Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Based on how light the traffic was coming into work today, I figured I'd better post this before everybody takes off for their holiday destinations and forgets about the Internet (and this little old site) for a couple of days...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. May your turkey be moist, may your favorite team win, and may your gatherings be free from strife and full of good conversation.

Posted @ 10:51 AM

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Saturday, November 22, 2003

It's been a while since I indulged in heavy duty comic book geekery in this space, but an announcement has just come down the wires that takes me back to a time when Comic Book Friday was the best day of the week and I'd not yet felt the sweet, sweet touch of a woman's lips against my own.

Games, a graphic novel starring the best superhero team of the 80s*, The New Teen Titans, will finally see the light of day after a decade and a half of stagnation. The original creative team of writer Marv Wolfman and artist/god-who-walks-among-us George Perez have returned to the project, tanned, rested, and ready. With about 80 pages already done, they have another 40 to do, plus a framing sequence of 20-30 pages which will square this sixteen year old story with current comics continuity.

The Titans are my favorite superheroes of all time, and those who only know them from the excellent Cartoon Network series would do well to give this graphic novel a look when it shows up in stores late next year.

I stopped collecting comics a year or two ago, the enjoyment I got from them no longer coming close to the expense of buying the books. With Games to look forward to, I'm getting that old, familiar longing again. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a couple titles, would it?

*Who are these "X-Men" of which you speak?

Posted @ 1:34 PM

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Thursday, November 20, 2003

So, where the hell have I been for the past week? Starting a very special project, something I've been building towards for more than fifteen years, but which I've not been ready to attempt before now.

It will keep me busy from now until spring. It will test me and stretch me to and beyond my limits. I'm excited, after years of just talking about it, finally to be embarking on this new challenge.

This week has been all about gathering the pieces. There are still a couple of things to settle, but once it's all in place and ready to go, I'll be talking about it here. In fact, I expect this new project to dominate my posts for some time to come.

For once, I say this without fear of neglecting to follow though: more to come, watch this space.

Posted @ 10:50 PM

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Sunday, November 16, 2003

I've occasionally written about Christopher Reeve, an actor and a man that I greatly admire. He's traveled a long, difficult road since injuring his spinal cord in a horse riding accident eight years ago, but during that time he has shown unflagging determination and continually overcome obstacles when the odds were against him.

Today brings word of another remarkable step in his journey. For the first time since the accident, Reeve is breathing on his own, completely without the aid of a ventilator. Thanks to an experimental surgery performed back in February, a small electronic device now stimulates his diaphragm and allows him to breath much more normally.

(As an inspiring side note, it's worth mentioning that Reeve's surgery was performed in Cleveland, the city where Superman was created.)

Here's hoping Christopher Reeve continues to defy the odds and amaze us for years to come.

Posted @ 12:10 PM

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Wednesday, November 12, 2003

We've entered Hour 5 of the thirty-hour "reverse-filibuster" being held by Senate Republicans in an effort to break Democratic blockage of four judicial nominations made by President Bush. C-SPAN 2 is covering the entire thing, start to finish.

Politics aside (and I think most folks who have read this blog for more than a couple weeks will know where I line up on this issue), I was struck by a thought a few minutes ago: it's a shame Andy Warhol isn't with us anymore. He'd have eaten this thing up with a spoon.

I can just imagine him sitting in front of the tube for the full day and a quarter, dressed in his jammies, with a huge bowl of popcorn balanced in his lap, smiling enigmatically yet genuinely the whole way through, watching every minute while friends and hangers-on around him napped and chatted.

I'm not a huge fan of the man, but I have to admit that nobody appreciated long-form absurdity like Warhol did.

Posted @ 10:11 PM

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Y'know, I was all set to implement my new site design, but in order to get it to look exactly the way I want it to, I'm going to have to learn CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

My lazy butt was really hoping to avoid learning anything new, but there's just no avoiding it. So while it's gonna take me longer than I'd hoped to do this facelift, ultimately it will be worth all the time and effort.

Posted @ 1:28 PM

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Friday, November 07, 2003

In the last decade or so, church message signs have gone from purveyors of basic information to aggressive advertising tool. Messages meant to express devotion or catch the attention of non-believers are now more likely to be displayed than announcements of service times or Bingo Night.

Some of these slogans are thought-provoking, others are groan-worthy puns (my favorites), and still others are merely strained attempts at wit.

Often I've wished I could write and display one myself. Now I can, and so can you, thanks to the Church Sign Generator. Here's my first whack at it (admittedly strained, but still funny, I think):


(link giddily swiped from MetaFilter)

Posted @ 11:09 AM

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Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Ain't it always the way? Turn off the game early, and something exciting and unusual happens.

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There are a number of local and state elections today, including one in Rockville that I'll be voting in after work. Only one touches on my job duties in any way, but being the political animal I am even an off-off year election holds some excitement for me. While I probably won't be glued to the TV watching returns all night, I'll certainly check in with CNN occasionally to see where things stand.

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The world patiently awaits word on the arrival of David Letterman's first child, as his girlfriend Regina Lasko went into labor yesterday afternoon. Best wishes to the parents and to little baby Letterman.

Posted @ 7:25 AM

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Sunday, November 02, 2003

I've spent much of this weekend working on the redesign of the HoC that I proposed way back in August. I think I've got the new look and feel down. Now I just have to translate that vision into HTML.

If I had to compare the new look to what you're seeing today, I'd say it's like the new $20 and the old $20; they're clearly related, but they're also two decidedly different creatures.

As a little preview, here's the color palette I'm working with:

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Can you feel it? There's something a little different in the air today.

I don't know if it's the fact that we're midway through in the NFL season, or if it's the arrival here in Washington of what used to be called (in less enlightened days) Indian Summer, or if it's because with the passage of Halloween we're now moving rapidly toward The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but there's a palpable something out there today.

Or maybe it's just the Bass talking. You make the call.

(Note: If I'm saying "You make the call" and overusing italics, chances are I'm just a leeetle bit drunk.)

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Oooo, I promised the Eddie Izzard show review by the end of the day today, didn't I? Hmmm...

Well, I laughed long and heartily. I can't wait to see the inevitable concert film when it comes out. It was worth every penny I spent.

There. It's a quick and dirty review, but for once I didn't fall down on the follow-through with one of my HoC promises.

Posted @ 8:09 PM

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