done Comic-Con Bingo board, and as a counter, a disturbingly honest Comic Con Bingo board. Note: I've seen the Comedy Central version, and it's lame compared to these.

The Case for Comic Books.

Keep Right Except To Pass.

A League of Their Own.

The biggest problem with electric cars is that the infrastructure to charge them while you are out and about doesn't yet exist. Walgreens wants to change that.

Fascinating article on what gender means, and how marriage laws may have unintended consequences.

I'm seriously having trouble believing that people are really stupid enough to believe The Onion. It "literally" blows my mind!

Pug Puppy animated GIF for the in-laws.

DC's New 52, What We Ordered

Hubby-Eric and I have tight finances and a set limit for comic book orders, so we looked at the 52 titles and worked for a bit to get them down to the ones we really wanted. I'm going to give you the list, then give you our reasoning.

• AQUAMAN
• JUSTICE LEAGUE
• JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
• GREEN LANTERN
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS
• GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS
• MISTER TERRIFIC
• RESURRECTION MAN
• STORMWATCH

Ok, now our reasoning on what's on the list, and on some of the books that almost made it to the list.

First off, the obvious. I'm an Aquaman fan, and Eric's a Green Lantern fan. Between the two of us that meant that AQUAMAN, the three GREEN LANTERN books, and the main JUSTICE LEAGUE title were pretty much a given. I mean, seriously, you don't think I'm going to skip Aquaman, do you?

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was a harder sell. The Guy Gardner angle certainly appealed to Eric a little. I've noticed Booster Gold's recent elevation in the DCU, and wondered if this might become a showcase for that side of him. Then we have August General in Iron, Fire, Ice, Vixen and Rocket Red, all of whom are cool characters. Indeed, the only real downside is Batman, and I can imagine him being pushed to the side. Add in Dan Jurgens writing and Aaron Lopresti's artwork, and the book just came over from the "maybe" to the "yes".

Hubby-Eric is a big Justice Society fan, and you'll note the absence of any JSA books on the 52 list. Except for MISTER TERRIFIC. Now, me, I have liked the new Mister Terrific since I first met him. So between the two of us, this one became a fairly solid "yes" early on in our decision making. I don't know enough about the creative team to guess what the book will be like, but I have high hopes.

Both of us remember RESURRECTION MAN, and mourned its demise. Both of us LOVED that book. When we saw it on the list, both of us were immediately saying, "OH YEAH!!" So that one was a no-brainer, especially with the original Resurrection Man writing team on the book.

The last book we decided to get was STORMWATCH. One of two books written by our friend Paul Cornell, it's the one that we are both the most interested in. Mainly because of Martian Manhunter. Partly because of the angle on the DCU this will offer that we won't get from other books.

Books that Almost Made It - kick 'em out, Aquaman!

We had to work to get the list down to 9 books, and while there are a few that we could still drop, we had a lot more when the list started. Here are some of the also rans.

The last book to be cut from our list was STATIC SHOCK. We both watched and loved the cartoon, but we haven't read much of him in the comics. It was something we both wanted to check out, but the money situation dictates the purchases, and something had to give.

The showcase book of DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS may actually make it onto our list eventually, but we didn't have enough interest in Deadman to pick up this storyarc. That's the weakness and strength of a showcase book. Let's see how long it lasts.

We almost got RED LANTERNS, very nearly. It was one of the last to be cut. But while we both are willing to read about Green Lanterns, the only two Red Lanterns I'm interested in are Mera and that wonderful cat. So... this one got cut.

The only reason at all we were interested in DEMON KNIGHTS was because Paul Cornell was writing it. And eventually that turned out to not be quite enough to keep it on the list. Though it was close.

Who the heck are the characters on the cover of TEEN TITANS? Certainly no one I recognize or am interested in. No Aqua-character? No buying.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM was appealing not because of the character, but because it's written by Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone. Seriously, if ever a book cried out to be read, this is the one. If I had even the slightest real interest in Firestorm, this book would probably be on our list.

BIRDS OF PREY isn't written by Gail Simone and there's no Oracle. It just didn't appeal to us. On the other hand, BATGIRL is written by Gail Simone. But again, she's not Oracle. I like Barbara Gordon when she's in control and using her mind as her greatest weapon. So we decided against both these books.

We didn't get JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK because a single character that we are interested in (Zatanna) wasn't quite enough to justify it. And besides, Paul Dini isn't writing Zatanna in it, so who knows what it would be like?

Harley Quinn and King Shark definitely made me look twice at SUICIDE SQUAD, but I don't recognize the creative team and the cover art makes me ill. So in the end we passed on this one.

One of my favorite Birds of Prey is Zinda, Lady Blackhawk. But BLACKHAWKS doesn't seem to have her in it, and the females I see on the cover look more like anime-rejects than Blackhawks to me. So we'll pass on this one as well.

The rest we didn't really look at, mostly from lack of interest in the characters. Would I like to get all 52? Sure, if I was rich, and didn't have other things to worry about. But 9 books isn't more than we were getting before, and it works out in the budget. And I'll be watching for new developments or changes in the DCU as well. Who knows what will happen a year from now?

Small Linkdump

Bad news if you believe in facts. People tend to continue to believe lies even after they've been disproven and those people accepted they were lies.

Muppet Thor.

Why Pursuing Cheaters Doesn't Pay. One teacher's view on his attempts to stop cheating in his class. (Update: link fixed)
Update to the Update: The original post was removed due to legal issues. Here's the gist: a professor actively pursued cheaters, only to be damaged financially by it when students turned in negative performance evaluations for him because he put so much effort into catching cheaters instead of making class a learning environment. He decided instead to create tests and assignments that students couldn't cheat on, as they involved current events and active in-class participation. He explained it in a comment on an article about his post.

Wanna read a creepy good short story? Try The Powerful Bad Luck of DD Dupree by Frank Tuttle.

I wonder if the in-laws are into Steampug? Thanks to David Oakes.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Bold Beginnings!" - When I saw Space Ghost, I thought we'd gotten the wrong thing. I don't recall Space Ghost being in the DC Universe. The main story is a framing sequence in which Green Arrow is doing his best to prevent Aquaman from telling a story, which is hilarious. I love love love the cleanshaven version of Aquaman riding Storm. And I was very amused at how the story ended. Aquaman will NOT be denied!



• History Detectives: "Season 9, Episode 4 - African American Comic Book; Lindbergh-Sikorsky Fabric; Civil War Letters" - We missed the previous episode when the DVR decided not to record the whole thing, only bits and pieces. So I was glad to see this one. The letters had the expected ending, but I'd never heard of that battle, so it was informative. The fabric swatch was a fun little bit of aviation history I knew almost nothing about, although I did recognize the name Sikorsky. But the gem of this episode was the comic book, which was both a fantastic look into the Golden Age of comics and a great story of an artist who was clearly good at his craft. This was a good episode.


• Torchwood: Miracle Day: "The New World" - Gwen and Rhys look so happy, if rightfully paranoid. And Captain Jack made his usual dramatic entrance. Interesting new character in Esther. And Rex is cool too. Definitely an introduction episode, but not a bad one for the moment. I'm going to take a "wait and see" attitude toward the rest of this series/season and mostly reserve judgement, but I didn't hate it.

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My book this week was Pirates in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Eric actually read this to me in the weeks leading up to the Oz Convention. We really enjoy sharing the time together, and I get to ask stupid questions as he starts to read each night, like, "Is there a princess?" and "Are there zombie hordes?" (Yes, late in the book and No, not at all). Anyway, this adventure concerns a King who loses his people and a Pirate who loses his underlings, joining up together with a reading bird and a boy from Philadelphia to have adventures and save the land of Oz from the Nome King yet again. It was fun, short, snappily written, and had some bits that made me laugh aloud (particular Roger's method of getting Captain Salt angry). Lots of fun, and I think Eric needs to read me more Oz books.

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While at the Winkie Convention, I got to meet two comic book creators I hadn't before. One was Kirk Kushin, the writer of Ozopolis, a new series about Oz. While we were at the Con, hubby-Eric and I purchased both issues of the book. I got to see a presenation on the book on Friday night, and a question and answer session on Sunday morning, so I knew some things about the book going in. But they didn't really prepare me for just how utterly Ozzy these books are. I mean, I've been married to an Oz fan for over 17 years now, so I know my Oz. And these are Oz. Very much so. There is a touch of danger, lots of fun, and the characters you know and love. Each issue also stands alone, although there is an overall storyarc that will no doubt resolve itself spectacularly in a future issue. The artwork is delightful, both covers and interior. It's faithful to the character designs I know while still having unique elements that make it fun. There is a short editorial at the end of each book, the first about Dorothy's hair color and the second about the Wizard himself. Frankly, either issue is a full package by itself, and one of the best of its type I've seen for Oz. Ever. I have literally only one complaint about these, and it's a nitpick: there are no issue numbers on the cover, only inside in the indicia. This may eventually make it difficult for people to know what issue they are getting, but probably not. So, my opinion is that Oz fans should definitely pick these up, and non-Oz fans might find them quirky and fun as well, with characters you've never seen in the movies but are awesome anyway.

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Another comic book related review for this week is Hikaru No Go v22. The tournament starts, with Hikaru still offended by the Korean player. He wants to battle the player even more when the guy insults Shusaku at the opening, and puts on a fierce fight against his first opponent. This is so near the end, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get to see Sai again. But seeing Hikaru grow up makes this worth it.

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Agatha Christie this week was Passenger to Frankfurt from 1970. The youth is rising and rebelling, and the governments must deal with it. This is dreadful. The youth rebellion is sketched out in such a way that makes it utterly unbelievable, and while the whole Young Siegfried thing was a nice twist on the fears of the time, it was also remarkably silly. The ending was either brilliant and edgy, or a complete muddle of nonsense. This is the worst of Christie's books I've read so far, with maybe the exception of one or two of the Westmacott books. I think avoiding Christie's non-mysteries is probably a good thing (although her supernatural stories aren't too bad).

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Fortean Times #276 (July 2011). I'm getting behind on these again, but since I like to savor them, I guess that's ok. Interesting cover this time, with the Giants On Earth headline. The back cover ad is a nice calm "How to be a successful writer" ad, so this was an issue I could leave laying around without feeling like I ought to cover it up. The cover story is about True Giants, not Bigfoot or Abominable Snowman, but an almost human cousin that could explain all the stories of giants from folklore and history. It's an interesting theory presented by a couple of guys who know their cryptids, but I'm sure it'll be as accepted as Bigfoot by mainstream science. As always, until there is proof, there is nothing there.

Strangedays starts with tales of TV reporters suddenly not making sense. I'd heard about one of the cases, but the article points out several more, and one that I hadn't thought of that way. Interesting! The very next article is about Bin Laden conspiracies now that he's been reported dead. Much about the usual drivel and people falling prey to it. Of more interest is the first known literary time machine, from a Spanish playwright in 1887. An article about worms raining on people made me laugh for a long time over this quote: "We started hearing this wee thudding noise," from a teacher who witnessed a fall in Scotland. I've been thinking about wee thudding noises ever since.

Archaeology has short articles on the Bluestones in England, ancient giant bunnies, and human footprints left in rock. Classical Corner goes into more cases of visions and how they were reported. Ghostwatch has a couple of good stories, well, one silly story and one interesting one. Alien Zoo is about the tiny elephants of Liberia and more strange creatures in New Guinea. Konspiracy Korner is about a faked memo and a long discredited disinformation campaign that's gaining new ground among some conspiracy theorists. Mythconceptions asks if Spartans really did toss disabled babies off a cliff. UFO files aren't anything special this month, except for more about idiots shining lasers into cockpits of planes, not realizing that they are blinding pilots. Blasts From the Past delves into newspaper reports from 1866 about the appearance of a devil in front of many trustworthy witnesses. The writer of the article also discovers a couple of cases where thieves dressed as devils to terrify victims into not chasing them. Police News is about Jumbo the Elephant.

The Science section is about inventions that never made it to reality because of lack of money or lack of interest, with Tesla's inventions as a prime example. This article ties into a main article on Starlite, a material that apparently could withstand and insulate against intense heat. It was introduced in the 1990s by Maurice Ward, its inventor, and then apparently dropped off the face of the earth despite a ton of potential life-saving uses.

Another article jumps into history to find a cult of a snake, and examines why we believe so readily the single surviving report about it despite that report's writer being an unreliable witness. The existence of the cult appears to be proven by artifacts from the time, but the report of it was that it was a complete fraud. It's a fascinating look into how we perceive history through the lenses of the handful of sources we have.

The Fortean Times Random Dictionary is about Miracles, and the perception of them throughout history. There's a rather amazing passage from the Talmud quoted, which argues about whether or not miracles even should matter in the way we have faith. It's a thought-provoking piece.

I love the Forum this month, a piece of debunking some artifacts along with a really fun article about people who believe that three centuries of history were completely made up. Good reviews, as usual. One book got a 10 (out of 10): The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics by James Kakalios, who also did the excellent The Physics of Superheroes, which I have and love. Lots of good stuff in the letter column, I loved the monsters in the Simulacra Corner. It was another great issue of the most amusing and thought-provoking magazine available out there.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Seventeen Years

Here's to the next seventeen!

Happy Anniversary, Eric!

Stepford Plants Report

So, I've been away and haven't updated the plants report for way too long, so now we're going to see the most dramatic changes so far. First off, I have already got two fruits off the Tiny Tim Tomatoes, and one that was overripe. They are small and cute and nicely tart for tomato.

While I was gone, my housesitter watered the plants and kept the Rotweiller away from them. On Monday she called me in a mild panic, as the water wouldn't turn on. Turned out that the irrigation water pipe that serves my neighborhood was under service, and the water didn't turn back on until this morning. In the meantime, because of the awesome job she did watering, the weeds in the yard started to climb to the sky and for the first time my garden plot became under siege by more weeds. So my first job once I got home was to mow the yard down to manageable levels again. My second job was to start weeding the garden plot... and for the first time I really wish I had a spade to dig the things out.

Home, Resting

I have a job this afternoon installing a printer and possibly cleaning some malware off a computer, but otherwise just trying to recover. I'll blog later.

Apparently I'm a Cat Now

When the three of us arrived at the hotel we have reservations for tonight, we were told that the room was reserved for two. The guy refused to charge us extra, and we decided that I'm a cat staying in the room. No pet fees. Yay.

This morning when I woke up I was at sea level. I'm going to sleep tonight at 3500 feet.

I'm in California...

...and my house-sitter and her Rotweiller are enjoying my home. *sigh*

Anyway, we made it to Oregon last night, then got up bright and early and headed down to California this morning. We will be in Asilomar at the Winkie Convention tomorrow afternoon. At the moment we are in a place that has a temperature that makes me melt when I step outside. Asilomar, being on the Monterey peninsula, has much more sane temperatures that are similar to Seattle. Which means I'll be bundled up since I'm used to Eastern Washington temps.

I may be posting a bit about the convention while I'm there, but not a lot else, I'm afraid. We have lots of plans, a full car, and high hopes for a great con. If you want to try to follow it live, visit my Twitter (over on the sidebar). I'll try to tweet during the evening programs if I can get an internet connection (which is sometimes tricky).

So... highlights of the drive... um... trees. I saw three deer along the side of the road, watching traffic as they calmly ate grass. We passed a lot of trucks. There are some nice rest stops along the I5 corridor. And some not-so-nice ones, too. We spotted, to our immense surprise, a familiar car belonging to another Oz fan while stopped at the California border for the inspection. I wonder if they saw us? And now it's probably time for dinner. So I think I'll log off and see if my traveling companions want to risk being melted by the sun and high temps to go find food.

Links!

We're soon to start off to Oz, so here's some links to tide you over until I can next find an internet connection...

Ah, the Oxford Comma.

LEGO Pancake making machine. Mmmmm, pancakes.

New Beasts of Burden! I'm looking forward to this. I hope there's another mini soon.

OrcaMan cleans up Puget Sound.

Autism and Empathy. Again, when I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, I thought the diagnosis must be wrong because I've always had too much empathy. Articles like this one simply make sense to me.

Sadie Barker Fights Back.

Fangirl Dreaming...

What Your Favorite 80's Band Says About You.

Massive science fiction encyclopedia's third edition will be digital... and free?

Awesome!

One of the most awesome bands on the planet does a cover of one of the most awesome songs ever made? Awesome!

CameraPhone Zen

Independence!

Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Cool Cool Conservative Men...

"Don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor... And that is why they will follow us to the Right..."

This song was suppressed when the movie first came out. The line I quoted comes in about 5 minutes into the clip.

A Sunday Review

I won't be doing a Sunday Review next week, as I'll be somewhere in California mostly on the road, pretty much all of next Sunday. Worrying if the Rotweiller-proofing we've done to the house will work. Ahem. We've got the instructions for the house-sitter nearly done, have talked with the neighbors and some friends to make sure they also keep an eye out, and everything is pretty much set for our trip to Oz. If I'm up for it, I may blog about the trip itself, but that depends on a lot of factors I won't learn about until we're at our destinations. So, without further ado, here's what I've watched on TV and read this week that I felt like writing about.

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TV this week:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Time Out for Vengeance!" - Pre-credit sequence with the Creeper, lots of fun. The main story had Aquaman time traveling, although I was surprised when Rip Hunter pushed the Blue and Gold into the ocean and not Aquaman. Still, Romans!
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Sword of the Atom!" - The Currys of Atlantis was terribly... um... terrible. I enjoyed it, but recognize its innate silliness. Aquaman is almost as bad in the regular story. Tormenting poor Ryan into being a hero against his will. Lots of fun, and lots of excitement.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Triumvirate of Terror!" - The pre-credit sequence is hilarious, but don't think about it. The main story is two trios. I love seeing Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman sitting in a diner. But I'm not as excited with Luthor, Joker, and the Cheetah.


• History Detectives: "Season 9, Episode 2 - World War II Leaflets; Spanish Civil War Eulogy; Tiffany Window" - Five images on a leaflet share the theme of the Japanese military taking control in WWII, and I love the way they found the artist. The Eulogy was an incredible story that I really was amazed by. It seems like we should know more about that history. The last story seemed like a simple request, but led into a great story on the history of Tiffany.


• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "A Haunting in Crystal Cove" - And so Fred's father is more mysterious than we thought. No wonder he's continually trying to get Fred to stop investigating. The analysis of Fred's insecurity makes him a much more interesting character than the original guy I grew up watching. I'm really enjoying this series.


• Primeval: "Season 5 Episode 5" - The crew forms a plan to deal with Philip, while the team suddenly has to deal with a convergence of anomalies opening all around the world. This one is intense in parts, frustrating in parts, and crazy in parts. And I really wasn't expecting that result, but then... there's one more episode.
• Primeval: "Season 5 Episode 6" - With the end of the world here, can Connor return from the dead to save everything? I love the characters in this show. Philip gets the best line of the show, which he says to Matt at the last minute. Of course, there's plenty of action even when everything is settled. Lester and Jess make a surprisingly good team. And, even though this is the last episode so far, there was a nice hook for possible future series, while at the same time leaving everything in a stable state.

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This week's movie was The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father (Russia and Greece, 1909). Still watching the DVD set we borrowed. In the first half, Indy causes lots of problems (why haven't they figured out that he should never be left alone, ever?) and terrified of punishment runs away, meeting an old man named Tolstoy who is also running away from home. Michael Gough turns in a masterful performance as the cranky old writer, and his acting made this part of the episode. In the second half, they travel to Greece, but Ms Seymour is sick, so Indy is left with his father to go to an isolated monastery. The usual misadventures of Indy follow the pair. They both manage to be hilarious in this one, particularly when Indy's father starts quoting philosophy in the worst of situations.

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Here are reviews of some comic books that I have read recently:

• Flashpoint - Soon after the series started, I figured out I should have ordered it from the beginning. When we headed out to civilization, I picked up the first two issues.
• Flashpoint #1 - Batman's really nasty, Cyborg seems to be the world's last real hope, and we get the first views of the war between Atlantis and the Amazons. Exciting.
• Flashpoint #2 - Deathstroke versus Emperor Aquaman and his sidekick Ocean Master! Wow. Also a nice image when Barry "remembers" the new reality. I think Barry is utterly nuts trying what he's about to try at the end of the issue, but I'm well-hooked into this story.
• Cinderella - Eric wanted this because of the Oz connection, so when we got the Flashpoint issues we also picked these up.
• Cinderella: Fables are Forever #1-5 - Told from the point of view of the Fable Cinderella, this story focuses on how she has had to deal with the hired assassin Dorothy Gale throughout her history in the mundane world. There is one more issue to go, and can I just say, EUUUWWWW! to that cliffhanger?
• Oz - Eric got this through the mail, it was a free preview from IDW given out at Wondercon.
• Dorothy of Oz - This is an introduction to a project based on a work by the great-grandson of the author of The Wizard of Oz. Roger Baum mostly ignores everything but the first book, and so I found this a bit... narrow in scope. I mean, there are 14 books by the original Baum, and another 26 "official" books in the Oz series. Ignoring all of that history in favor of your own sequels, well, just seems a little limited to me. So, although the art is nice and all, I just didn't find it really all that interesting.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Under the Fridge

On Amazon.com and California and Taxes

If you've been paying attention, by now you know that Amazon.com has dropped California Affiliates over California's new law that would claim (falsely in my opinion) that because Amazon.com has affiliates based in California, that constitutes a physical presence (nexus) in the state and compels them to collect sales tax.

So, here's my opinion, for what little it's worth. Sales taxes are stupid. They ought to be completely abolished on all levels: local, state, and federal. They punish people for buying. Purchasing is the root of an economy, so sales taxes are anti-economy. Taxes should be taken on income, not outgo. I'm totally for reasonable income taxes (people should be taxed on their change in net worth from one year to the next), but I'd love to see all sales taxes abolished by constitutional amendment. I also recognize that my opinion is not widely shared.

As a result, I'm completely with Amazon.com on this one. If California wants to stretch the definition of nexus to include people who put links on their websites, then they can suffer the consequences of that action. Amazon.com doesn't have to allow affiliates. So California loses the income from affiliates who were paying income tax on their Amazon earnings, and gains... nothing. I certainly don't blame Amazon.com for refusing to deal with yet another sales tax code in another state (or rather, set of confusing and conflicting sales tax codes, as California taxes aren't even based on zip code, but actual locations, making it very difficult indeed).

I suppose it might seem strange for a person born and raised in Washington state where we have no income tax, only an insane patchwork of sales taxes, to have these opinions. I have no objection to a state income tax, but first all sales taxes have to be abolished. I think it ought to be one or the other, and preferably the income tax. I think states that have both are double-taxing their citizens. And, because governments get greedy if they aren't held firmly in check, I think it should be in every state constitution and in the federal constitution: Sales tax or Income tax, but never both.

In the meantime, I'll keep continuing to pay sales tax and grumble about it. Secure in the knowledge that, because Amazon.com is based in Washington State, I will always have to pay sales tax when ordering through Amazon.com and my own affiliate status isn't in danger from stupid legislation... yet. I'm sure there exists a legislator stupid enough to screw up even this.