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daily journal
Apocalypse Now? Saw this ad while traveling on the interwebs today.  Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin hosting a New Year's Eve show? It must be end of days. Originally I was going to question the sanity of the CNN producer who thought this pairing was a good idea. But then when I went trolling around the CNN website to see if I could learn anything about this New Year's Eve odd couple I got the impression that Cooper and Griffin have done this hosting gig before. Together. On TV. For everyone to watch. So not only have Cooper and Griffin hosted a New Year's Eve countdown show from Times Square in NYC before, but enough people liked what they saw that CNN keeps bringing the two of them back. Now I have to watch. posted by Brendan | 12:39 PM | permanent link
But Is Batman a Strawberry Milk Guy? I've always imagined Batman favoring straight up white milk - probably 1% because he wants a little fat content but not too much.  This was designed by a guy named Hattomonkey, who appears to design milk cartons for fun (check out his blog). I can't be certain about what is going on because his website isn't written in English.[via] posted by Brendan | 11:13 PM | permanent link A Lousy Way To Start a Monday As I headed out the door Monday morning, I knew that the weather had turned frigid after nearly 48 hours of warm air and rain. What I didn�t know was how that rapid change in the weather had adversely affected the road conditions. After a few wiggly turns as I weaved my way out of our subdivision, I could tell that the sudden drop in air temperature and had resulted in a slick, nearly invisible, coating of frost on the roads. Once I left our subdivision I learned that the slippery conditions weren�t limited to the lightly traveled side roads, the main roads were just as icy. Didn�t know where the salt crews were in Aurora, but they weren�t anywhere near my house.  I made some adjustments for the driving conditions and slowly made my way to the train station. Being that it was the Monday between Christmas and New Year�s Day, the roads were pretty deserted. I didn�t see much risk in navigating the icy roads. Still, I drove cautiously, slowing down well in advance of intersections and being extra careful in turns of the road.So what happened next totally surprised me. The road I was driving on goes into a lazy little S-curve. Nothing too dramatic, but curvy none the less. It�s a four lane road running north and south, I was headed north in the far right lane. My lane position choice was a conscious precautionary move � I didn�t want to be in the left lane and start sliding in one of the bends in the S-curve only to find myself in oncoming traffic. The posted speed limit is 35 m.p.h. and I was going around 25. Because of all these precautions, I didn�t panic too much when the back end of my car swung out from behind me on the driver�s side when I hit the first bend in the S-curve. There weren�t any cars around me and I had the entire two north-bound lanes to get my car back under control. I slammed the steering wheel to the left � in the direction of the skid - and took my foot off the gas. The maneuver I�ve always used with great success to bring a swerving car back under control. Maybe I didn�t execute the maneuver correctly or maybe the S-curve got in the way, because instead of straightening out and staying on the road I ended up sliding up over the curb, across the sidewalk, and into the grass on the other side of the walk.  I still remember the commentary screaming through my head as the car was jumping over the curb and I could see the trees and bushes rushing towards me through the windshield, �Don�t hit a tree! Don�t hit a tree! Sweet Jesus, just don�t hit a tree!�Actually, maybe that�s what the commentary I was screaming out loud. Luckily, I did not hit a tree (or a bush or anything else for that matter). The car came to a quite little stop and I took a deep breath. It was then that I realized hitting a tree wasn�t what I should have been worried about while my car was sliding out of control. It falling into the retention pond I was sliding towards. The car had come to a stop not more than five feet away from a 3-4 foot drop into a large retention pond that sits near the road. A little more skidding and I would have been taking an early morning bath in some very cold water. The car had come to rest just at the apex of the little berm that divides the pond from the side walk. Climbing out of a partially submerged (hell, could have been fully submerged � I don�t know how deep the pond is) Neon was not what I had in mind when I left my house that morning. Thinking that I came five feet from having to learn how to escape a car that�s landed in the water sort of got the adrenaline going, but the relief in knowing that I didn�t have to take that lesson helped calm things down. Amazingly, there were no other vehicles around � at least none that had stuck around to see how the idiot in the Neon sliding across the parkway had ended up. So I put the car into reverse, slowly moved back onto the road, and pulled up about fifteen feet to another side street and parked. A quick inspection of the car didn�t reveal any problems. Everything looked good. So I got back in and went about my way � driving even slower than before. Considering what had just happened, I figured that my brush with a watery death was the sign of a shit-storm of a Monday and I dreaded the rest of my trip into work that morning. Thankfully, my concerns were ungrounded. Sliding off the road and almost ending up in a pond proved to be the only crappy thing to happen that day. Then again, with that sort of start to the morning, I think I set my crappy-Monday bar sort of high � insuring a smooth rest of the day. If that was the case, I�d rather just deal with Mondays as the come. No need to condense all the frustration and anxiety into 15-seconds of white-knuckled excitement. All take things spread out across the day. Labels: General posted by Brendan | 10:50 PM | permanent link
Sell The Florida Time-Share Now If Russian professor Igor Panarin is correct, by the end of 2010 the Unites States will be no more. For years Panarin has been predicting that economic and social issues will drive the United States into a civil war that will leave the Union fractured into six separate sections, with Alaska (conveniently) reverting back to Russian rule. But nobody's been listening to him - until now. In light of the growing global economic recession and the challenges facing the United States, his theory has grabbed a foot-hold with the media - especially the Russian media. Apparently the U.S. is even less popular in Russia than we ever were back when the Soviet Union called the shots. Panarin predicts "that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in." Here's what the new map will look like.  I guess President-elect Obama's job is going to be even harder than we all expected. posted by Brendan | 10:16 AM | permanent link
Finding Comedy Classics Growing up, my dad was always sharing his comedy albums with my brother and I. We spent plenty of afternoons listening and learning to laugh at the comedy of Bill Cosby, Hudson & Landry, George Carlin, Burns & Allen, and many more classic acts. My dad provided us with a classic comedy education, which helped my brother, sister, and I develop great senses of humor. It has always been my intention to provide Ian, Emma, and Zoe with the same sort of comedy education that my father gave me. The problem is that those albums aren't readily available to me. The albums of my dad that we still own are on vinyl, which doesn't do us any good when no one owns a turntable anymore. With no plans to drop a lot of coin on CD or digital versions of these classic comedy records, I wasn't sure how I could expose my kids to some of the great comedy I enjoyed as a kid. While talking Ian through Abbott's and Costello's "Who's On First" routine the other day (which he thought was hysterical even through my clumsy delivery), I stumbled onto the idea of checking out YouTube for a version of the material. Sure enough, I found plenty of versions of this eternally funny routine and showed it to Ian. He loved it. This got me to thinking. What other great bits of classic comedy are available? A few searches on YouTube proved to me that there was plenty of great clips available. Here's one from an all-time favorite of my "AJAX Liquor Store" by Hudson and Landry (made just a little funnier when sync'd up with video from a Jetsons' cartoon. Now I just need to figure out how to get these clips in front of Ian. When I was a kid, we sat around on the floor listening to the records. We don't have that option now. I will have to be a little more creative in finding a way of sharing this classic humor with my kids. posted by Brendan | 5:34 PM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 25  Santa Claus Funnies #1 I hope you are having a wonderful and joyful Christmas Day. We kicked the celebrations off yesterday evening at my father's house where we had a wonder time laughing, eating, and visiting. This morning the kids started the festivities promptly at 6:01 am (We warned them last night that they had to stay in bed until 6 am), and they've been going strong ever since. Heather and I have already planned some mandatory "quiet time" around 1pm this afternoon. We don't want melt downs this evening. My Mom and brother are coming over for dinner, and between now and then I hope to jump over to the hospital to visit my sister and new nephew. Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas.  Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 10:35 AM | permanent link
My Sister's Now a Mom Congratulations are in order for my sister and brother-in-law. Yesterday evening they welcomed their first child into their growing family � a healthy boy. Now I wouldn�t even consider publishing photos or information about the baby on something as public as my website without my sister�s permission, so instead I�ve dug deep into the archive to unearth this little gem. It is a photo I trot out whenever I�m looking to embarrass my baby sister. So while you consider the unstoppable cuteness of the 6 year-old demanding you eat a candy cane in the snapshot below, I will be working on coming to terms that the little kid in the blue robe is now a mom.  Congratulations again, Elizabeth and Patrick. Everyone at my house is very excited about meeting our new nephew/cousin (especially Ian, who is totally stoked about having a boy cousin) and can�t wait to see you. Labels: Family posted by Brendan | 11:34 AM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 24  Classics Illustrated: Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol Tomorrow is Christmas and what better way to mark the day then to feature a comic book cover illustrating the story that dramatically influenced modern perceptions of Christmas. It is Christmas Eve! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Chicago Bears and Wrapping Paper I wasn�t a true Chicago Bears fan last night, but I�m okay with that. Heather and I have made a tradition of sitting down with a classic Christmas movie and wrapping all the presents and such that we need for Christmas morning. The problem has been that we�ve fallen into a habit of not starting that movie and un-rolling the wrapping paper until around 11pm on Christmas Eve. That translates into a late, late Christmas Eve for us, which transitions into an early, early Christmas morning when our excited children drag us from bed to un-do most of the work we had put in the night before. This year we promised ourselves that it would be different. Wrapping would be complete no later than December 23 and Heather and I would enjoy a restful night of sleep before a hectic Christmas morning. Last night our 12/23 deadline was looming and considering everything else that needed to be done before we hosted Christmas dinner at our house, there was a strong push by Heather for the wrapping to be done Monday night. She said that we could forgo the traditional Christmas movie watching so that I could continue to watch the Bears � Packers game; but when halftime came along and we were ready to start wrapping gifts, I put in White Christmas.  Tony Kornheiser summed up my impression of the first half of that game when he commented that the Packers were playing like the football team whose playoff hopes were riding on the outcome of the night�s contest. The Pack was aggressive and fighting for the win, the Bears were listless. The defense was flat and the offense was horrible. I was tired of watching more horrendous football from the Bears � bring on Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.Heather and I finished our wrapping and enjoyed the movie. I figured that the Bears game should be over, but I decided to flip back to ESPN to see what I could learn about the final damage. I was mildly surprised to see the Monday Night Football broadcast just finishing up. Apparently I had just missed seeing Robbie Gould boot his 38-yard field goal through the upright to give the Bears the victory in overtime.  For a moment I felt a slight tinge of regret for giving up on the Bears, but after reading the recaps and analysis this morning I think I saved myself a lot of frustration. There might have been a time where I would have considered turning off a Bears � Packers game at halftime an act of dishonor. Certainly grounds for revoking my Chicago Bear fan membership.But not this year. The 2008 Chicago Bears have been so painful to watch - so frustrating to deal with week in and week out, I don�t think anyone should fault me for turning the game off. I can�t remember an uglier 9-6 Chicago team. And frankly, I�m ready to forget them (except, Matt Forte). Danny and Bing never fail to deliver. I hope they win next week against the Houston Texans to finish the season 10-6, but I also hope they don�t go to the playoffs. This Bears team doesn�t belong in the post-season � regardless of their record. Let's be done for the season and turn our attention to next year. Labels: Chicago Bears, Christmas posted by Brendan | 4:47 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 23  Bugs Bunny's Christmas Funnies Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang are as popular (and maybe even more popular) in our house as anything new that pops up on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. I couldn't have a Comic Advent Calendar without them. 2 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 22  The Brave and The Bold #184 It wouldn't be a Comic Advent Calendar without some Jim Aparo Batman artwork. 3 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 21  Action Comics #93 Learn how Superman gave the Cloud People their greatest Christmas ever when he delivered to them their very own planet to live on. 4 Days until Christmas! Plan your whole Christmas dinner using Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 20  Batman: Gotham After Midnight #8 This comic actually won't be in stores until Christmas Eve, but I like the preview art on dccomics.com so I decided to share it early here. Artist Kelley Jones may not pay a whole lot of attention to anatomy or spatial relationship of objects when drawing his covers, but they are certainly always a lot of fun to look at. 5 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 19  Within Our Reach Within Our Reach was a Christmas-themed anthology comic published in 1990 to benefit AIDS research. The comic was printed with a number of different covers, I'm featuring the cover art drawn by the great Norm Breyfogle - one of my favorite artists. 6 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
There Can't Be One Batman Ian Freer, writing on the Empire magazine blog, makes the argument that Adam West is a better Batman over Christian Bale.  If I was going to pick the best on-screen version of Batman, I'd go with Michael Keaton. I've always been partial to how Keaton balances the two sides of Bruce Wayne and Batman, while giving each the right mix of the other side. His Bruce has just enough darkness and edginess for us to remind us that Batman lurks nearby, and his Batman flashes a little of the human Bruce side at just the right times. But that isn't my contention with Mr. Freer's post. It's where he asks, ". . . what is the definitive interpretation of Batman?" Freer argues that the concept of Batman, when boiled down to its essence, is a silly concept. A man dressed as bat solving crimes. Therefore only Adam West's campy 1960's Batman can ever really capture the true Cape Crusader. But if the longevity of the character was contingent upon the strength of his essence as defined by Freer, then I can't imagine Batman lasting nearly 70 years. There isn't a whole lot to go on with that sort of character. A go-go dancing, shark-repellent using campy Batman came and went, yet the character continues to be used and enjoyed. Freer went wrong in his distillation. The core of Batman isn't a man dressing up like a bat to solve crimes. The core of Batman is the story of one man standing up to try and make sense and bring order to a world that doesn't always make sense. He just happens to do that by dressing up like a Bat to solve crimes most times (there are alternative Batman stories where Bruce never makes it into a "Batman" suit exactly, but he's still true to his character.)  How the story of Bruce Wayne/Batman is told can take many forms. As crime drama, as in The Dark Knight. As an action story, like in Batman Forever. Or as campy satire of modern culture, which is where the 60's television show decided to use the character.Comics have mined Batman for even more types of stories- horror, sci-fi, mystery, historical drama, the list is extensive. For almost 70 years Batman has been interpreted in countless different ways by countless different people. What's great about all these variations is that through all of them I can see the same theme - one man tying to make sense out of his world. Batman is an attempt to answer order to a world that presents chaos. That's what makes Batman such a wonderful character and such an enduring character in literature, he can be whatever you need him to be. It's also what makes the Joker the perfect foil to the character of Batman. So instead of trying to pick one version over another as the canonical version, I prefer to appreciate all the different flavors and enjoy the bounty of stories that spring forth. Labels: Batman, Comics, movies, TV posted by Brendan | 11:41 AM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 18  The Transformers #41 When I stumbled upon this cover I knew I had to use it. How cool is Optimus Prime dressed up as Santa Claus. 7 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
The Periodic Table of Awesoments Trying to figure out just how awesome something is? This will help.  Labels: Fun posted by Brendan | 11:17 PM | permanent link What Sort of Beer Do Serve With That? Heather will often accuse me of being a city snob. She claims I unfairly make fun of people/activities in small towns. Personally, I don�t think I harbor any bias one way or the other. Really, I see stupidity everywhere and like to mock it. But when they put stuff like this out in public, how can I not make fun of it?  Does anyone proof-read.How do I know this photo wasn't taken in Chicago? Because Chicagoans get all of their live bait (and live bait sandwiches) at gas stations in Wisconsin. Labels: Fun posted by Brendan | 10:12 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 17  The Adventures of Superboy #12 There are two things I love about this cover: 1) What I assume to be Ma and Pa Kent just sort of floating in the background. Everyone else looks like their trying out their new found flying abilities, Ma and Pa are waiting to see what Clark is going to do about it. 2) The random leg that pops in the lower right-hand corner of the cover. That's great. 8 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Show Tossing Bonanza The incident the other day where an Iraqi journalist pulled off his shoes and flung them at President Bush has inspired some great animated GIFs. Boing Boing collects many of them in one place. I really liked the Three Stooges themed one.  Labels: Fun posted by Brendan | 11:34 PM | permanent link LEGO Star Wars Nativity Larry Lars created a Nativity scene using Star Wars LEGO characters. I think it's hysterical.  Check out Darth Vader and Padme as Joseph and Mary watching over the twins. My favorite is the use of Star Wars bounty hunters for the Three Wise Men. More picture of Lar's work here. posted by Brendan | 11:15 PM | permanent link Good Use of Materials Heather - why don't we make cookies like this at home? I'm sure we could get creative with materials.  I'm going to try and work in the phrase, "shvitzing blue sprinkles" into a conversation today. Labels: Christmas, comic strips posted by Brendan | 12:34 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 16  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #1 DC comics published an annual Rudolph comic from 1950 to 1962. Today's featured cover is from the first Rudolph issue from December 1950. The cover reminds me that I haven't watched the Rankin & Bass Rudolph TV special yet - an oversight I hope to rectify soon. 9 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:25 AM | permanent link
I Went Caroling - And Liked It For years my wife Heather has wanted to organize a group for Christmas caroling. Going out caroling with a bunch of family and friends was an annual event for her as a child, and she�s always wanted to share that happy experience with me and the kids. This past Friday night she finally made her wish to go caroling again a reality. Four families, 6 adults and 13 kids, went door-to-door singing Christmas songs down our side of the street in our neighborhood. Our modest group sang three songs per house; and all counted, our caroling trip lasted about thirty minutes.  It was my first time Christmas caroling, and I enjoyed the experience despite a wind chill Friday night that hovered in the single digits. I had equal amounts of fun at the low-key but festive Christmas party we hosted at our house afterward. It was a good night all around, and sort of what I had hoped for.What surprised me about the evening was the compliment I received on my singing. We were at the second or third house when one of the women who were caroling with us turned around and told me that I had a really nice singing voice. She wanted to know why I wasn�t in the choir at church. I replied her that I didn�t want to embarrass the other members of the choir. Seriously though, I was flattered by the compliment. Nobody�s ever said I was a good singer � at least not that I can remember. Of course, it�s not like I put myself in a position to be complimented on my singing. I�m not the sort of guy walking down the street belting out the catalog from Guys and Dolls. I reserve most of my singing for the car ride to and from the train station. Ten to fifteen minutes stuck in a vehicle with no radio will force you to resort to such activities. None the less, it was refreshing to be complimented on something other than how well I manage a project or coordinate development assignments. The kind words about my singing abilities did as much for lifting my spirits Friday night as spending time and having fun with all of the families caroling and socializing. Even if it was only one person�s opinion, to be admired for something artsy meant a lot to me. I�ve always wanted to be more than just that guy who goes to work and brings home a paycheck. If not for the time I spend writing in this blog, I don�t know how I would sustain a dream of being more than just �that guy.� Receiving that new compliment Friday night was a great gift to me. While I may not have been wildly enthusiastic towards Heather�s plans for caroling initially, I am extremely grateful that she followed through on organizing the event. Labels: Christmas, Family, General posted by Brendan | 4:51 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 15  The Honeymooners #3 I guess nearly everything finds it's way into comic books sooner or later. 10 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 14  Batman & Robin Adventures #3 I don't have as many Batman covers this year as in years past. The Batman comics based on the stellar Batman Animated show (like the cover above) were always top-notch books - sometimes they were the best Batman stories being published by DC. 11 Days until Christmas! Looking for fantastic ideas for Christmas Day dinner? Check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 13  Daisy and her Pups #12 I used to think that silly, forced spin-offs were a creation of the current entertainment industry, but apparently writers and producers have been trying to milk successful franchises for everything they could for quite some time. 12 Days until Christmas! If you're looking for great ideas for Christmas Day dinner, make sure to check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Hasn't Hit The Bottom Yet  Back in October everyone here in Illinois were laughing when the Chicago Tribune reported that Governor Pay-to-Play's approval rating hit 13% - the lowest of any Illinois Governor since the Tribune started polling the public. I know at the that time I honestly think his rating could go lower.But if there is one thing I've learned from Rob Blagojevich, and that's he will always surprise me. Now in the wake of his recent criminal problems, we see that Blago hasn't hit the bottom yet. (AP) � Gov. Rod Blagojevich's approval rating just keeps plummeting.If he continues to refuse to give up the Governor's mansion how low do you think he might go? 5%? 2%? 0%? Labels: Politics posted by Brendan | 4:29 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 12  Animaniacs Christmas Special Animaniacs or Freakizoid - which was the better 90's cartoon? Hard to tell, both were excellent shows. But they never published a Freakzoid Christmas comic book, so I can only go with an Animaniacs cover. 13 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Name the Rockstar Chop Shop's latest silhouette shirt features famous rock and pop stars from the 1980's. Some are obvious - like David Byrne of Talking Heads, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Bono, Michael Jackson, David Lee Roth, John Mellencamp, Billy Idol, and Prince. Some of the other silhouettes are more difficult to figure out.  You can buy it here. Labels: 80's posted by Brendan | 10:06 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 11  The Last Christmas Nothing say "Merry Christmas" quite like a gun-toting Santa battling an army of zombies. 14 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Ukulele version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" This is wonderful. Found it on Boing Boing. Labels: Music posted by Brendan | 11:46 PM | permanent link Proud Dad Time Ian has always done well in school. He�s a very smart kid. Still, a father likes to brag. So here is Ian�s mid-quarter progress report that came home last week. It was even better than the excellent report card he brought home at the end of the first quarter.  When our kids started going to school, Heather and I set the expectation for them that they should always put their best effort forward in the classroom. As long as they could say that, then Heather and I will be proud of them. As Ian has moved up in grades and we can see what he�s capable of, those expectations have evolved to match what we understand Ian�s potential to be. We both know Ian can be straight-A caliber student. However, all A's on a report card are not what we expect, but we know he can achieve it. And he knows that. It�s exciting to see him reaching � or at least getting really damn close to - that extended goal . Labels: Family posted by Brendan | 1:41 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 10  Liberty Meadows 15 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Illinois Governor Arrested While I was surprised when I saw the headline at ChicagoTribune.com, I always figured this is how Rod would finish things out here in Illinois.  Federal agents busted into the Gov. house on the North Side of Chicago at 6:15am to arrest him. I love it. I think the quote from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is the highlight of this developing story so far. "The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."Other cities and states have their corruption - governors with hookers, mayors with extramarital affairs, senators accepting unethical gifts; but it's still Illinois that shows everyone how political corruption is done right. (full disclosure - I never voted for this ass. I still can't figure out how he ever won the Governor's Office in the first place) Labels: Politics posted by Brendan | 10:37 AM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 9  Comic Cavalcade #5 Even among some of the world's finest superheroes, Santa is a giant among men. Seriously, the hands of the Santa on this cover are big enough that he could grab Green Lantern and Flash by their heads and swing them around like little superhero nunchucks. 16 Days until Christmas! If you're tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:17 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 8  Cartoon Network Christmas Spectacular #1 I have included this cover in my countdown especially for Zoe, the biggest Scooby-Doo fan I know. But really, who doesn't love Scooby-Doo? 18 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Bears Beat Jaguars - Big Deal  The Chicago Bears beat the Jacksonville Jaguars today, 23 - 10.I'd be a lot more impressed with the Bears win today if they had beaten a team with a winning record. (Jacksonville was 4-8 going into today's game) Over the last 6 games since their bye-week, the Bears performance in games have followed a maddening pattern. Beat up on the team with a worse record and then get beaten up by the team with a equal or better record. Sun 11/2 Detroit W 27-23Amazingly, the Bears beat the Jaguars and many of the Chicago TV pundits are strutting around talking about how the Bears still have a chance at the playoffs. They speak of the Bears ability to win games in pressure situations, and the team's undying drive to win.  Never mind that the Bears haven't proven this season that they can beat a team with a winning record, let alone a record identical to their own. Why talk about the playoffs? Last time I checked, the playoffs are usually full of teams with winning records. Working to get into the playoffs at this point seems like a path to certain disappointment. But I guess the Beats could still surprise me. So solider on my good fellows.But remember this: while you are still basking in the after-glow of the Jacksonville victory, the New Orleans Saints are now coming to town this Thursday to do battle with the Bears. The Saints' record? 7-6 The Bears' record? 7-6 Recent history tells me we're in for another painful blow-out, but maybe we will get an early Christmas miracle. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 10:24 PM | permanent link This Is For My Brother  Kevin, if you ever need someone to translate, I'm your man. Labels: comic strips posted by Brendan | 10:02 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 7  Super Friends #10 Super Friends #10 actually doesn't hit the stands until December 17, but I couldn't pass up runnig this cover as soon as possible. It's just too much fun. 18 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 2:12 PM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 6  Jingle Jangle Comics #24 I like the yellow bird's thinking. 19 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
G.I. Joe Was Cool Comic Should Be Good posted a collection of G.I. Joe comic book covers by artist Mike Zeck from the 1980's when the G.I. Joe cartoon reigned supreme.  I never read the comic, but my brother and I were huge fans of the show. We watched it every day after school. Flipping through these covers reminded me of how unbelievably cool I thought that show was and how much fun I think Ian would have watching some of those old 80's G.I. Joe cartoons today. I wonder if there are plans to release them on DVD? posted by Brendan | 11:32 AM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 5  Marvel Holiday Special December 1996 First of only two comic book covers in my countdown this year that comes from Marvel Comics. Both feature Spider-man. 20 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Money Better Spent While I am happy that Barack Obama won the election, I think the $770 million his campaign raised could have been better spent then on TV ads and posters. The country is floundering in a recession, companies are failing, jobs are being lost, but people found the money and energy to donate almost a billion dollars to a presidential campaign? I'd like to see Obama's campaign management team spin that sort of money raising magic for the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, or the American Cancer Society. posted by Brendan | 11:49 PM | permanent link Wait, Santa's Not In The Bible? Christmas themed Wondermark popped up the other day. I loved it.  Labels: Christmas, comic strips posted by Brendan | 10:59 PM | permanent link A Little More Suffering Please  Because I reserve my mornings for reading on the train, I don't listen to Steve Dahl anymore. Back when he was on WCKG in the afternoons, I made it a regular habit of listening to his show on the train ride back home after work. That ended when he jumped to JACK-FM.Now my only opportunity to catch a Dahl rant is to look for one of his periodic columns in the Chicago Tribune. I liked Steve's column today. Steve rages against the use of private jets by the heads of the Big Three auto makers. In particular, I really enjoyed this part: "The auto execs said they need the jets because they're very busy, and it's easier to travel when you have a private jet. Hey, we're all busy! Most of us are working our tails off to make our car payments and come up with all of the bailout money that Congress is spending on everybody but the hardworking American taxpayer."Steve illustrates a point that I know is being made all over, but one that I don't think can be stressed enough. That most of the pain and struggle in this recession is being felt by regular working Americans. If our government is going to fund these bailouts to financial institutions, banks, the auto makers, and whoever else gets in line with hat in hand, then I think the we'd all like to see a little more suffering out of the management of those companies receiving tax-payer funded money to keep afloat. Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 1:10 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 4  The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle The Bakers and Jingle Belle team up for Christmas high jinks. 21 Days until Christmas! If you're already tired of comic book covers, check out Heather's 12 Recipes of Christmas. Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Thanks for Reminding Me Up until I read this story in the New York Times, I had stopped worrying about paying (or help paying) for the kids' college education. My attention had shifted from fretting about how to pay for things in the future to how to pay for things in the present. No reason trying to figure out how to pay tuition at the University of Illinois in 2016 when we're struggling to make sure we can pay the car payment in 2009. Damn economy. But thanks to the new report from National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, I was reminded that if Heather and I make it through this recession with everything intact, we probably won't be able to help Ian, Emma, and Zoe much with college. Great. The New York Times article has a great graphic that illustrates just how outrageously the cost of higher education has skyrocketed over the last 20 plus years. The article doesn't give a reason for the meteoric rise in costs, it just states as fact that the cost of going to a university can increase by over 400% while family incomes rose just 147% and this is completely normal. That's what frustrates me. There there doesn't seem to be an explanation that makes sense - or at least I haven't come across one - as to why tuition and room & board at universities around the country need to go up 8%, 10%, 15%, or 20% annually. That just seems insane. Where is all the money going? Labels: Rant posted by Brendan | 9:27 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 3  Alvin and His Pals Although I'm not really a fan of the musical stylings of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, it really wouldn't be Christmas without one appearance of the singing rodent trio. Did you know that Alvin and the Chipmunks recordings have won 6 Grammy Awards? Not sure how that reflects on the Grammy's. 22 Days until Christmas! Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
December on Turner Classic Movies Besides the classic movie and the great original programming, what I enjoy about Turner Classic Movies is how they rarely do the same thing twice. TCM will always celebrate the Oscars in February or have a Summer Under the Stars event in August, but how these film festivals are organized and programmed are always different. I think it helps keep the channel fresh. I mention this because over the last few years I have been disappointed in TCM�s December programming. I expected that with all of the great classic Christmas films available in their library � both popular and obscure, TCM would run them for all they�re worth between the first of the month and New Year�s Eve. But over the last few years even trying to find a film as popular The Bishop�s Wife on TCM during the month of December was like trying to find a smiling salesperson at Toys-R-us. But not this year.  This year TCM appears to have embraced their library of holiday films. For the first three Fridays in December, plus Christmas Eve, TCM will be all about the Christmas movie. Meet Me in St. Louis, Christmas in Connecticut, and yes, The Bishop�s Wife, are all represented, plus many other films. So TCM has already got me hooked for most of the month with their Christmas programming, then they go along and dropped these other special programming events on me.  How can you not love a Bing Crosby film? And TCM is giving us a whole night of them. On 12/11 TCM features the films of Bing Crosby, including High Society (personal favorite), Road to Bali, and The Bells of St. Mary (Christmas again!)  Frank Miller is the Guest Programmer for the month. How cool is that. I am a huge fan of Frank�s comic book work � Batman, Daredevil, 300, Sin City, etc.; and find his movie selections interesting. I am curious to hear Robert Osborne�s and Miller�s discussions before each film. I might not watch all of the movies, but I will certainly tune in to hear what they have to say.  TCM unveils a huge amount of films when they roll out their Sunday Family Classic festivals. Over 25 live-action Disney movies will be featured. The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, The Absent-Minded Professor, Herbie Goes Bananas, the list goes on and on. I see plenty of movies that Ian, Emma, and Zoe would really enjoy. In addition to all of the Disney films, TCM also debuts a new documentary called �The Age of Believing: The Disney Live-Action Classics�. Narrated by Angela Lansbury, the documentary chronicles Disney�s expansion from just an animation house and into non-animated movies. I think it sounds fascinating and I hope to catch one of the three screenings that are scheduled for December. So much good programming and so little time. And such a huge turn-around from what I�ve experienced in past Decembers. Labels: Christmas, classic movies posted by Brendan | 12:39 PM | permanent link Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 2  The Flash #87 Even though the interior artwork was handled by the late Mark Wieringo, it's Alan David on the cover of this issue of the Flash featuring some wannabe Santa's who are not demonstrating the Christmas Spirit. 23 Days until Christmas! Check out the other comic book advent calendars: Polite Dissent Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link
Christmas Comic Cover 2008 - December 1 For the third year in a row I've decided to do a Comic Book Cover Advent Calendar. No special rules for picking the covers I did, just Christmas themed issues that I thought grabbed my interest. Enjoy the next 25 days.  The Kilroys #21 I don't know anything about this comic - not even where I found the cover. But I love the cheesy joke. 24 Days until Christmas! Merry ChristmasLabels: Christmas, Comic Advent Calendar 2008 posted by Brendan | 8:30 AM | permanent link |
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