Free Comic Book Day, Short Haul Version

Posted on May 3, 2015 by geelw

So. How was YOUR Free Comic Book Day? Mine was minimalistic, but that’s a personal choice due to space and reading backlog reasons. Amusingly enough, the local comic shop closest to here was actually open early for a change. Every time I’d gone by The Lair previously, it was closed and I had somewhere to be and couldn’t get back that way until when they were shut for the night. Fortunately, the visit was worth the about 20-minute walk. The staff is a bunch of cool guys from what I saw, the shop is small but definitely had a nice selection of books and there were plenty of people snapping up bargains from the long boxes placed outside.

I grabbed the two trades shown for a buck each and the free book I picked just so happened to coincide with the PDF of the first issue of Fight Club I got from Dark Horse Comics the day before (thanks, Aub!). I was a bit weary on Saturday thanks to not sleeping much, but the walk and buy trip to The Lair energized me for the rest of the day. Next year, I’ll bring the camera along and bug the guys at the shop for a Half of Twenty Questions session. Or I may do that first as an email interview (and sooner just to have another contact added to my long list). I don’t collect anywhere as many comics as I used to these days. But I do appreciate a good illustrated read every now and then. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some light eyeball, brain and finger exercising to catch up on…

Game of Thrones S5 E1: A Hot Time In The Old Towns Tonight

Posted on April 12, 2015 by geelw

Well, that was interesting. A low body count, some expected demises based on events from last season and one unexpected one (basically a “red shirt” death) that sets up some interesting dynamics for the rather hard-headed Mother of Dragons. Not letting the people go have their barbaric culture bread and circuses because of your own personal views is never a good thing at the end of the day. But hey, when you’ve got big, bad (and somewhat uncontrollable) dragons under your stairway (just like The Munsters!), it’s good to be the Queen, right? Meanwhile, back at the Lannister ranch, things are sliding downhill in all sorts of convincingly mad manners, aren’t they? Cersi’s going to be plotting, Margaery is going to be losing her marbles because of that plotting and you know it’ll be a battle of actresses chewing scenery to great effect.

On another part of the map, let’s not even bring up the Imp, as he’s in a bind he thinks he can booze his way out of and his bad haircut and beard make him look like a wino clown. Finally, as I stopped reading the books when the show came out but know some stuff from a few friends, expect a little less Snow by the end of the season. Maybe. It seems he’s wearing out his welcome among the Crows on a few fronts and that’s a bad sign of things to come. That’s not a spoiler if you use the internet, by the way.

Then again, given that Uncle George is probably grinning madly atop his comfy throne made from lots of printed green bills as he watches some fans spin madly off their couches, it’s all good wherever in Westeros he’s typing away from. Or not typing. No one tells Uncle George what to do, you know. Yeah, you’ll all be back next week. Well, not HERE, but in front of your TV’s, that is…

Astro Boy Omnibus 1: Manga Classics 101 At An Everyman Price Point

Posted on March 15, 2015 by geelw

If you already own the complete 23-volume set (which I believe is out of print), you probably don’t need Astro Boy Omnibus 1 at all. If on the other hand you’re new to the manga scene or have never read the late, great Osamu Tezuka’s seminal work, Dark Horse Comics is making sure to get your full attention with this 700-page volume. For $19.99, you’re getting quite a deal that won’t take up a lot of physical space. Yeah, some of us still read and buy real books, folks.

Anyway, September isn’t all that far away when you think about it (yeah, time flies, doesn’t it?), so make sure to keep an eye peeled for this one.

Random Art: Oh, Look! An Update!

Posted on March 1, 2015 by geelw

Well, maybe not the update you wanted, but it’s an update nonetheless. I ended up spending the bulk of today dealing with sluggish internet while researching a bunch of stuff for some upcoming articles and not doing much actual writing. Boo. Well, I have more than enough in the way of notes now. I just need time to compile those and some images into something worth reading. In the meantime, I finished that sketch from yesterday early Sunday morning, but just got around to posting it now. And so it goes. Back tomorrow. There’s a bunch of snow on the ground, but it’s mostly stopped and with the temperatures going up tomorrow, should be a nicely mushy mess to walk around in. Ah well…

Random Art: Things Fall Apart In Some Awfully Productive Ways, Don’t They?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by geelw

Ha. Well, so much for a much more productive Sunday. Actually, I ended up doing too much research on an article for another site to the point that the short humor piece I started out with is now bigger than it probably should be. Oops. That’s what happens when you take your game history more seriously than the rest of the internet does. Oh well. I’m pooped, but still need to dig up a bunch of images, clean up the text a bit and roll it into something readable starting early Monday morning. Three shorter articles I’ve started need to be completed and then I get to… do some more writing for my site before Toy Fair rolls into town this weekend. I think breathing is in the mix at some point, as is sleeping and maybe eating. But we’ll see where that goes.

Anyway, some terrible “artwork” to share above. Noting but some mucking around with a random paint program I found on a disc. Ooh, I just remembered The Walking Dead AND Better Call Saul are on AMC tonight. Well, what I’ll be doing for the rest of this Sunday night has just been decided. Provided I remember to stop working and sit down in front of the TV. At least it’s on now as background noise. Looney Tunes, F. T. W., kids.

Random Art: Parts Is Parts…

Posted on January 11, 2015 by geelw

I’m not on fire in terms of productivity, but it’s HOT as hell on the sun in here. The new boiler that was installed plus some tinkering on it by maintenance has cranked up the non-adjustable heat so that it’s a toasty 70-something degrees in here and probably close to 80. I’d check the thermometer by the window, but ha-ha, the plastic base it was attached to warped from a few days of heat last week and the thermometer popped out and fell into the radiator. Anyway, I’m way behind on updates thanks to the over-stressful hack job that was done on my kitchen (it took about four months for this? I could have done it myself and gone all the way insane in maybe two weeks). Oddly enough, I’ve been able to hack out a few quick little sketches to clear my mind up a bit so I can concentrate more on getting back to writing.

Yeah, yeah, they’re not perfect or that good, but they’re not supposed to be. I did dig up an ancient note to myself about finishing up an Alien story I’d wanted to turn into some sort of comic or novel with some help (I’m not a visual storyteller at all despite one horrific comic assignment under my belt). Eh, we’ll see where that goes this year, as there’s a lot more urgent things to tackle and I should be focusing on those first and foremost. Okay, back in a bit. I need to get outside again before I burn up like an overcooked baked potato. And yes, my poor pepper plants are so confused by this summer weather in the winter with less sunlight.

Sunday’s Cool: It’s A Damn Fine Day For Cleaning…

Posted on January 4, 2015 by geelw

Good Homekeeping Tip #12: Yeah, you should kind of vacuum those rugs more often, people. If not, they tend to spring to life and wreak havoc amongst the citizenry. No important posts today, thanks to me getting some stuff ready for tomorrow’s return of the kitchen killers (aka: the “plasterers”) and my deciding to pretty much veg out and watch too damn many bad movies today thanks to the crappy weather. I sometimes do the rugs here twice a week, by the way. That’s due to a lot of traffic in and out of here more than an OCD or anything. Alrighty – I’ll be back tomorrow in a more productive mood. Or at least I better be, ha and ha-ha…

WATCH THIS: Nothing Lasts Forever… Unless It’s on TCM!

Posted on January 3, 2015 by geelw

Finally, one of the bucket list 80’s film for many folks my age is coming to TV legally and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I actually COULD be happier if TCM was showing Nothing Lasts Forever at a more sane hour. For a big premiere of a film many have desired seeing on the big screen, that 2am (EST) start time just made me say, “really?” out loud when I found out. Which was funny because I was at the library and when I said that, two guys who were talking next to me thought I was referring to the conversation they were having that I didn’t hear. Oops.

Okay, not that I’m not a complete night owl at times (all my candles have wicks on either end), but come on now. Still, this bodes well if the damn film also nets a DVD/Blu-Ray release at some point in the near future. Or at the very least, more and earlier showings on TCM. Here’s a fan-made trailer from a few years back just to pique your interest in case you’re wondering what I’m gushing about:

(thanks, mpjstreeter!)

I’m not sure if they track their ratings as obsessively as network stations do, but I’m betting a lot of people will be staying up later than usual to catch this. The other upside to all this is if you still happen to be awake and giddy afterwards, you can sit through John Carpenter’s 1981 classic, Escape From New York, which amusingly enough fits the theme of the previous film, albeit in a more comically violent manner. Anyway, I’ll put on some coffee as soon as I walk in the door, maybe do a few push-ups and jump into the shower to keep awake. I was up late into the morning today (see my previous post) and had forgotten the film was on later today, er, tomorrow morning. Fear not, dear readers – I’ll be awake to see it in its entirety. My Sunday may either be spent half asleep for the better part of the morning or wishing I could see the movie again because I missed something.

MGM had better come through with a home video release at some point. I’m betting a lot of people will be replacing bootlegs with a better version that will hopefully have some decent special features.

Christmas Comes Early. Or Is It Valentine’s Day?

Posted on December 21, 2014 by geelw

So, yeah. Christmas came a bit early. My older brother and his kids popped by with a bunch of gifts including this big ass box of chocolates that was fodder for a ton of jokes. Damn thing is big enough to be an end table or a pet coffin (if one had a pet that ate some of that chocolate accidentally) and can probably be re-purposed as a nice hobo suitcase or over-sized book with a bit of DIY ingenuity. As it’s hot as heck in here because of the winter heating, that candy went into storage bags and into the fridge (it’s going to take months to finish it and anyone coming by is getting some whether they like it or not). Um, anyone want a big ass empty candy box? Anyway, I also got some more useful stuff, so it’s all good.

Back in a bit. Or tomorrow, as I’m working on a ton of stuff and need to finish at least half of it before Wednesday…

Kitchen Nightmares III: Holding Patterns (and Who Can I Sue If I Drop Dead of Starvation?)…

Posted on November 30, 2014 by geelw

So, the kitchen here still hasn’t been returned to its normal state, but the work is set to begin on December 5th. The stove can still be used, but once the sun goes down, you’re taking your life in your hands if you try to chop anything in the kitchen. Sure, I can sit in the living room and get all rustic with a cutting board in my lap or on the coffee table, but there’s something so odd about doing this (and yeah, one slip means I’ll be adding a body part to whatever I’m cooking). I’ll have to bug the management here about some sort of cooking/meal solution once the repair/rebuilding work gets underway. Once it starts, the kitchen will be off limits for at least four days straight and then a few days more after a weekend break. Bleh. I hope to hell they don’t think I’ll be ordering out or eating fast food for all that time, as that’s not a good idea for me for a few reasons.

(Thanks, SeriouslyDead!)

Feh, at this point I just want this long national nightmare to be over so I can go back to living like a normal person. Maybe I’ll slap on some zombie makeup and start groaning at the workmen when they show up to spur them to get the job done faster. Then again, the lack of craftsmanship and care here is pretty shocking. The team that removed the asbestos from the kitchen had a fat guy who busted the burners on the stove AND chipped the paint on the stove because he stood on them when he was doing the ceiling. Gyahhh. I despise that sort of idiocy. Okay, let me go lie down before I bust something.