Warning- political rant ahead

I woke up today to find out about the shutdown of the Internet and cell phone communications in Egypt. Aghast at the situation, I kept a window to the live stream of Al Jazeera all day and followed the events.  The riots were strange and weird to watch. For example, the rioters would set fire to police vehicles, yet they would cheer for the army tanks that moved in to keep the peace. I watched President Mubarak’s head-scratching speech, and wondered how anyone could think that his actions would calm the situation. But that wasn’t the most disturbing thing I saw.

I’m really surprised at how American officials are acting today in response to the Egyptian situation. I’ve seen Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry come off as anti-democratic thugs in live interviews and press conferences. We’ve seen a country turn off the Internet and cell phone service just to make protesting hard (a completely bone-headed move that no rational government would think work), and yet, just because Mubarak has “fired the government”- which of course, he’s only shuffling the decks- we’re telling Egyptians to go home, respect the government, and don’t be violent. (Of course, the protestors aren’t the ones who fired tear gas into a group of people praying in the streets- I saw that today live).

I know we have deep relations with Mubarak and Egypt, and I know it’s important to keep that country on our side. But this isn’t the way to do it. The citizens of Egypt will remember how we acted today, and it will just make them harder towards us. We need to help make Egypt into a real democracy, not prop up a dictator who runs fake elections and jails dissidents. What we’re doing runs contrary to real American ideals, and it makes me sad and a little bit sick.

Sorry for the political rant, but I had to express how I feel.

I’ve long been a big fan of Joe Quesada’s decade-long run as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel. A lot of great comics came under his watch- Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Brian Michael Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man and Alias, Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk, and Garth Ennis’s Punisher run are four notable examples. Over the years, as Marvel recovered from bankruptcy and became a media powerhouse again, he’s been given more responsibilities, including the title of Chief Creative Officer a few years back. He’s been more involved with the animation and movie arms of the company, and even designed some of the packaging for the toy line.

Something had to give, and today we found out it’s his publishing responsibilities. As Quesada’s corporate responsibilities grew, he came to rely upon Axel Alonso and Tom Brevoort, his chief lieutenants, more and more. Today, Marvel named Alonso his successor as Editor-in-Chief. Brevoort now becomes a senior VP of publishing.

Alonso came to Marvel from DC, where he was an editor at Vertigo. He was most notable for overseeing such hits as Preacher and 100 Bullets. At Marvel, he eventually took over the Marvel Knights and X-Men lines. It’s long been assumed that either he or Brevoort would eventually be named Editor-in-Chief, and it looks like Alonso won the coin toss.  (I do wonder how Brevoort, who’s been at Marvel for nearly two decades, will take this situation, but that’s pure speculation on my part. As a fellow University of Delaware alumni, I hope he’s happy with the promotion.)

So a hearty congrats goes out to both Alonso as new EIC and Quesada, for being the longest tenured EIC in company history. (And before you say, “What about Stan Lee?”, I don’t believe that’s a title Lee ever held. )

Today’s links:

Information for men about Weight Watchers. I know WW is primarily viewed as a diet for women, but I’ve found it tremendously useful, and this sales pitch for WW for men has some interesting info. Also, the men of Bleeding Cool talk about weight loss.

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer get married. Awwww…congrats to them both!

Flex Mentallo finally is being collected in trade! Proof that if you live long enough, you’ll see plenty of miracles.

“Whattaya like? Spider-Man? X-Men? Superman?”

Usually the answer is “if the story’s good, I like the story”.  I sidestep the question, rather than insult the questioner.

But if you go “Batman?”…well, hell no. I do not like Batman.

I’ve liked Batman comics, mind you. I’ve liked some of the movies. I’m sure there’s an action figure I like. The first animated series is on? Heck, I’ll watch. Got some bootleg Adam West action? Yes, please.

But Batman seems to intersect in my life in weird ways that just irk the heck out of me. It’s a strange anti-synchronicity that just lingers like an infection. When Batman- not the fictional character, but the concept, the business entity, the corporation (not to be confused with Grant Morrison’s new Batman Inc. comic- intersects with the real world, bad things happen.

Case in pont: The Saboteur, a video game I’m in love with right now.

The Saboteur is a sandbox game for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360. The game is set in Paris during the Nazi occupancy in World War II. You play Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver who seeks revenge on a high-ranking Nazi for killing his friend. You can climb Parisian rooftops, blowing up sniper nests, propoganda speakers, and anti-aircraft installations. You can race in the countryside, or try to outrun German motorbikes in the street. You can even take in a sexy burlesque show (if you have the downloadable content, which came free in my copy of the game).

Unlike other sandbox games I’ve played, the optional missions actually play a part in the overall game. You get contraband for your accomplishments, which you use for weapons, ammunition, explosive, and other perks. And while you’re playing, jazz vocal music from such luminaries as Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald wafts through the air. The art in the game is gorgeous, and the color palette actually changes depending on whether or not you’ve freed an area from Nazi rule. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played.

It’s also the last game released from its developer, Pandemic Studios. And this is why I hate Batman today.

According to numerous reports (including this Kotaku story), the parent company of Pandemic, EA, secured the rights to a tie-in game to the Batman: The Dark Knight movie. However, the rights would expire in eighteen months. Miscommunication led to a forced revamp of the project a few months in, and despite a scramble to finish on-time, a sellable game was never completed.  As a result, the company was eventually closed by EA during a round of cost-cutting.

So, because of Batman, I’ll never get to play The Saboteur 2. And that’s a damn shame.

Damn Batman.

Today’s links:

Bill Sienkiewicz breaks the silence about Big Numbers #3. Fantastic scoop by Pádraig Ó Méalóid.

Colleen Doran talks about the success of the Distant Soil webcomic. You ARE reading A Distant Soil, aren’t you?

Heidi McDonald talks about her struggles with the technology that powers one of the best blogs about comics today, The Beat.

Wired Magazine got every prediction right about 2010. At least they THINK they did…

Dueling Analogs perfectly sums up my feelings about most videogames. (But not The Saboteur, because that’s just awesome.)

Don’t be down about 2011, says Charles Stross.

Tom Spurgeon interviews the curator of the Comic Art Museum, Andrew Farago.

Finally, an interesting look at sales of Jamie Hernandez original art.

On the way home from Sunday shopping, I noticed a big “STORE CLOSING” sign on the Coconuts music and movies store in Toms River. I wasn’t surprised by its impending doom; I haven’t set foot in any of their stores in years. In fact, I wondered why it had stayed afloat for so long.

Clearly, according to the stock price of the parent company, Trans World Entertainment, I’m not the only one. When a company sells for less than $2 a share, the thought is that it’s close to bankruptcy. A quick look at a few press releases shows a number of money-losing quarters, and you can’t stay in business long if you don’t make money. Since TWM had already filed bankruptcy once (in 1996), you have to wonder if this company will live to see the end of 2011.

If it is a doomed company, it’s not the only media dealer in trouble. According to a Publishers Weekly story last week, the book retailer Borders has stopped making payments to certain publishers, and one unnamed major publisher won’t ship more books until the payments resume. Borders is now trading even lower than TWE, and many analysts feel the end is near.

Truthfully, my heart doesn’t bleed for TWE or Borders. When I worked in Manhattan a few years ago, I had so many bad experiences at the Borders at Penn Station that I vowed to stop shopping there. But my heart does bleed for my old college haunt, Rainbow Records. I spent what feels like whole semesters rooting through used CDs at their location on Main Street. Now, the store has cut hours, and will give up half its retail space in the next few months.

Is any of this a surprise? Of course not. We buy MP3s indtead of CDs, and we buy them from a handful of online stores (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic) for the most part. Amazon controls over 75% of the book market, and even that is rapidly becoming an ebooks market. Blockbuster’s nearly gone, and its successor, Netflix, is rapidly becoming a streaming company instead of a distribution company for DVDs and Blu-Rays. Video game sales are dominated by a handful of big companies, led by Gamestop, and even that business is moving online. Even comic books are going digital; Marvel and DC both have iPad stores, and the independent Comixology application has moved over a million digital comics.

We no longer have a crying need for physical media in our life. I’m not complaining about this- I love my iPod, my Kindle, and my networked PS3 like any red-blooded American male. But I do miss what Cory Doctorow wrote about in his short story, “Craphound“- the hunt through back issue boxes, used CD stacks, piles of books in the back of the store, garage sales, and later eBay listings. I spent a lot of my 20s this way- traveling to flea markets for old Atari cartridges, bent over quarter boxes in dusty comics stores, or driving around going to that *one* store 100 miles away with a copy of some desired story or song.

I got exposed to a lot of neat stuff through those hunts- Matt Feazell comics, Los Bros Hernandez, Peter Bagge, funk music, and so much more. I once scored from a dealer in South Jersey three boxes of indy 80s comics for $10 per long box, and ended up with mostly full runs of Nexus, Grimjack, and other First and Eclipse comics; from another dealer, I got the entire fun of Marvel’s New Universe, which had its moments in its later years. Through record store cutout bins, I was exposed to Joe Jackson, one of my favorite musicians to this day.

I won’t complain about the modern world. I love deliveries from Amazon. I get my comics from a mail order company, DCBS, at fabulous discounts. I get great customer service from these companies and others. But I do miss the thrill of the chase for the obscure, the surge of happiness when you found that comic, that CD, that old book… but alas, the thrill is gone.

Today’s links:

Johanna Draper Carlson goes through the dross of January’s Previews catalog to find the graphic novel gems.

Saccharin’s mostly sweet following- a great article in the LA Times about the primary sweetener in Sweet and Low.  (I also highly recommend Sweet and Low: A Family History by Rich Cohen.

That is all.

What am I into at 5:16 AM?

1. Facebook games. I’ve never been infected by the Farmville virus (you’re welcome), but I have a few of those mindless click-and-collect games that I like. I purposely limit them to five so I don’t go overboard- Backstage’s Slots, Scratch And Win, Bingo Explosion, and Pull Tabs, along with another game called Egg Breakers.

2. The BS Report. If there’s a better podcast out there…well, let me know in the comments. ESPN’s Bill Simmons is running a salon for writers, sports figures, and comedians. Don’t get distracted by the constant Boston sports teams cheerleading; listen for the deep interviews with Patton Oswalt, Chuck Closterman, football writer Mike Lombardi (who’s always fascinating), and his friends Jacko and Cousin Sal. This podcast is the reason I’m working with my Comic Widows friend Glenn Walker on a podcast of our own, GAR!.

3. Wrestling DVDs. My brain isn’t really up to a movie at this time of the morning, but wrestling’s perfect. Amazon had a huge sale on wrestling DVDs last month, so I have a shelf full of WWF(E?) DVDs for the perusing. You can literally hear your heart break as you watch Eddie Guerrero set the world on fire and beat his inner demons, only to end up dead in a hotel room at 38. And you can learn a lot about avoiding your own hubris by listening to a “shoot” DVD with Vincent Russo, the former writer of the WWF’s Attitude era who ended up courtside at the destruction of the last major competition to the WWF, WCW.

4. Books. I’ve got a stack to read here. Rudy Rucker, John Scalzi, Cory Doctorow, a bunch of graphic novels, Michael Lewis’s latest…the stack is higher than my lamp.

5. The Beatles’ White Album. I can’t get Cry Baby Cry out of my head. Note- I will NOT listen to Revolution No. 9 in the middle of the night.

6. My cats, Koko and Dewey. When I come out from the bedroom, Koko’s usually in my chair. He’s not a lapcat (though he’s very friendly in his own way), so he’ll eventually scatter, but he’ll accept some petting before he goes. Sometimes, Dewey, who’s blind but very friendly, will either be in the recliner next to my desk, or over on the couch next to that. He makes the sweetest purrs.

7. My Nintendo DS. I don’t like to power up the TV and PS2 at this time of the morning, but my old Nintendo DS (it’s a first-generation system, pre-DS Lite) is perfect. Quick to boot, quiet…I’m playing a lot of Retro Game Challenge and Space Invaders Extreme lately.

8. Work. There’s no better time to work than in the few hours before work actually starts. If I clear the decks of routine reports before the day begins, I’m better equipped to handle the minor crises that will pop up during the day.

Isn't he cute?

This is Dewey, my blind but wonderful cat. He’s actually snoring.

For me, this is a weird post. I’m not typing this on my PC, but rather on my new Samsung Moment Android phone. My wife’s phone died, so we upgraded both our phones to this model. She’s (rightfully) suspicious of having her data wedded to the Google monstrosity. But I’m in love with the features on this little gadget.

I’d take a photo of our snowshoe Siamese cat, Koko, but I doubt he’ll let me…

*FOLLOWUP*: I was able to type the post completely on the phone, and I took the photo on the phone. I was able to upload the post to my blog, but the photo wouldn’t go. As it turned out, the path for my uploads directory wasn’t properly defined. All is well now. Time for bed.

The local anchors were interrupted by a medical doctor, who pointed out that if there wasn’t some compartment for oxygen in this balloon,the boy was probably dead from asphyxiation. One of the talking heads stopped and said, “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” That’s when I realized that no one had asked the family what was inside the balloon. Was that small compartment at the bottom of the balloon supposed to hold a child? Were we fooled by the helicopter camera into thinking that the bottom compartment would have even fit a child?

And go further. Would a weather balloon, even built with a compartment for a human to ride along, fly as high and as far as it did with a passenger? It’s been 20 years since I’ve been in a physics classroom, but I would think that a balloon capable of carrying, say, a 40-50 pound boy would have to be bigger than the apparent size of the balloon. Go a step further- since no family would build a balloon to only carry a child (except for, say, the Addams family), the design would have to consider at least one adult passenger. Think of the size of a hot air balloon, which can hold a few people. Wouldn’t a weather balloon designed for human flight have to compare in size to a hot air balloon?

I wish I had thought of this while the drama played out. But I didn’t;  like you, I was swept away with the amazing visual of this balloon flying in the sky with a little boy inside.

No one asked questions, and we all got surprised when the boy wasn’t in the balloon, but rather in the attic. So heart-warming. What a happy ending.

But we got suckered. And no one asked the right questions.

The next time you wonder how we ended up in the Iraq war, or how New Jersey has the highest tax rate in the land and a corrupted state government, just remember the time you spent staring at the Bubble Boy that wasn’t, and ask yourself, “Why didn’t we ask questions?”

——

Side note: I’m still working on my Baltimore Comic-Con wrap-up. In the meantime, my friend Glenn Walker posted his take on the day.

You can have it

But you’ve gotta learn

To reach out there and grab it

–Weezer, “Photograph”, Weezer (The Green Album)

Today begins the first day of my new adventures. I’ve been having adventures all my life- I just wrapped up an adventure that took me into midtown Manhattan every day, next door to Bernie Madoff’s old place of “business”. I did that for eight months, spending five hours a day on a train. And now that adventure’s done, and it’s time for a new one.

Sure, I was really going to work. And now I’ve changed jobs. Some might not think of that as an adventure. But then, it’s just going to work every day, day after day, and who wants to think of their life as a monotonous chore to be carried out without passion, without daring, without fun? Not me, that’s for sure.

My new adventure is a lot less strenuous. I won’t be spending five hours a day on the train. So that gives me time to finally write, and thus here I am. I used to write more for my old site, whyilovecomics.com. But I found that limiting myself to only writing about comics led to an enormous case of writer’s block, and I stopped writing about anything. Well, no more of that. I’ll still write about comics (and I’ll crosspost those posts over to WILC, I promise), but I want to write about anything I can think of, so that’s what I’m going to do.

There are two strict no-nos I won’t be writing about. I won’t be writing about my jobs, and I won’t be writing about my wife. I have to sign so many contracts for my jobs that writing about my work would probably lead to trouble, and who wants to read about database development, anyway? As for my wife, she’s pretty awesome, but she likes her privacy. Since I happen to love being married to her, I’ll respect that.

I’m going to do my best to write every day, and not just post links and videos (though I’ll do that too). I can’t promise that, but I’ll try my hardest. I urge you to add this site to your feed reader, and post your thoughts in the comments. I promise to try to make this as much of a dialogue as possible.

So let’s go have an adventure together!