Eddie-torial Anecdote: When Eddie Met Rick

Call this one “Eddie’s Brush with Stuff That Other Bloggers Are Linking to or Writing About.”

There’s been a lot of buzz about Rick Olney of Tightlip Entertainment the past couple of weeks. week. If you need to get up to speed with the whole deal, start here with Comics Worth Reading and follow the links.

Now that you’ve read about the experiences others have had with Mr. Olney, I’m going to tell you mine, which admittedly is pretty minor compared to not getting paid for work you’ve done. I’m basically jumping on the bandwagon here because it’s just so strange to me that something that happened in my life several years ago even slightly mirrors something making waves like this in the comics world today. If nothing else, it just shows that Olney’s history of inappropriate interactions and bizarre behavior goes back further than people may realize.

I’ll warn you that my memory is pretty inexact at times and some of the details are fuzzy. This all happened through snail mail, and I didn’t save any copies of anything. At the time, I just chalked it up to a weird, somewhat disturbing, happening in my life and went on. I certainly wasn’t expecting to sit down and write about it several years later. I may have gotten the contents of some of the letters confused, but I think my recollections are pretty accurate. Consider this your caveat lector.

As best I can recall, based on where I was working at the time, it was maybe 1997-ish or so. Olney had a club called ORCA (Organized Readers of Comics Associated), and ORCA had a listing in Comics Buyers’ Guide. I used to take these spells back when I was a CBG reader where I would sit down and send away for anything free or cheap that was advertised. I had started my journey away from mainstream comics a couple of years prior, and was on the hunt for new stuff to read, like some of the small press and self-published stuff advertised in the CBG classifieds. (Yes, a lot of stuff I got was really lame, but that's also how I discovered Elizabeth Watasin. And it was kind of fun.)

I think you could get ORCA info for free with a SASE, so I wrote a nice letter asking for some more information about the group and sent it away with my very own SASE. In reply, I got a very nice letter from Olney, who explained that ORCA was a chance for folks who loved and read comics to get to know each other. Membership was something like five bucks and among the benefits was a bimonthly newsletter. (I’m pretty sure it was bi-monthly, it might have been quarterly. However, it was supposed to have a regular publishing schedule.) There was also a list of questions about me and my interests in comics that I was to answer and send back to help other members get to know me better.

I decided to take the plunge and sent my five bucks in, along with my answers to the questions. If nothing else, I thought it would be good for some mail. I’ve always loved getting mail, especially in those days before the Internet took over the world and email all but wiped out snail mail (except for bills, unfortnately).

A little while later, I got a package from ORCA with another letter from Olney, some ORCA promo stuff, and the first five or six issues of Astro City, a title I had listed as one of my favorites on the questionnaire. In his letter, Olney welcomed me to ORCA and responded to some of my responses on the questionnaire. I listed writing as an interest, so he wanted to know if I would write for the newsletter. He noted some comic interests we had in common. I had mentioned my growing interest in anime and manga (which had yet to really take off in this country), and he said that was something he’d like to know more about. Then he proceeded to trash one of my favorite creators, Donna Barr, whose name I had mentioned in my responses.

Seems that Barr had made some comment about “fanboys” in an interview somewhere and Olney took issue with the term, which he felt was derogatory. He ripped into Barr, including making a really nasty, inappropriate comment about not wanting to see her in a bikini. He said he hoped that I wasn’t “like her” and kind of implied that, maybe, I shouldn’t really like her work after all.

Looking back, this should have been some kind of red flag to me. That's awfully extreme behavior to display to someone you are in the process of meeting. It wasn't even that Barr had insulted him. it was that he percieved that she had, so he was going to take offense at me for liking her comics. Still, at the time, I thought it was something we could work past. Besides, if he got to know someone who liked her work, and could explain its appeal, maybe he would try it himself.

So in my reply, I thanked him for the comics and offered to write about the anime convention in Atlanta I was getting ready to attend (Anime Weekend Atlanta) for the newsletter, if he wanted. I also told him that I hadn’t seen the Barr comment that had him so incensed, but maybe he was taking it a little too personally. I also pointed out that I thought some of his remarks were way out of line.

At some point in time, it may hve been this letter, I also started asking questions about ORCA. How many members did it have? How spread out were they? Were they going to be getting online, since they weren't at the time? (I don't even think Olney had email at this point, hence the snail mail. I know I had given him my email already.) I also wanted to know why Olney called himself something like "Executive Director" which seemed to be an odd title for the president of a pretty informal comics club. Were there other officers? What did they do? It was more curiosity than anything else. I wanted to get to know more about the group than Olney and his letters.

In his reply, Olney accepted my offer to write the article, then proceeded to insult me for daring to defend Barr and her attitude. Maybe I was “just like” her. Maybe I was “snobby.” Maybe I put people down too. And how would he like it if he referred to me as “alterna-boy” based on my taste in comics? And on and on. He also didn’t answer any of my questions about ORCA or his title.

At this point, I should have just dropped the whole thing and moved on. The only “face” that I was seeing for this group was, well, a little unstable, or at least, highly sensitive. I thought I might have an outlet to write about comics, though, so I decided to not bring the topic up any more and focus on areas where we agreed. I went to AWA and, a couple weeks later, sent in an article about it, including places where people who were interested in anime or manga could find more information.

I got an email reply this time, from someone else in ORCA, with a title like “vice president” or something similar, who thanked me for the contribution and said they’d see if they could use it in the upcoming next issue of the newsletter. He also said that Rick was busy with some personal stuff, so he wouldn't be writing for a while. This was in the fall.

In the spring of the next year, the first issue of the “bi-monthly” newsletter that I received showed up, without my article. “Oh well,” I thought. At the point they published it, my story wasn't timely any more, so they must have just decided not to use it. I wasn't faulting them for that or the erratic schedule, since they were all just fans doing this in their spare time, like me.

And I didn’t hear from ORCA or Olney again for sometime, way more than a year, I believe. No more newsletters. None of the fun contact with other members emerged. Nothing. But at least there were no letters from Olney! In the meantime, I had sold all the Astro City comics Olney sent me and made my five bucks back, and then some. I chalked ORCA up as a minor mistake on my part and went on with my life.

Finally, another newsletter showed up. I knew better than to look for an article I wrote about a convention that happened well over a year before, but I was surprised to see a reminder that I needed to renew my dues. It was apparently way past time to send them another five dollars. So, I took stock. Two “bi-monthly” newsletters in a couple of years or so, combined with a bunch of questions I never got answers to, plus a “director” who had been pretty rude to me in our second or third encounter all added up to “no more money from Eddie.” Besides, the newsletter wasn’t even that good or worthwhile.

Also, I had taken a job at the time with an hour commute out of town. I was part of a van pool that left at 6 in the morning, so I was getting up at 4:30 every day. I was tired all the time and looking to cut some distractions out of my life.

I dropped a short note in the mail that said I didn’t want to be a part of ORCA any more and asked them to please take my address of their mailing list. I didn't go into detail because there really wasn't any sense going into everything. I just made a simple, and I should note, polite request. I figured that would be the end of that.

And I was wrong. I got a letter back from Olney wanting to know why I wasn’t renewing. Didn’t he send me all those great Astro City comics? Wasn't I enjoying being in ORCA? (Uhm, no.) They'd been so good to me. Why didn't I appreciate them? They had all these great plans in the works. If I left now, I'd miss all the fun. Why didn't I like them any more? Olney said they weren’t going to drop me. They’d keep sending me the newsletter so I could see all the fun I was missing. That way, I could re-join whenever I wanted, and Olney was sure I'd do that, just as soon as I saw what a mistake I was making. (Honestly, it was like trying to break things off with some kind of clingy ex-lover.)

I guess I could have let it go, since, despite all the promises, there didn't seem to be anything to ORCA. However, I was starting to feel like I really didn't want my name associated with anything Olney was a part of. His response to my request to be dropped was definitely odd.

I wrote back and repeated my request, stating that I really had no desire to receive anything from ORCA. I didn’t want to be a part of the group. I said I didn’t feel ripped off, since I made my five bucks back selling the Astro City issues, but I was disinclined to send Olney any more money for a group that didn’t seem to be worth it. I pointed out that I had asked questions that were never answered, that the newsletter really wasn’t what it promised to be and reminded him that he had insulted me for liking a creator that he didn’t. In short, I hadn’t had a good experience with them and wanted to end my association.

The next letter from Olney moved beyond odd to freaky. He was very rude, calling me names again for liking Donna Barr. (Sheesh!) He didn't like my attittude. He didn't like me. I was an ingrate and a snob. Then he said he wasn’t going to drop me from the membership, instead he was going to print my letter and address in the next newsletter and encourage “the membership” to laugh at me and send me letters telling me how ridiculous I was.

Up to that point, the whole thing had been a little annoying, but this was almost scary. On the one hand, as near as I could tell, “the membership” was Olney and a couple of friends, but on the other, I was starting to see an escalation in bizarre, antagonistic behavior every time Olney didn’t approve of something I said. Here he was, basically saying that he was going to encourage other people to harass me! The situation was turning really wacko, and I definitely wanted no part of anything he was at all connected with after that.

I wrote back, pointing out that I felt like things were starting to unnecessarily escalate. I told him that his response felt like a threat to me and that I would take appropriate action if he did indeed run my letter without permission and encourage others to harass me. I repeated my request to be removed from the ORCA roster. I put the letter in the mail, totally unsure about what to expect next.

To my surprise, Olney’s next later said that he had talked it over with others (who?), rethought everything, and would honor my request. And that was the last heard from him. This would have been in 1999 or maybe 2000. I know it was before I took my current job, which was in January, 2001. I never heard from him or ORCA again.

In the years since, I would sometimes see a post from Olney in a comment thread or some mention of him or ORCA somewhere online and I would just shake my head. Everytime there was some kind of big announcement about something he was working on, I'd kind of roll my eyes a bit, and feel a little sorry for anyone who ended up working with him.

And then, the disturbing behavior I saw years ago starting becoming very public and growing in scope and character. Meltdowns on boards. Insulting belittling posts. Excessive victim language. Big promises with nothing to back them up. Ignoring requests for details. Looking back I think you cansee the seeds for all this behavior in his interactions with me. Except that the internet gave him a forum and broad exposure for his antics. And, worst of all, he moved from just harrassing and insulting nobody fans like me to defrauding professionals trying to make their livelihoods in comics.

What happened to me back in the day is basically kind of a weird footnote to my life. It’s not necessarily something I would care to repeat, mind you, but it’s small potatoes compared to what others have had to deal with when it comes to Olney. I’m thankful that all of our communications were low tech enough that there was kind of a built in limit to how far things could escalate. When I see him lashing out online, I’m aware of what our interactions could have turned into, given the chance. I'm also glad I never got more involved in anything he was involved in. I 'm also glad that there were no serious financial trasnactions between us.

And there you have it. My Rick Olney story. Not as dramatic or critical as some of the others, but there it is. My thoughts are with those people who are now having to prepare to go to court to get him to honor his commitments. That shouldn't happen to anyone.

Noodling around with some links and thoughts and stuff

I’m discovering that work stress actually makes me want to blog more. Go figure.

I also realized this morning after looking at the number of posts that have been hanging around in Blogger for far too long waiting for me to post them, that what keeps me from blogging isn’t the time or the writing. I do plenty of that. It’s the finishing—the adding links and such—that holds me up. Too many times, I’ll have something finished in Blogger, except for the links, and think “I’ll get back to that part in a little bit.” And never do. Sometimes it sucks to be me.

Anyway, here are a few links and other stuff that have me thinking the kind of thoughts that I want to write about right now.

First up, Lefty’s post today reminded me that I have never said anything publicly about being included in his monthly “Circle of Friends” CD mailings. This is especially rude of me because the November and December CD’s were two of the best CD’s of any kind I listened to all year. The December one has become my official holiday CD, in fact. I shall play it every year when we do our baking and wrapping and stuff. It’s a lot of work to put something like this together—assembling the music, ripping, downloading, burning, labeling, mailing—not to mention the expense of it all, so I’m grateful to Lefty for including me. Thanks, man!

By the way, he says the slots for the Mixed Bag 5 exchange are going fast. Go on. Sign up. You know you want to. It’s a lot of fun! And there are prizes this year!

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Over at Progressive Ruin, Mike’s been heralding the end of civilization for 2 years now, but after this latest installment, I’m convinced that that end is right around the corner.

I mean honestly, what else could this:



This:



And this:



All together in the same Previews catalog mean, except for the Apocalypse? Honestly, I don’t think things can sink any further. (Images nicked from Mike, of course.) If you need me, I’ll be in a cave in the mountains, somewhere! Somebody better check on Mike, too. After this installment, I'm afraid his brain may have melted down.

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Last week, I wrote a long piece about the infamous Rick Olney, but have been hesitating on posting it. After all, I’m a nobody with a blog (not a comics professional) and he didn’t screw me over with false promises of payment. I wrote the piece because I thought it was kind of interesting to have something from my past tied into things that were making comics news, but in light of the fact the several people have had their livelihood negatively impacted by his actions, I just didn’t feel right about trying to hop on the wagon with my little tale.

However, this comment at the Beat made me re-think that a bit. I think Olney’s problems were pretty obvious when he was just running comic fan clubs. My interaction with him certainly proved that! Like I said, he didn’t bilk me financially and it was all amateur fan-to-fan interaction, but his behavior certainly was disturbing in the end. I’ll post my story tomorrow. In the meantime, you can click around on some of the links above, if you need to come up to speed on the whole saga.

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I really like this post over at Written Worlds for the Roe v Wade anniversary for the succinct distillation of the pro-choice argument.

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Fan entitlement. It’s not just for super-hero fans any more.

I really liked Beanworld, too. And, hell, I’d love to see it revived or at least reprinted. But saying this is a bit much, I think:

I don’t think Marder owes us any more Beanworld any more than Sallinger owes us Bride of the Return of Catcher in the Rye. But, from my perspective, he DOES owe us Beanworld fans the courtesy of a formal reiteration of his promise to work on Beanworld for the rest of his life, OR a formal “Fuck Off. I don’t DO that anymore.”

For the record, I don't think Larry Marder owes me shit. Oh, and I love the way the author tries to disguise the whole sense of entitlement with all the talk about Marder not owing anyone any more Beanworld.
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A part of me is thinking it can’t be time to start talking about Free Comic Book Day already. Another part of me is disappointed to see that once again it’s on Derby Day, which will make it hard for local shops to build the kind of buzz that shops in other cities do.* And a part of me is saying, “Lynda Barry and Gottfredson Mickey Mouse? Cool!”

*It’s hard to explain the way this town goes nuts around Kentucky Derby-time to folks who don't live here. Trying out free comics is the last thing on anyone’s mind.

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Oh yeah, that comic weblog update thingamajig is back, kind of. It's just in a different place run by a different person.

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Finally, a couple of Courier-Journal links (only available for a week after publication). First a review of the Clark-Ely-Hiatt-Lovett extravaganza. I think he over-sells it a bit by calling it the “the better part of three hours.” It was after 7 (like 7:15) when the show started, and they did their finale at 9. They did come back for an encore, but by 9:30 we were outside the auditorium on our way to the parking lot. I guess two-ish hours can be considered the “better part” of three hours, but, please. It was a great show as it was, there’s no need to pump it up like that. Also, apparently there was someone watching TV during the concert. Geez! Concert behavior is getting to be as bad as movie behavior!

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Speaking of concerts, just found out that one of my most favorite folksingers, Kate Campbell, is doing a benefit for Habitat for Humanity on Saturday! Todd Snider on Friday and Kate Campbell on Saturday! Bring on the music, 2007!

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I’ll shut up now.

Now how about a look around the blogosphere?

Lefty's got a new Mixed Bag CD exchange starting up! Check out the details and sign up, if you're so inclined. I can tell you it's a lot of fun and the music is always interesting. Plus, this time there are prizes!

When Disney-verses collide!

Revealed at last: The secret life of Anthro! (I think he needs one of these T-shirts!)

Send good thoughts to Gordon, please!

She's Hip! She's Mod! She's Boss!

Bunny #3 (no artist listed)

And she's developing a terrible case of wrist strain!

Image courtesy of Eddie's Great Big Pile o' Unread Comics!

Saying this is still timely makes it so, right?

I’m claiming a New Year’s “grace period” for this post. I think I read somewhere that you had the entire month of January to get all your new Year’s sentiment out before you start looking dated, tacky, and disorganized. (Or maybe I’m making it up so that I don’t look as dated, tacky, and disorganized. Whatever.) If it's any consolation, I did write this about three weeks ago. I'm actually really good at writing the posts. It's the actual posting that I seem to find difficult.

Anyway, some wishes: To the loyal handful of you who check in here from time to time looking for that ever elusive new content: thanks for keeping the Eddie-torial faith.

To the even smaller group who’ve made my day with links and comments on that ever-elusive content: thanks for lifting my spirits, usually when I really needed it.

To the “nags” who seem to think it’s their duty to shake me out of the doldrums: y’all need a hobby or something! (Seriously, thanks for at least acting interested in what I might have to say.)

To the “real” bloggers out there who constantly amuse and amaze me with your daily doses of wit, talent, and insight and keep tied to the computer far longer than I should be: please explain to Keith why the laundry and the dishes aren’t done, uhm, thanks for both inspiring and intimidating me.

I want to be you guys when (if) I grow up.

And specifically:

To Roger: I hope that you and your family (especially Lydia) stay safe, happy, and healthy all year long, that you have a better time with bicycles this year, and that you get an office door.

To Chris and Kelly: I hope that this is the year you finally find an effective treatment for Kelly’s pain issues. I also hope that 2007 brings several fresh rounds of CD exchanges and maybe even a cool concert or two for you all. (Oh yeah, and I hope that new computer comes through for you all, pronto!)

To Mike: May 2007 bring you fewer annoying customers and more Swamp Thing comics. (Looks like that last part is already coming true!)

To Gordon: Best of luck with your job search, possible move and other life changes and decisions you’re grappling with. Keith and I are discussing the possibility of a trip to Chicago, so if you do move back there, then maybe we can check out the local comic and ice cream scene again! It was great meeting you this past summer.

To Dorian: I wish you another year of using your power to piss off the misguided, but may you use it only for the good of humanity. I realize that means that some things have to stayed screwed up enough for you to take aim at them, but it’s so much fun to read and watch that I’m being selfish. And best of luck with your new project, too.

To Bully: I hope that your “fun comics” to “not fun comics” ratio is the best it’s ever been in 2007. And, I hope that you’re able to walk away from those comics that are consistently not much fun. Life’s too short to read un-fun comics, you know.

To Greg: I wish you a year free of indie comic creator smack-downs!

Coming up: Some 2006 wrap-ups. (Live and recorded music are already done, but I’m having a lot of trouble with comics.) Plus, looking ahead to the rest of 2007, and some personal notes.

Just Four Guys and Four Guitars

So, we hit the first concert of the year last night, and, based on how good this show was, it's going to be a good year for live music!

Guy Clark, Joe Ely, John Hiatt, and Lyle Lovett. Four guys. Four songwriting legends. Four guitars. It doesn't get any better than this.

They sat in a row on the stage and took turns, one after the other, sharing songs. From time to time, one of them would jump in to do some harmony vocals or a guitar solo for one of the others. (One of my only quibbles about the show was that there wasn't more of this kind of interaction.)

Song selection ranged from old classics to newer stuff. Guy Clark did several of my favorites, including the inimitable "Dublin Blues" and "Magdalene," my favorite off his most recent release. Lovett performed a brand new song, whish will be part of his upcoming release. John Hiatt made me really happy with songs from Slow Turning and Crossing Muddy Waters, my two most favorite of his albums. I'm not as familiar with Joe Ely's work, but last night showed me I need to rectify that, pronto!

It was a truly great night of music, even if it came to an end sooner that I would have wanted. With four of them switching off singing duties, there wasn't a need for an intermission, so they played straight through for an hour and a half. This gave them four passes down the line, plus an ensemble finale of Townes Van Zandt's classic "White Freightliner Blues." I would have preferred to have one more pass through the song-sharing before the finale, but I'm just selfish like that.

It was a great start for the 2007 concert calendar! Next up: Todd Snider returns to Louisville.

Belatedness....

Okay, here we go...

For the forseeable future, posting will probably be light to non-existent here. I know I'm not the most regular of bloggers under the best of conditions, but things are coming down at work that are going to be taking a lot of time and energy. I can't say much more than that, except that it's a time of flux and uncertainty right now.

I've got a couple of posts written that are in the editing stages. I hope to be able to post them this weekend. After that, we'll just have to wait and see.

So, as Tosy would say "Until Whenever."

New Randomness for a New Year

The Tennessee Bird Walk:



Way more about toilet training in Japan than you ever wanted to know.

There's a new Jack Chick tract online!

HAPPY 2007!

Holiday Wrap-Up!

Well, we survived another one. The tree (for the moment) is still standing, despite Chiquito’s best efforts. He has managed to dislodge several ornaments, however. He also likes to take naps under the tree. I think it reminds him of being outdoors on his own.

I had a lot more trouble with the holiday baking this year than normal. Several things did not turn out, and I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough to give away. Happily, that wasn't the case. Still, it's a little frustrating that so much went wrong, and I can't figure out why. Three batches of fudge got tossed before I decided to give up and move on. Sigh!

I’ve about taken the holiday feasting as far as it can go. I’ve picked up enough weight to start feeling uncomfortable, even though I’m no where near regaining everything I’ve lost. Once the New Year starts, it’s back to healthy eating and exercising. Keith has already joined the Y. I’m really proud of him for that!

Keith really seemed to like his presents, which was great. I felt like I did really well this year, so it was nice to be right. I might regret giving him the harmonica, however. He gave me some pretty awesome books this year, which was a little different. Keith tends to shy away from getting me books, because he’s afraid I may already have them. This time around though, I got several, including a nice Frida Kahlo collection and the companion book to the March of the Penguins movie, which I also got on DVD. Keith likes to pick one item each year and get everyone on our list one. This year’s item was MoP on DVD. Honestly, I was getting a little jealous watching him wrap all those DVD’s for other people, when I’m the penguin nut in the household! I should have known better! So, all’s right with the world now. My mom gave each of us gift cards to Barnes and Noble, and my Secret Santa at work gave me one for Half-Price Books, so there’s going to be plenty of new reading in the house for a while!

I hope everyone had happy/merry/ho ho/whatevers and that 2007 will be very very good for you!

Hey Mr. Turtle!

Destroying my childhood memories, one by one....

Bleah!

I hope you had a happy/merry/ho ho/whatever! I'm a little under the weather today and am heading back to bed. Hopefully, I'll get more posting done this week.

In the meantime, two post-holiday treats:

Sign up to win a nearly complete run of Strikeforce Morituri!

And for your viewing pleasure...Superpoderosas!

Linking Around

Looks like the new Emmylou Harris boxset won’t be available until next Spring. Bummer!

Happy blogiversary Progressive Ruin!

Read about Bully’s Xmas Adventures. Plus, gift giving guides!

Meanwhile, Dorian’s at war with Christmas. And he’s keeping track of where everyone stands!

Yes, he’s making a list. And given how thorough Dorian can be, he’s probably checking it carefully. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even checks it twice…

Hmmmm…..That sounds kind of familiar….Let’s see….


They both seem to have this “beard and silly hat” thing going on, too… So is this a case of “Know thine enemy” or is it more like “We have met the enemy and he is us”? More importantly, which list is this stunt going to put me on?

CBR’s Pipeline offers a plan to revive Wizard. And some folks want to see it happen.

Hey! Lefty moved me up a slot on the “musical guru” list. Wow! I was convinced I’d been a pretty crappy guru, so I was pleasantly surprised. (But he didn’t ask me any questions…)

Speaking of music, Thor’s been sharing the contents of his jukebox with Beaucoup Kevin.

Dammit! Botofest 2007 has been cancelled. What is it about cool music festivals in this town? Bluesky Jamfest lasted one year as a multi-act festival. Now Boto has done the same thing. Damn! Damn! Damn!

Maybe it’s good music in general in this town. Homefront has lost their performance venue. This just SUCKS!

As if it couldn't get any worse, it also looks like we could be on the verge of losing the Rud, too. When it rains, it pours... (That's a Courier-Journal link, so it's only going to be available for free for seven days.)

Random Thoughts About This and That

Gotta love pay day! My insurance premium went down, so I’ve got a few unexpected extra dollars. Of course, that will correct itself when my increase in flexible spending for 2007 kicks in.

If blogging about blogging is a sin, then what is blogging about not blogging? I seem to do more of that…

I’m a bit concerned about how Chiquito is going to handle the Christmas tree when it goes up.

I’m supposed to be Santa for our office Christmas lunch on Friday. (Seriously!)

Can anyone recommend some hip-hop/rap music that I might actually like?

Had the first snow of the season last week. Not sure whether to be excited or bummed. It was only flurries, after all. And not that long ago, we had temps in the 70’s! And it’s been in the 50’s this weekend. On the one hand, I totally hate the cold and mess of winter weather. On the other, there’s the romantic vision of sitting on the couch with peppermint hot chocolate, a warm blanket, the one I love, and a cat or two.

Getting ready to start my holiday baking today.

Trying to blog while balancing a laptop and a kitten on one's lap is difficult.

I'm convinced that the Post Office is a bit like church. There are people who only go there at Christmastime. And, consequently, they're pretty damned annoying because they have no clue how things are supposed to work. I never thought that the PO was that hard to navigate, but it seems to be beyond an increasing number of people. It can be pretty aggravating to those of us who go there several times a week.

But rather than grouse about it, I've decided to be proactive instead. Here are Eddie's tips for the PO-challenged:

1. Get your stuff ready beforehand. Address everything. Pack your boxes. Tape them shut.

2. If you don't have the supplies to do this, go get them, go home, get your packages ready, then go to the Post Office.

3. This includes the priority and express mail supplies that are available at the Post Office. Take them home and get your stuff ready.

4. If the idea of making two trips to the PO bothers you, take your supplies out to your car and get your stuff ready.

5. If you haven't figured out what I am trying to say yet, try this: The Post Office is NOT the place to get your packages ready!

6. If this sensible approach is beyond you, at least have the decency to not try getting your stuff packed up while you are in line at the Post Office!

7. Most PO's have counters where you can do that. Step out of line and use them.

8. If you step out of line to use them, please don't expect the line to hold your place.

9. And for God's sake, don't try to hold your place in line while you're at a counter doing the stuff you should have done at home.

10. Know how you're going to be sending your stuff: which rate you want, insured or uninsured, with delivery confirmation or not. You can look all this stuff up at the USPS web page.

Following these simple steps will get your holiday packages on their way with a minimum of wear and tear on both you and the other people using the Post Office. Since I'm likely to be one of those people, I'd certainly appreciate your cooperation.

If that seems to be too much for you to handle, I have just one thing to say: UPS.

And, taking a page from Mike, for reading all that, here's my favorite animated Christmas short ever!

But What Did Lois and Batman Do?

Action 417, artist unknown.

Jimmy's crime, at least, is obvious: those pants!

Image courtesy of Eddie's Great Pile o' Unread Comics!

Sinning Boldly*

Unless and until you hear otherwise, consider this your December post.

Well, I guess I owe it my three or four regular readers to actually post something at least once a month or so. I think I’m just going to go ahead and add the word “occasional” to my blog description, just for the sake of truth in advertising. Maybe “infrequent” would be better still.

Seriously, I’d hope that I might get some new posts in this month, but this is me we’re talking about, so who knows? Just in case, let me go ahead and wish everyone a Happy Yule, Blessed Kwanzaa, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, just in case you don’t hear from me again for a while. Best to keep one’s bases covered.

*Thanks to Lefty for the Luther quote.

From Last Night's Smallville Weather Forecast:

"And for tomorrow, it looks like it will be cloudy in the morning with a 98% chance of a Superboy storm in the afternoon. You'd best break out the kryptonite umbrellas folks, or else plan to stay inside. Making sure that your homeowner's insurance is up to date is a pretty good idea too. There might still be time to purchase the special 'Kryptonian Damage' rider!"

Superboy 159 (art by Neal Adams--I think)

Image courtesy of Eddie's Great Pile o' Unread Comics!

Today, I Turn 42.

We will celebrate in the traditional manner, with shopping at my favorite second-hand stores, punctuated by meals at my favorite restaurants. This will continue throughout the weekend.

That is all.

PS Damn! That’s a lot of candles!

Burn THIS Pal! Director's Commentary Disc 2

An awful lot of really bad things are done by people who are supposed to be the good guys. And a lot of really good music has been written about it. I couldn't help adding a second disc to collect some of it. If the law can't or won't do anything about it, then call in the folksingers!

What If the "Good Guys" Are the Ones Doing the Bad Things?

Heroes (Jill Sobule): It’s always hard to hear about the foibles and shortcomings of your heroes. I thought this humorous take on the whole “feet of clay” syndrome would be a good way to open the disc and offer a much lighter perspective than some of the cuts to follow.

Conservative Christian Right-Wing Republican Straight White American Males (Todd Snider): Again, another light-hearted song, but this one is a little more direct and contemporary. On the one hand, you can say Snider chose an easy target, but, on the other, he really lays bare the political polarization in America today.

Hey Kevin (Yer Girlfriend): Yer Girlfriend is a lesbian band from here in Louisville. Back in the day, Keith and I rarely missed one of their shows. They broke up several years ago, but re-group for special occasions. This song is based on a true story of a gay student who was kicked out of one of the seminaries here. It’s always touched me on a real personal level, because I was a student there too. So was Keith. It’s where we met. The last verse really resonates for me, all these years later.

Man of God (Eliza Gilkyson): This isn’t Gilkyson’s best bit of writing. It’s just a tad heavy-handed for my tastes. She done much better anti-war and anti-W songs, but I felt this one just fit here.

Mercy Now (Mary Gauthier): I couldn’t move away from the abuses on the contemporary American religious scene without including this song. Mary Gauthier cuts through to the part of me that still wants to believe, touching on many of the reasons why in the process. When this song was first released, my dad was in the hospital. Even now, listening to it realy gets me.

Shady Grove (Zoë Speaks): Kentucky folk duo recasts a well-known traditional song as an indictment of racism and racial injustice. This one gives me the chills every time I hear it.

Black Waters (Jennifer Rose): I really wanted to use Jean Richie’s version of this song, since she wrote it, but could not find it on iTunes. Jennifer Rose’s version comes the closest to matching Richie’s traditional mountain style of singing so I chose it. The many evils committed by big coal against the land and people of the Appalachians don’t get near the attention that they should. Personal note: Jennifer Rose and I went to the same college.

In the News (Kris Kristofferson): Nobody can sum up the crappy state we find ourselves in like Kris Kristofferson. It’s always fun to go to a Kristofferson concert and watch the folks who think the only songs he ever wrote or recorded were “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” when he starts throwing out his more political material.

Can’t Make It Here (James McMurtry): I believe that we are reaping the bitter fruits of the Reagan revolution, and it’s not a pretty sight at all. The human cost is unbearably high. This song lays it all out better than any I’ve ever heard.

Some Humans Ain’t Human (John Prine): Only John Prine would think of comparing those responsible for our current national mess to “ice cubes with hair!”

Christmas in Washington (Steve Earle): It simply would not have been right to do this disc without a Steve Earle song!

Let it Ring (Amy Ray): As I started moving to the end of the disc, I felt like I had spent enough time laying out the evils of contemporary American society. I didn’t want stop at merely creating a musical downer. One of the beautiful things about “protest” music is that there are as many songs of hope as there are of indictment. I wanted to end with some calls for change and reminders not to give up hope.

This song comes from her solo album, Prom, which deals in large part with growing up queer in the south. It’s an incredible album, one of last year’s best, in fact. This is the final cut, and she manages to blast at those who use flag and faith as weapons to attack others and encourage those of us who oppose them at the same time.

The People’s Day (Otis Gibbs): This is the song that made me fall in love with Otis Gibbs. It sounds like something that would have been song at an IWW meeting in the 30’s! The inclusion of Harvey Milk on the list of the fallen heroes is a nice touch.

Peace Call (Eliza Gilkyson, Iris Dement, Mary Chapin Carpenter): This is a previously unrecorded Woody Guthrie song. I love the harmonies especially.

Imagine (Emmylou Harris): During the 2004 election cycle, she would do this song at her concerts. I was lucky enough to see it twice. Just her, a guitar, the words of one of rock’s greatest writers, and that amazing voice. I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s enough to inspire me to hold on to hope for the future. I hope she will record this in the future. In the meantime, this is an audio rip from a CMT live performance. Again, I probably should have edited the applause a bit.

Goodbye George! (Ann Reed): At this point in time, anti-W folk songs are a dime a dozen, and most of them, frankly, aren’t that good. Ann Reed knows how to do it right and manages to be political, clever, and entertaining. I had to close with this one, which is available for purchase from her web site, even though it meant following one live cut with another.

Quick Takes on Some of the Other Discs:

Lawbreakers (Lefty Brown): It’s a nice collection all together. Unlike a couple of other folks, I loved the Judas Priest opener. It’s a fun song and I thought the choice was tongue-in-cheek enough to be inspired. I didn’t care much for the next two cuts, so was a little worried for a moment. Franky, Fiona Apple bores me. The only other cut I really didn’t like was the Rod Stewart cover of "Street-Fightin’ Man," which just felt a little wrong somehow. But, the actual presence of the Rolling Stones made up for the bad Stones cover, and the presence of Steve Earle more than makes the disc a total winner. I’ve read some reviewers who think that "Condi Condi" is just a toss off bit of fluff for Earle, who usually has a lot more muscle to his music. Personally, I think it’s nice to see him bringing a bit of humor to his well-known politics.

The Steve Taylor song brought back good memories of my college days when I was into being in the Baptist Student Union and listening to contemporary Christian music. I had BSU friends who thought I was a bit of a heretic for liking Taylor, because he actually had some thought-provoking substance to his music, which was anathema to their version of Christianity. Of course, those same folks now think I’m a total hell-bound heathen because I’ve left the church, the faith, and (gasp!), I’ve been in love with another man for 15 years! Anyway, all told, I thought Lefty’s disc was another solid Lefty Brown collection. The man puts together good collections of music, folks.

Roger's Plethora of Contributions (Roger Green): I got his law and order discs in mail last week, along with a copy of his disc for Kelly’s Summer exchange (which I hadn’t received), and a very pleasant surprise disc. There’s no song list, just “Hello Eddie” written on the disc, so naturally I had to check it out first. In short, I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I’ve laughed. I’ve grooved. I’ve recognized some songs and a few artists, but there are quite a few who are new to me. I hope Roger will see this and spill the contents. Thanks for the lovely surprise, Roger. It's one of the best discs I've gotten this year!

He made two discs for the exchange, Enthroned in the Hearts of Kings (love the title!) and John, Bobby, and John. At his blog he says that he made Enthroned because he wasn't totally happy with JBJ after it was finished, which is odd to me, because I thought JBJ was the better of the two.

I thought the theme, fallen 60's icons (two Kennedys and a Beatle), gave the disc a really tight focus, but still allowed for a variety of contributions. I was especially surprised to hear Laura Cantrell on the disc. I thought it all hung together and flowed really well. The other disc is good and has a LOT of good songs on it, but it feels a little more disjointed to me.

Finally, Roger's summer exchange disc has been perfect listening for a couple of dreary October days!

Happy Halloween!

Blame this one on Mike! (Of course...)

Burn THIS Pal! Director's Commentary Disc 1

Okay, so a little while ago Gordon announces he's doing a disc exchange with a law and order theme. I debated participating, because I thought I'd have a hard time dredging up enough stuff to fit the theme from my music collection.

Then it hit me: "You idiot! Most of what you listen to is Americana-ish stuff and most of it is about people making choices that get them in trouble." In about five minutes, I had a list of songs for the collection, without having to think very hard about it at all.

I still had a couple of concerns, but they turned out to be easy to deal with, for the most part. I wanted to make sure that I had a good showing of work by female artists, since I have so many of them in my collection. I also had to make sure that I got a local act or two in, since this is important to me.

My biggest concern had to do with audience perception. I was a little concerned that some of the recipients would find a mono-genre collection to be boring, even though the boundaries for Americana music are pretty broad and fairly flexible. I was also worried that Roger, Lefty, and Gordon, recent recipients of several "all Americana, all the time" discs from me, would be rolling their eyes and groaning "Not again! Someone please take his CD burner away!"

It's a valid concern. I love making mixes, but boring your audience is never good. Still, the seed had been planted, and I had to follow my muse. I promise some more musical variety next time around, guys!

One of the things that I love most about Americana music is the stories, especially the ones that don't end happily. Maybe I'm just a morbid old crank, but there's something about listening to the sad fate of someone who made some bad choices that really gets to me. Of course, some folks don't have to make a bad choice for things to go to hell. Life just turns out that way. Either way it can make for some good music. Hence, my title:

Hard Times, Rough Living, Bad Choices, Good Music

Long Black Veil (The Cheiftains with Mick Jagger): I just love this slow, mournful tune. The pipes that moan through the opening of this version gives me the chills, and Jagger's voice matches them, wail for wail. I thought it was a great opening. A man is hung for a murder he didn't commit because his alibi is the woman he's having an affair with--his best friend's wife.

Devil’s Right Hand (Steve Earle): Given Earle's many songs about outlaws and rebels, not too mention his personal clashes with the law, he was a given for this set. The problem was picking a tune. I finally went with this one because I thought the rockier beat was a good follow-up to the opening ballad. How was I to know that Tosy was going to decide he doesn't like Steve Earle?

Postcards From Mexico (Kevin Welch and Kieran Kane): I just love Welch and Kane! This is off of their newest release. I love the call and response format of the song. I wanted to use this one so bad, but I don't have the CD yet, so I actually joined iTunes to get it.

Camelot Motel (Mary Gauthier): Some of Gauthier's best writing is found in this song about the motely collection of losers, hustlers, lovers, and thieves who take rooms at the titular no-tell motel.

Pancho & Lefty (Emmylou Harris): This was a no-brainer. Emmylou's classic version of Townes van Zandt's classic outlaw song. In my mind it's one of the greatest songs ever written. I love the way he laid out the story of these two men without explicitly filling in all the details. We see the men through the blur of the legends that grew up around them. Emmylou sings this tragic tale beautifully.

1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Del McCoury Band): Okay, I apologize to Lefty, Roger, and Gordon, who now have this song on three consecutive discs from me, but it's a classic doomed outlaw love tale. I couldn't not use it! I promise it won't show up again for the rest of the year, even if the band did...well, you know. (I promise I'll stop talking about that one day too. It just won't be soon.)

Robert Ford and Jesse James (David Olney): Jesse James showed up a lot in the mixes this time. I like this take on the story, which tries to explain why Ford might have wanted to shoot his cousin in the back.

Milly’s Café (Fred Eaglesmith): Eaglesmith has become the new songwriter of choice in our home. His stuff seems to continually inhabit our music-playing devices. You can't do a disc like this without one story of a good girl who gets pulled into a life of crime by the bad boy. It never ends well.

Infamous Angel (Iris Dement): I imagine this one made Tosy cringe, but I love it. Another thing I love about Americana is the large number of songwriters with what I refer to as"voices with character." They're not as polished as others might be. Some of them are even a bit quirky in their tone or phrasing, but they inhabit and embody their songs perfectly. Iris Dement is a perfect example. I am madly in love with everything about her music, especially that wonderful lilt and twang that she has in her voice. It's lovely and perfect, especially for a song like this. We don't know exactly what Angel has done to become so infamous, but the song hints that she's been involved in quite a lot.

Sam Stone (John Prine): A classic, pure and simple. One of the first songs I thought of for this disc. Nobody can write a song like this like Prine can.

Best of All Possible Worlds (Kris Kristofferson): Except maybe for Kristofferson. I wanted this one because it's so tongue in cheek.

My Wife Thinks You’re Dead (Junior Brown): I originally had three or four songs like this one in the mix. Stuff that was a little lighter, and more humorous in nature. Sadly, I ended up not having room for them. I miss the texture they would have brought to the mix, but they'll be turning up on a future project.

Tecumseh Valley (Nanci Girffith): Another Townes van Zandt song. This time, it's the sad story of a young woman and the lengths she goes to support herself and her family. Arlo Guthrie sings along with Griffith.

Caleb Myer (Gillian Welch): A modern take on the classic murder ballad, which means that, for once, it's not the female character getting killed! I love Welch's haunted take on traditional music. (Note to Roger: Please do the murder ballad disc!)

Terrible Horrible Thing (Dan Gediman with Heidi Howe): Another modern murder ballad. This time, the man and the woman both get killed. Gediman and Howe are both Louisville-based artists. Gediman is the man behind the revival of "This I Believe."

Jesse with the Long Hair Hanging Down (Robert Earl Keen): I dismissed the more likely REK choice as being far too obvious. This lesser known tune is one of Keith's favorites. I like the fact that it actually has a happy ending!

You Think You Know Someone (Todd Snider): Haunting story about child abuse.

Murder at the Read House (Otis Gibbs): This was a late addition to the mix, as I really just discovered Gibbs on the Music Choice Americana channel right before I had to put it all together. Nevertheless, I love this song, because it's so overwhelmingly creepy.

The Sweetest Gift (Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris): I had to include this one, for sentimental reasons. This is the song that introduced me to the wonder of Emmylou Harris. My mother was a big Linda Ronstadt fan, and I spent a lot of time listening to her albums as a kid. The first time I played this cut off of Prisoner in Disguise, I had to know who the harmony singer was. I found a copy of Blue Kentucky Girl at the library, and that was all she wrote. I wanted to wrap up the CD on some lighter, more hopeful notes, and this song fit that desire perfectly.

25 Minutes to Go (Johnny Cash): Only Johnny Cash can stand live before a bunch of hardened felons in prison and sing a song that makes light of waiting on death row and get away with it. I knew this would be the perfect closer for the CD, because it's not so heavy. I just wish I had edited out some of the applause and stage chatter at the end. It would have made for a tighter ending to the disc. I was in such a hurry to get the discs out before we left that I didn't think of it.

That's disc one. In a moment, we'll have disc 2.

Very Quick Updates on the Personal Front

Finally feeling better, except for a residual cough. Now, if we could just get Keith's ears unclogged.

Conference went extremely well. Almost 500 attendees. My major work stress for the year is OVER!

My brother is in town for the annual Mitchell Brothers Reunion Road Trip. We're going to the flea market today.

Kosh has become a very needy lap kitty since we've been back from Mexico. For my lap in particular.

This blog passed its third blogiversary earlier this month, unnoticed by everyone including me.

Next week, I'll be passing my 42nd birthday in much the same way.

That's not true. I'll be sitting by the mailbox waiting for the flood of cards and gifts from my many admirers. What are you waiting for? You still have a week to get something in the mail.

Bennie ripped the space bar off my laptop the other day. We got it back on, but if you don't hit it just right, it doesn't always space right. Any odd spacing errors in this post are her fault.

I got tangled in my power cord the other day rushing to get Chiquito off Bennie and the laptop dropped. Now the audio is garbled about half the time.

People who have cats shouldn't own laptops.

Yes, I just did a post largely about my cats.

Batman is the Reason I Put on Make Up Every Morning!

When I'm stressed, I look for Batman on YouTube, okay? Hey, it beats drinking!

Citizens!

Not much time to write today. Snot continues to cram the crevices of my head and chest (ewwwww!), but I am breathing a little easier and am able to sleep without Nyquil, which means that I am sleeping better.

The dreaded conference is tomorrow, and I'm heading to the hotel in a bit to set stuff up. I still have to hit the office and copy one more thing, while I'm at it. I've done this thing for six years now, and I have never had the problems getting it together like I have this year. I've spent most days since I got back from vacation fighting with either our purchasing folks or the hotel accounting folks over getting the damn thing paid for! Never had to do that before.

Anyway, nothing new except for some blogroll updates today. I added Tosy and Cosh and GayProf because I enjoy reading them and I need to stop hopping over to them using Roger's links. It's taken me a while to get my own set up, but I'm lazy like that.

Tom the Dog and Crocodile Caucus should have been on my blogroll a long time ago as well. I think I may have even done it in the past and forgot to re-add them when I lost my links after updating my template. Oh well. They're both worth a read, if you're not already doing so. Lyle at CrocCauc is a really nice guy. A couple of years ago, he and I had a great time prowling the indy comics pavilion and small press alley together at the San Diego con.

And to make up for being so rushed, one of my favorite YouTube Adam West Batman videos:

Theory: I Died Three Days Ago and This is a Zombie Post

Okay, so I’m not an iron blogger like Mike. I’m a wimp. I get sick and I crawl off to bed, instead of writing long posts about comic books. Sorry about that.

Part of the problem is that the impending conference has made it impossible for me to take a sick day. This has turned my post-work routine into the following:

Leave work.
Stagger home.
Stumble in the door.
Sniff and hack a little.
Have a bowl of Cap’n Crunch.
Sniff and hack a little more.
Have another bowl of the good Cap’n.
Polish it off with a bunch of OJ.
Sniff and hack some more.
Watch last night’s One Life to Live on the DVR.
Sniff and hack at Keith a bit.
Take a bunch of Nyquil.
Crawl in bed.
Get under quilt.
Wait for Kosh to settle in beside me.
Sniff.
Hack.
Pass out until morning.

Everything has settled into my chest, which takes forever to clear out with me, but I’m starting to feel somewhat better, exxcept for not sleeping well without medication yet. I haven’t really had time to work on my Mexico posts, and that’s probably going to have to wait until after the conference on Monday. I might post more over the weekend, but don’t hold your breath.

In the meantime, check out Mike’s latest round of links (and if you missed the Nancy link post from a couple of days ago, your life is woefully incomplete).

When you get done there, visit GayProf’s hagiography of gay saints, if you need some spiritual edification. If your needs are more carnal in nature, then swing by Dorian’s Beefcake Week posts. (Mmmmm....beefcake!) Personally, when it comes to comic beefcake, I’m pretty taken by Jaeger.

(That's not the sexiest Jaeger shot, but I haven't had much luck finding any good ones online. I'll try to scan some this weekend. Image courtesy of The Gay Comics List. Art is by and Finder is copyright Carla Speed McNeil.)

Over at Journalista, Dirk Deppey has compiled all his manga scanlation recommendations for indy comic readers into one document, with images.

And with that, it’s time for the evening routine. See you all later.

No Posts When I'm Dying!

I think I've now proven that one can pick up illnesses from reading a sick person's blog. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what happened.

Actually, Keith started coming down with a cold right before we left Mexico, and he's been kind enough to share it with me. I spent most of the day in bed and am heading back there as soon as this gets posted.

More later!

But What About Mexico?

Our trip to Mexico City was fabulous! One of the best vacations we’ve ever taken, in fact. The city is wonderful. The people are wonderful. And there is way more to see and do than we could possibly cover in eleven days, believe it or not. We’re already talking about a return visit.

The trip has left me with a lot that I want to write about, so be prepared for several posts in the near future. I’m going to be grouping things into somewhat loose topics, rather than providing a really boring day by day travelogue. This is my first deliberate attempt to create a bunch of posts that I would consider to be Rogerian in nature. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a lot to get out of my system, and what’s the point of having a blog, if not to get things out of one’s system?

I’m going to try to sandwich some Burn THIS Pal director’s commentary for my discs in between Mexico posts, plus review some of the other contributions as well. After I’ve run the trip into the ground, I’ve got a bunch of stuff I started ages ago that I want to finish up and post, including a review of Dolly Parton’s first album, a through the years look at a few Emmylou Harris albums, a post about my father and comic books, some additions to my sidebar, plus a really long post (or series of posts) about Days of Our Lives that I have been wrestling with for a while now, but haven’t been able to get it to turn out the way I’d like.

If it all comes out the way I plan for it to, then I should have enough content to last through my birthday in November. Of course, this is me we’re talking about, so we’ll just have to wait and see. I mean, the big annual work conference is the 23rd and my brother is coming to visit on the 26th, so I will have some distractions in there.

I Know This Is Going to Scar Everyone for Life

Lefty, I'll see your picture of you with a bra on your head....



....and raise you a picture of me with a pair of underwear in my head!



(If this becomes a meme, I'm going to be truly frightened!)

Eddie-ted: I added the links I forgot to put in last night.

I'm Coming Home!

Greetingsfrom our last day in Mexico City! The in-trip blogging didn't happen like I had hoped because I was either way too busy or way too tired to think about it. Rest assured, though, that there will be at least a week of boring travel recaps to thrill and excite you.

Keith and I fly out in a few hours and should be home by ten tonight. I'm really missing the cats at this point. We've not been away this long since we got Kosh a few years ago, and I'm not sure Chiquito will even remember us.

I did manage to keep up with the blogosphere in a limited fashion over the past eleven days, so here are a few noteworthy highlights to tide everyone over until I get home:

It's mini-comic week at Comics Worth Reading!

At Postmodern Barney, Dorian went to see the Scissor Sisters and has some nice pics of the show. He's also had a lot of well-put thoughts about the current state of queers in Marvel Comics. I have to admit that I find what I'm reading about the whole situation to be disturbing and annoying, but I'm really loathe to comment on it, simply because I'm not reading any Marvel books at the moment (and don't plan to be in the future). For me to complain too much seems like hypocrisy. I am glad, however, that there are folks like Dorian raising the alert on stuff like this. Oh, andit must be October, because Dor brought out his Halloween template. I'm hoping we'll get more monster posts and horror movie reviews soon!

Lefty predicted the future, then got really strange. I think the emissions from his crystal ball are starting to get to him.

Roger had a great post yesterday comparing the original album release of Pete Seeger's We Shall Overcome to the CD re-issue. I've got to get my hands on the CD now!

Gordon went psycho, um, psychic too. And he's right about the peace sign thing too! He also belatedly discovered Wolff and Byrd.

Delenda Est Carthago is a big two years old now! Congrats, Greg! You can review some of Greg's greatest hits in his anniversary post, or see his top ten favorite English monarchs (I just love typing that!), or watch him tussle with Tom Beland.

I'm not that big a fan of True Story Swear to God either, Greg, for many of the reasons you state. I'm actually a fan of autobio comocs when they have something to say or else present themsleve with some sort of style or point of view. Beland skims the surface of things too often for my tasteand avoids dealing with anything remotely messy, which means that he really doesn't deal with anything interesting either. His piss-poor response to your review put me off the bookeven more than I already was.

Scroll through the last few days of Journalista posts for some scanlation recommendations of manga for folks who tend to like indy and alternative comics. Great stuff!

Finally, watch a stuffed bull go above and beyond the call of duty. Scroll through Bully's hour by hour reviews commemorating 24-hour comics day!

That's all folks. See you back in the USA!