Not my Captain America?

The new Captain America comic came out last week and its caused a bit of a stink.  For those who haven't been keeping up, Steve Rogers, the original Cap, no longer has the Super Soldier Serum in him and has aged.  He chose a successor, his friend and long-time partner, Sam Wilson, the Falcon.  There was a bit of a flap about Captain America being black and diversity running amuck, but for those who have followed the comics and characters for a long time, its actually pretty cool.  Sam Wilson is a great character, and if someone had to step in for Steve Rogers I think he's the best choice.

Now the new comic is out, and its written by Nick Spencer.  I like Nick Spencer.  I think he's a really amazing writer.  I was excited to see what he;d do with the character, and then I read the issue.  Things started out great.  Sam is kicking butt and taking on Hydra goons and Crossbones.  It a lot of fun.  Then we find out that everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. is ticked at him and so is a good chunk of the public.

And its the reason why where I think Spencer has made a big mistake.

Spencer acknowledges that Steve Rogers kept his politics to himself as much as possible.  He stayed out of partisan squabbling.  I really like the quote that Hickman gave Cap when he was being told his values and ideals were archaic.  His answer was "I don't judge people's lives, I save them." And that's just awesome.  Captain America makes the right choices even in the toughest of situations.  He's an ideal, and I think that's a lot of the ideal of America.  Doing what's right, even when its hard.

But Sam Wilson doesn't seem to be reflecting the ideal of America, but more of the reality of America.  He's come out on certain sides of issues, and its ticked off people who don't agree.  This is so very disappointing.  I saw Sam being Cap and being a minority as a step forward and we can judge characters and people by the content of their character and their actions.  I had hope.  I had hope that Sam, like Steve, would stay above politics and just be a force for good.

Instead I see the like of "You're not my Captain America" which reminds me of those who say Obama "is not my president".  There's other parallels between Sam and Obama in the book.  Its funny because there was hope for him too.  Instead our president has focused on the divides in this country and pushing his side of things.  I really don't want to see Sam go down that same road, but that's kind of how its looking it'll go.

The latter part of the book has Sam coming in to stop people from harming illegal immigrants.  That's good.  Captain America should be stopping those who would harm people unable to defend themselves.  But at the same time, these are people who are willfully breaking the law, and I'm doubting Sam is going to tell them that what they are doing is wrong.

I follow politics, and its a tiring, soul crushing affair.  I read comics to life my spirits and often inspire me as they did when I was a kid.  I used to want to be a good, upright, moral man like Captain America.  Now Captain America saddens me.  It looks like just one more thing that's been sucked up in the political game of demonized and mocking anything or anyone that doesn't agree with you.  Its even to the point that we're being presented characters in this book like Phil Coulson and Nick Fury Jr. who are heroes in other marvel books but are here shady individuals that we shouldn't trust.

But its only the first issue of this run.  Perhaps Sam will learn that he's not Captain Democrat, Captain Republican, Captain Conservative, nor Captain Liberal.

He's Captain America.  And I hope he's one I can admire and respect as much as his predeccesor.

Indiana versus Bandwagonaggedon

Hey!  Guess what!  There's a state called Indiana!  Have you heard of it?

If the answer is "yes" then you've been paying attention to things, which is good, but you've probably been lied to, and that's bad.  There's been a big stink about the state passing a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).  Some folks think it opens the door to discrimination towards gays.  That's completely false, but the people making the claims are really loud, so despite facts and stuff they must be right.  Right?

Well, no.  If you have any questions about the RFRA, HERE is a great article breaking the whole thing down.

Now, if you're wondering why this law got passed to begin with and doesn't the First Amendment of the Constitution already cover that, good for you!  Here's the skinny, around 1990 the Supreme Court made a ruling that really took the guts out of the First Amendment.  It set things up so the if Compelling State Interests came into conflict with Religious freedom, the scales were tipped way to heavily towards the State.  There are times when a State's Interests should trump Religious freedom.  

Example: if your religion calls for human sacrifice the State can stop you because of that whole murder being against the law thing.

But the 1990 case created a problem and everyone got together to fix it.  Religious groups, the ACLU, and many secular groups got together to create the Federal RFRA which Bill Clinton signed in 1993 as one of his first acts as President.  Balance was restored and everything was great.

Then it was interpreted that the Federal RFRA only applied to Federal Laws and not State laws in 1997.  Since then 20 States have passed their own RFRAs including Illinois which Barack Obama supported when he was State Senator, and Virginia which current Governor McAuliffe must not be aware of since he's been taking a couple of jabs at Indiana.  Also note that the link provided about the State RFRAs does reference the current situation in Indiana but also states that these laws have NEVER been used successfully to discriminate against homosexuals.

So, why is there a problem with Indiana?  Its been a perfect storm if ridiculousness.  I wrote before about White Knights who run about the internet typing away for their causes.   It seems the Tinfoil Hat Brigade merged with the Magenta Lantern Corp and seeing the law only through the prism of one issue created a whole conspiracy theory around it.  I do wonder if the Governor that passed it had been a Democrat if there'd be the same fuss.  I doubt it.  The false narrative is set that Republicans are bigots.  Then along come the Latter Day Atheists banging their drum that religion equals bigotry.  So we had one target that all three groups of nutters could focus on.  Then a bunch of other people jump on board because it fits with their person narrative of how the world is despite facts to the contrary.

Of course the irony here is that all their screaming just shows who is really prejudiced.  (Hint: they're the ones doing the screaming.)

And now the Indiana Governor has to react because he has people running around upset because they've bought into a lie.  This could have been avoided if people would have read the bill and done a little research instead of just giving into knee-jerk emotionalism.

Moral of the story: do your homework.

Presidential Championship Bout!

Round one on the debates is over and done with and Obama got stomped pretty bad out there.  He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but on that stage.  There was a lot of build up to this debate, and many of his supporters were confident that their image of Obama the amazing orator was going to come out onto that stage and mop the floor with Mitt Romney.  Didn't happen.  Then there was a period of silence as those supports tried to make sense out of what had just happened.  Then the excuses started flying.

It was the altitude of being up in Denver.

He was playing "rope-a-dope".

There was a strange sudden onset of narcolepsy.

Those of you that have followed me for a while know I'm a fight guy.  When you have two guys going after each other in the ring most likely someone is going to get beat.  There's always those post fight interviews with the guy who loses, and often the guy who lost has some sort of excuse.  It really just makes them look like a bitch.  If you get beat, you should just admit it graciously, and go back to the drawing board to try harder.  Political fighting is different from real fighting of course, so if you get beat you'e supposed to make excuses, and try to spin things.

The day after the election Obama goes out and says "That wasn't the real Mitt Romney."

Really?  In that case Bizarro Mitt Romney done kicked your ass.  The thing with this campaign is the Obama camp has been trying very hard to define who Mitt Romney is.  They've painted a picture of an old fuddy-duddy who can't connect with people and only cares about rich folks.  It looks like they've actually bought into that too.  That wasn't smart because if you start having a lot of delusions about who your opponent is and buy into them, you are going to be in for a world of hurt when your real opponent shows up.  Romney came off charming, intelligent and in command.  The guy looked presidential.  Whether you agree with him or not on issues, he was outstanding in that debate.

We have a serious miscalculation by Obama in this round.  But really, there wasn't much hope for him to win an economic debate with Mitt Romney.  Where do we go from here?

Next week is the debate between the Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.  Not a very good follow up if you're camp Obama.  Biden is prone to gaffes and has a history of making comments that don't totally jive with the administration's agenda.  Really, all they can hope for is that Biden doesn't say anything that hurts the campaign.  So, if this week Biden doesn't makes things worse then he's succeeded in his job.

That'll take us to the final two debates between Obama and Romney.  One of those is going to be on foreign policy.  Typically those favor the incumbent, but right now, its really shaky.  If you had asked me last month if Obama had that one in the bag with the bin Laden trump card I'd have had to say "yes".  Doesn't matter that it was the intelligence gathering techniques that Obama himself objected to that led directly to the mission being possible.  The meme of "Obama got Osama" has caught on as if the president himself had pulled the trigger.

But now we've had the terrorist attack which killed our people in our embassy, including our ambassador.  Obama was running around saying it was the result of an anti-Islamic film and it was protest that got out of hand when it was obvious to anyone following the story that it was a terrorist attack.  Protesters don't bring RPGs.  There's records that the ambassador requested more security and it was denied.  The scene as of this writing has not been secured by the FBI, so its possible that sensitive documents that could endanger more people are out in the open.  To make things worse for the President, its out that he doesn't attend many of his security briefings.  Skipping out on meeting with foreign leaders to go on The View doesn't help either.

Its really not looking good for the Obama camp.  There's a ton of openings for Romney to exploit.  Still, in the fight game there's a saying: "You never want to leave it in the hands of the judges."  In politics, its almost always going to be in the hands of the judges, and we hope the judges (being the voters of course) are paying close attention.

The Not So Great Divide

It's Friday, November 4, 2011, its my stepmother's birthday, and this is The Side. Hopefully the HITMAN volume 5 trade I ordered for her will get here soon.

I'm very tired right now.

I'm thinking today about the division of things, mainly groups of people. It seems like there's a lot of focus on it now. In many areas I'm all for it when we keep things in perspective. Splitting things up can bring about competition, which can be fun and enjoyable. The competition can be physical, mental, or emotional.

Physical competition is pretty obvious. We typically see it in sports. It gets the blood up, and pushes those competing to be the best person out there.

Mental competition also pushes folks. We see this in debates, spelling bees, chess matches, and any other intellectual pursuit that can involve more than one person. This is also good. It keeps the mind sharp.

Emotional competition is along the lines of being a fan of something. Let's say you're a Yankees fan. If your team is on the field you're invested at least a little bit emotionally. Well, there's someone else out there who's invested emotionally in whoever the Yanks are playing. Being passionate about something is good for the soul.

There's a flip side to all this. Competition can bring out a lot of bad stuff. people can cheat. They can do something to intentionally hurt someone. They can get so obsesses with winning that they hurt themselves. This happens when people forget something very important: they are part of a larger group.

That person cheering for the sports team that's playing against the team you love. You both love the same game.

That guy at the comic shop who loves Marvel Comics instead of DC. Guess what. You both love comics.

That guy I face in the ring when the gloves go on. He's there because he loves martial arts just like me. That's why the first thing we do is bow.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who want to focus so much on the divides in things that they do some really stupid stuff. There's no competition to see who is a better person. In that its when you start behaving like you're better than someone else because of some divide that separates you, you become a worse person.

Atheists that malign religious folks needlessly, and just as much a bunch of douchebags as those 'Christians' who tell people "You're going to hell" for not living their lives a certain way.

Anyone who assaults another person for being a fan of a particular sports team should get to spend time in cell to think about what they've done.

People standing around pointlessly in the streets because they're not as successful as they wish they were and someone else is doing well because they worked hard and got a little lucky are just being petty.

Calling somebody a "racist" simply for having a differing political view that has nothing to do with race at all simply because you want to tear down those people is pretty disgusting.

However, all this ranting probably will be forgotten fairly quickly by anyone who reads it. After all. Next year is an election year.

MUSIC!!

Heard these guys broke up.



See y'all Sunday.

Dead People Voting? Is this Chicago?

BRAINS! Its Sunday, October 9, 2011, I seem to be lacking them, and this is The Side. Been a busy week. Worked six day. Got the dojo back on track now that the Karate demo is over. Drew and inked a bunch of stuff. Found time to get my journalist on. I'm feeling a bit out of steam.

Fortunately, I don't run on steam. I run of caffeine, and possibly grease.

ONWARD!

COMIX!!

Only had one book waiting for me this week, but luckily for me it was THE WALKING DEAD #89. Last issue we left off with Nicholas, Spencer, and Olivia conspiring to remove Rick from leadership of the community. Nicholas it seems is off his nut because he doesn't just want Rick out of the leadership position, he wants Rick dead. Meanwhile, Rick is out with a scouting party checking out the surrounding area. So just when it looked like things were on a path to stability and safety, we find the most pressing problem isn't the dead. One thing has always set this book apart from other zombie comics in that those books were pretty much formulaic in that that they introduce the cast and then bump them off as the story progresses. Its about the zombies and how they get you. THE WALKING DEAD has always been about the people trying to survive in this world. As with the time the survivors were staying in the prison tension among the people boils over. What's actually pretty scary is how Rick handles things once everything's out in the open. We've been seeing Rick in his leadership position trying to do right by people and struggling with everything that's happened to his son. We get a glimpse here of the hard ass Rick Grimes who is the last person you want to mess with. The question is, will this quell the uprising, or just prove Nicholas's point?

The results for the BOOM! Studios Comic Book Straw poll were released. Sort of. For those who haven't heard about this, people voted by placing a pre-order of the comic for the person they chose. For the comic to actually be printed the pre-orders had to actually pass the 1500 mark and the top four actually did that with the others not making it, so they won't be printed.

Here's the results.

1. Barack Obama
2. Sarah Palin
3. Ron Paul
4. Michele Bachmann
5. Mitt Romney
6. Herman Cain
7. Newt Gingrich
8. Jon Huntsman
9. Rick Santorum
10. Rick Perry

I say the results were only sort of released, because they BOOM! hasn't released the actual numbers. I predicted Obama would win, and I was right. It was too early in the election process to do this. The Republicans Party has not chosen its candidate. So Obama may have only gotten 25 - 30% of the pre-orders and still won because the rest of the orders were split among nine other people.

I was surprise a bit that Sarah Palin came out on top of the Republican field, especially since she's not running. Still, she's popular, and there's an off chance some guys wanted that book hoping for a page of two from her pageant days. I'm not surprised that Rick Perry is at the bottom since this poll was announced before he entered the race. People may have made their decisions before he entered and got that big push a few weeks ago.

Ron Paul coming out on top of the Republican field for candidates actually running did surprise me a little, but shouldn't have. He's remained a consistent favorite for a lot of people. Bachmann doing well didn't surprise me either due to timing. She was doing very well at the time this was announced, but has since seriously declined. There's also the possible hotness factor that may have given Palin a bump. Keep in mind, I'm not saying they're in the positions they're in because of their looks. I'm saying some people will want a commemorative comic book of them because of it.

MUSIC!!

Its been a Zombie type of weekend. Lord knows, I've been shambling around the house like one.



Alrighty, its time for this guy to go brew him up a pot of coffee and take it easy a bit. The batteries need a recharge. See y'all Wednesday.

Occupy Norfolk?!

Yep, its Saturday, October 7, 2011, and I'm posting. I said yesterday that there'd be no Occupy Chesapeake, well I was a bit off as I got word of an Occupy Norfolk springing up. My journalistic gonads churned besieging me with a need to get my pasty ass down there. I heard they were congregating at the ball park, so as soon as I knocked off work I headed straight there.

Got to see the new light rail. Pretty spiffy.

I drove up to the parking lot scanning the area and muttering "here hippy hippy hippy", and I found them! Both of them! I was thinking this had to be the most anti-climatic thing ever, but they were there with their signs, so I figured I best go talk to them.


Turns out they were sitting there telling people where the actual protests were going on. They were using the parking lot at the ball park as kind of a home base. I happened across Chris, one of the event organizers. They were going to use the nearby park, but there was a problem with the permits, so the police told them they could use the parking lot. The headquarters consisted of a couple of ladies sitting in lawn chairs with signs.

Really? No "Hell no, we won't go?"

I talked with Chris, the two sign holding ladies and a two other people that were there. One of them was a young lady would attends the local community college She was there "for her generation", because she's not seeing much of a future for them the way things are going. I asked her what she wanted to see accomplished by this demonstration and what would be a sort of a 'mission accomplished' for her. She didn't really have an answer for me. I got the feeling from her that she didn't really know what to do about things, but felt a real need to do something.

I got more answers from Chris. This protest, unlike the mob up in new York, is working in careful coordination with the Norfolk Police Department. They are hoping to be an example of how this should be done properly. I swear, it seemed like he had read my post from yesterday and built his game plan on it. They are being very careful to do thing legally. He was also very clear as to what their message is, which I'll get to in a minute.

The two ladies were interesting. One was very concerned with trade inequities, as well as fairness with the taxes concerning that pesky 1% of the population that makes the most money. She said it would probably be fair if they paid 39% of their money in taxes. I'm sure they would greatly appreciate the tax cut. The other lady was a bit more fired up. She was upset at the thought of a CEO paying less in taxes than a bus driver. I guess she didn't do the research showing that's bullshit, or she had seen the reports and just didn't believe them. She voted for Obama last time around and was set on voting for him again.

Let it be known right now that I, as a proper and professional wanna-be journalist, was completely in control of myself and didn't laugh in her face and ask what flavor the Kool-Aid was.

Now, let's get into the four main points that they wanted to push with this dealio.

Getting the money out of politics. Really, there's no way to do this. Politicians need money to run their campaigns, and they get hefty amounts from companies. The real problem is the lobbyists. Those are the people whose jobs it is to look after company's interests, and that involves shmoozing the politicians and promising hefty donations. I'm all for this. Its one of the reasons I'm all for the Fair Tax. It would eliminate Lobbyists.

The government needs to be responsible for its spending. I think that's something everyone outside the beltway would like to see. Kinda shocked that the Obama fan would want to be involved with this.

Raising voter awareness. Like I said in my previous post, the real change is going to come from people going to the ballot box.

Getting back the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Such a good Conservative message surprised me. I have to wonder if this message is being echoed up in New York. It started to sound like a Tea Party Rally as far as the message, except for the class warfare bits that kept popping up.

They were all pretty upset about the state of things. I thinks they're focused completely on the wrong target, but there's one thing that did give me some hope. Aside from the Obama fangirl, the rest of the people there weren't in his camp. One guy was a Ron Paul supporter. The others were pretty much in a wait and see who's actually running in the election mode, which is completely understandable as its early in the process.

This is likely going to go better than the New York thing mainly because they aren't being idiots about this. They actually have a clear message and are looking to work inside the system to get that message out and make a change. Good for them. Now if they take some economics classes and get the facts as to what people actually pay in taxes, and quit listening to the idiotic talking points our Pop-Star-in-Chief keeps spewing they may get something really good going. They have completely legitimate reasons for being upset, they're just blaming the the wrong people for who's responsible for it. However, even with a sensible message and intentions, something like this does attract a kook element. There may also be unforeseen efforts by certain groups to try subvert the protest and turn it into something it isn't. The PETA national HQ is in Norfolk and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if they tried to send out some of their minions to muddy the waters. Groups like PETA don't give a damn about your message just as long as they get theirs out there.

Ah well, as they go marching wherever they're going to go marching, this guy right here is heading out to work. No Saturday morning cartoons for me. See y'all tomorrow.

Complain, complain, complain

Hey guys. Its Friday, October, 7, 2011, I'm running behind, and this is The Side. Got to head out to work so let's jump right to it.

HIPPIES!!

I'm annoyed greatly at the occupy people. To be honest, I'm amazed that its lasted this long. I shouldn't be surprised because they seem like a dim bunch and it hasn't gotten through their heads that what they are doing isn't going to make much of a difference in anything.

At first I wasn't really bothered by it, it was just amusing. One thing set me off though. It was those dopes saying that they represent the 99% of people who aren't the top income earners. I'm not part of that 1% of top income earners, and those shmucks out there do not represent me. First off, unlike them, I tend to bathe regularly. Second, I understand the fact that the top 1% of income earners pay 40% of the total revenue taken in by the income tax, so the moronic statement that they aren't paying their "fair share" irks me in its ignorance.

Some of them are there for reasons that I can get behind. Some are not happy about the government bail outs of certain companies. Others think that there should be an investigation/audit of the Federal Reserve. However, a lot of this gets lost due to lack of cohesion. Basically, you have a bunch of people who are ticked off and they said we're all going to show up somewhere are everyone can join us. Well, then a bunch of people who were ticked off for other reasons. So then you have a bunch of ticked off people with no clear message. That makes it pretty easy for clowns like the Moveon.org people or the Labor Union goons to come in and try to subvert whatever they're doing and make it all about their message.

I really got ticked off over the Brooklyn Bridge stunt when a bunch of them decided they were going to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. About 700 of them got arrested. Good. Throw the book at them. You can't just block off a public bridge because you want to. Emergency personnel may need to cross and seconds may mean a life. When that story broke I completely washed my hands of this.

There's been a lot of comparisons with things like the Arab Spring and tea party movement. Both are bullshit. The uprisings and protests in the Middle East were people dealing with Governments in which they didn't have much of a say. They were left with no other option than to take to the streets. That's also unlike the Tea Party Movement in which people took to the streets for legal and planned rallies. Their message of lower taxes and smaller government was clear. They worked within the system and used the ballot box to effect a change. That's why America is a great country. Despite what some of those occupy people will tell you, your vote does matter. This is still a Representative Republic and you can contact those that are elected to represent you.

Its easy to get ticked off at rich people. Jealousy is a power emotion. It doesn't help at all that our current President includes class warfare crap just about every time he opens his mouth in front of a microphone nowadays. The Pop-Star-in-Chief doesn't understand economics, which has shown greatly over his Presidency, and now he's in campaign mode and looking to fire up people to vote for him again. Folks should be occupying the beltway. So, while there's some of the Occupy people that have a good reason to be upset, the majority are suckers that have been played.

All of them are doing it wrong anyways. Their shenanigans will do nothing but provide some revenue for the cities they're in once the fines get handed down from the courts. If they were smart, they'd go home. Get organized. Get a cohesive message that is actually intelligent and not just "we hates rich peoples", and then use the tools they have been using to gather people in one place to be useless and smelly, to use the system that is in place to effect a meaningful and lasting change.

But I doubt they will. That's fine. Doesn't affect me anyways, since no one's going to "occupy" Chesapeake. I just want them to stop lumping me in with them just because I'm not one of the top money makers in the country. I'm not them.

MUSIC!!

Might as well have some complaint rock.



That's it for me today. Comic book type stuff coming up Sunday. see y'all then.

Lies, Hate, and Batman

To the Bat-pole! Its Wednesday, September 21, 2011, good-bye Summer, and this is The Side! Months ago I walked into a Chik-fil-a and was asked for my name to go with my order. That's happening more and more in quick service type places. So I gave my name as "Bruce Wayne", because I could. I figured I'd just cycle through the Justice League secret identities for a while.

But the next time I went into that store I got a "Hey, its Bruce Wayne!" Now I'm known as Bruce Wayne there. Let that be a lesson for you people. If you're going to pick a fake name, you need to be ready to commit to it.

One of my Karate students tried going into that Chik-fil-a and claimed his name was "Bruce Wayne". They just looked at him and said "You're not Bruce Wayne."

Damn right. BECAUSE I'M BRUCE WAYNE!!

POLITICS

I was accused of spreading hate speech over the weekend. What did I do to receive such an accusation? I made fun of Al Gore. Now, you're probably thinking that those must have been some really brutal jokes to be called hate speech. Actually, they weren't. I mentioned that for someone who is so concerned with the environment its funny that his house uses more power than about thirty other houses in his state. I also said that the private jet he flies around in must run on fairy dust. I also said its pretty funny that he's such a proponent of buying "carbon credits" to offset energy usage, and he owns the company that sells carbon credits. I pointed out the truth. That was hate speech.

At least, it was considered hate speech by one moron who was an Al Gore supporter, and couldn't come up with an effective counterpoint. I informed him that you can't call something "hate speech" simply because you don't agree with it. He insisted I was still spreading hate speech. I told him to specifically point out where I had spewed the alleged hate speech. That ended things because he couldn't. It would be a whole other matter if I had started slinging slurs about his ethnicity or religion. I didn't. I pointed out his hypocrisy which is a matter of public record.

This is intellectual bullying, which is a funny thing to call it because it requires the mental capacity and debate skills of a ten year old. If you can't defeat the argument, you must vilify the person making it. The goal is to make the person making the point out to be a bad person and therefore turn opinion against their the point. If Hitler told you it was a nice day, your gut reaction would be to disagree because he's a bad person.

This is an old game in political topics. How many times have you heard that talk radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity were racist and spread hate speech? There are people who have actually taken these claims at face value. I listen to a lot of talk radio because I spend quite a bit of time driving around. I've never heard either of these people say anything racist. The hate speech allegation is the same as the one was levied against me this weekend. There are people who don't want to hear what they have to say and cannot come up with an effective counterpoint, so they try to vilify them.

A high school kid was told he was racist by another student because he thought that Barack Obama wasn't a very good President. The student said calmly and intelligently that he disagreed with the President's policies. Still he was called a 'racist'. I don't like the President's policies. I think he's wanting to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm looking forward to voting against him and hopefully getting him out of office next year. None of this has anything whatsoever to do with skin color. You can call me a racist for stating any of it, but that only makes you intellectually inferior and a flat out liar.

I've seen hate. Its nasty. There are things that I do hate, but there's a whole lot of justification for it. I don't hate people for simply having a different opinion than me. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, although not their own facts, but that's a rant for another time.

MUSIC!!

This hater is gonna hate!!



Don't hate me because I have to go! See y'all Friday!

Rick Grimes for President!!

Roamers!! Its Sunday, August 21, 2011, I hate zombies, and thats because if there's going to be any biting going on they had better buy me dinner first in stead of trying to make me dinner, and this is The Side. Wow. Inappropriate sexual zombie joke. Its been one of those nights.

As I said before, comic reviews will be on Sunday now. As for the title, would I really vote for Rick Grimes for president? I don't know. However, if Obama had ever killed a zombie with a hatchet I'd have a little more respect for him.

COMIX!!

THE WALKING DEAD #88 starts us off this week. There's been a bit of criticism that this story line has been slow, which is understandable. There hasn't been anyone attacked by a roamer and no one has died for a few issues now. At the same time, considering the body count amassed in "No Way Out", we were due for a little break. Still this is THE WALKING DEAD so you know something bad is going to be happening, and part of it is trying to figure out from what direction this is going to be coming from. Right now things are relatively quiet, and everyone in the community is rebuilding after the herd attack. The problem is, not everyone is very happy about the way things are going. To make things tougher, Carl is awake and has some memory loss. It seems like his brain is trying to protect him from the memory of his mom and sister dying. This is weighing really heavy on Rick, and as tough as Rick Grimes is, there comes a point in which it can get to be too much. Kirkman and Adlard really nail it in showing how overwhelmed Rick is feeling. Great issue. Light on the action, but still an excellent read.

ZATANNA #16 ends this series not with a bang, but with a filler. Its not a bad filler. Adam Beechen had turned out some very enjoyable little stories in this series. This on is fun enough. I very tired Zee gets and unexpected and uninvited guest from Limbo Town, home of Klarion (insert "bum bum bum" here) the Witch Boy. There's thievery and chasing about. That's pretty much it. None of the plot threads Paul Dini get rolling earlier in the series got addressed at all. Its not a bad issue, but still a horribly disappointing way to end a series. Its almost as if this book (and many others from DC) were just marking time until the reboot. I don't really blame them. With DC right now, nothing you're reading really matters in the grander continuity (unless Geoff Johns is writing it because somehow his crap is immune to rebooting) because its all going to get washed away next month. I am sad to see this series go, and I did enjoy it, but I'm very frustrated by it.

Now, let's move onto something BOOM is up to, and that's the Comic Book Straw Poll. Here's the deal:

August 17th, 2011 - Los Angeles, CA - It’s a comic book industry first! Make your voice heard! This November, DECISION 2012 debuts the comic book industry’s first straw poll — with biographical comic books for all the top candidates in the 2012 Presidential race. The decision is in your hands; it's up to you to see who wins! All print runs of each series will be announced this November and the candidate with the highest print wins!

If you want your candidate to win comic book's first straw poll, you need to call your local comic shop and pre-order your candidate's comic book before September 29th, 2011! To find your local comic shop just go to www.comicshoplocator.com, or call 1-888-COMIC BOOK to find the shop near you.

The people of Iowa just had their straw poll and only Iowans could participate. Now with comic book's first straw poll, all of America can participate!


"The DECISION 2012 line of comic books has something for everyone," said Marketing and Sales Director Chip Mosher. "For those political junkies that love a good horse race, we have comic book's first straw poll. For those voters and our young soon-to-be-voters, we have some great non-partisan biographical comics on all the major candidates - announced and waiting to be announced - in the presidential 2012 race. And finally, for the comic book collector we have a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime collectible. The DECISION 2012 comic line and comic book's first straw poll is a great way to spotlight the upcoming 2012 election and get people excited about voting!"

The DECISION 2012 line of comics and comic book's first straw poll isn't just a contest, but also a great way for voters and students to educate themselves on the candidates running in the 2012 Presidential election. This series of biographical comic books details the history and political lives of the candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election, giving non-partisan background on President Barack Obama and such presidential hopefuls as Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum! The DECISION 2012 line of comic books are aimed at anyone of any age who enjoys reading and discussing U.S. politics.

More information on the straw poll and the DECISION 2012 line of comics can be found here: http://www.decision2012comics.com/
Remember to make sure you pre-order your candidate’s comic from your local comic shop by September 29th, 2011. If your candidate's comic book does not get pre-ordered by at least 1,500 copies then it will not be printed.

This is a pretty neat idea. I do think its a little soon though. Let's face it, Obama's going to win this. Let's say his approval rating is at 40%, and the pre-orders mirror this, that 60% of pre-orders to split among nine other people. Not quite fair, but if one of the Republican hopefuls does win this I will laugh my ass off. It will be interesting as to who gets the most pre-orders out of the republican field. So, if you want to "cast you vote" head on in to your local comic shop and make your request.

MUSIC!!

A song for that girl from yesterday who has become the woman of today. Listen close, you can hear Elvis singing along with the track.



That's a wrap for me today. I'll see y'all Wednesday.

Headbasher's Ball

Gadzooks! Its Wednesday, April 6, 2011, cable sucks, and this is The Side. Clicked on the TV is the house i was working in yesterday to check the weather report and MTV was on. What the hell happened there? I know they don't show music videos or even care about music anymore, but cripes! Its like Wild Kingdom. Jersey Shore is bad enough. That damn show is like visiting the monkey cage with a slightly less chance of getting poo flung at you.

The ad for The Real World looked horrendous. Some drunken idiot nearly punching some girl right in the face. Is that what its become? Will that moron get tossed out? They put up with a lot less back when I actually cared about the show.

And what was actually on MTV at the time? A reality TV show about kids at a Fat Camp showing that being overweight can't stop you from being asshat teenager.

Geebus. What happened to Liquid Television? Remote Control? Idiot Savant? I mean, if they aren't going to show music videos, would it kill them to actually put entertaining stuff on there like they used to? Beavis and Butthead have more intellectual candlepower than the crap on there now.

POP POLITICS!!!

The big "news this week is Barack Obama has announced his re-election campaign. This is news? It would be news if he announced he was not going to run for re-election as he's done enough to screw things up. Ah well, if the spirit of fairness, here's his video.



OK, that was about as objective as a Michael Moore "documentary", but there's some points in there that really do need to be out there. That's the great thing about America: When you get a bad President, you can vote him out in four years.

BEATIN'S!!!

One of my students said it was like a field trip. His knuckle was swollen about four times its normal size when he said that with a smile on his face. My right hand is swollen a bit as well, and I've got a nasty bruise on my left elbow. It was a good class.

Right now, I'm just under 190 pounds. I thought my high school reunion was this year, but the people organizing it decided to have it next year instead. My goal was to be back at full steam fighting shape by then. Gives me more time, so no excuses. Last time i saw those folks I was looking pretty good. I was hitting the gym regularly. I was working hard. I was about 175 then, and it was pretty lean. Now, I'm not going to hit that weight again, and really the number isn't that important. Me at a good fight weight is between 180 and 185. Not much to lose on paper, but just cutting weight isn't the goal. The goal is to get to a good, fit weight.

Hence the field trip. We all went out back behind the church, hung a heavy bag out of a three, and then took turns doing one minute rounds. Round one was freestyle against the bag. The bag had a "strong arm" attached to it, and when that thing whacks you, you know it. Round two consisted of five seconds one the bag freestyle, switch to kicking target pads for five seconds, then one to punching the focus mits of five seconds. Rotate through three times. Round three is "dirty boxing" the heavybag for five seconds, knee strikes to kicking shields for five, and finally elbows to the focus mits. Three times though. And yes, I did indeed do it too.

So I'm sore. But its a good sore, an honest one. And one I'll be getting used to. No prisoners. No mercy.

MUSIC!!!

I've bought this album three times. Not only good enough to buy, but good enough to replace twice.



All right, that's the round up for today. See y'all Friday. Behave yourselves.

Batman and Nathan Fillion pwn Charlie Sheen

It is the Tango of DEATH! Its Friday, March 11, 2011, I still can't dance, and this is The Side. I've been talking a bit about the Wisconsin protesters. The bill they were protesting limiting the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions got passed despite a lot of idiocy. There was a major brouhaha and a lot of morons were pissed. Michael Moore called for students to do a walk out, which of course would mean even less work for the teachers would actually cared enough about their jobs and students to keep doing their jobs.

So what will this all mean?

These teachers and other union workers will continue getting the same pay they were getting before. They'll still have their pensions. They'll still have their benefits. That is if they still have jobs, because I know I wouldn't if I fucked off for a couple weeks. But they are still union workers, so they probably can't be fired.

They all yelled as they protested "This is what Democracy looks like!" Once they stormed the capitol building in Madison. Makes me glad we're a Representative Republic. Anyone care to imagine what the news coverage would be like if it were the Tea Party pulling this nonsense?

Ah well, on to happier things.

FILLION IS BETTER THAN SHEEN: THE TOP 10!!!

Sure, Charlie Sheen is winning, but there's someone who is winning even more and without even trying. That is of course the greatest living dude and one ruggedly handsome sum'bitch: Nathan Fillion! Why is he winning more than the tiger blood fueled stud of studs? Glad ya asked!

10: My kids' top three favorite superheroes? Ironman, Batman, and Captain Hammer.

9: Nobody is trying to help Charlie Sheen buy the rights for his old TV show.

8: When the police approach Nathan Fillion its either to get his autograph, or ask him to help fight crime.

7: While Charlie Sheen is praying for the possibility of a MAJOR LEAGUE sequel, everyone else is praying for a SERENITY sequel.

6: Charlie Sheen may have a million more Twitter followers than Nathan Fillion, but none of Nathan Fillion's followers are just there waiting for him to self destruct.

5: Charlie Sheen's co-star: Jon Cryer. Nathan Fillion's co-star: Stana Katic. No contest. Sorry Jon.

4: When a girl fantasizes about Nathan Fillion when in bed with her fella that's perfectly acceptable. When a girl fantasizes about Charlie Sheen while in bed with her fella he may catch something he can't wash off.

3: The last time anyone called Charlie Sheen "Captain" he had to pay her for it, and he probably didn't remember the next morning.

2: Charlie Sheen may have Adonis DNA, but Adonis has Nathan Fillion DNA.

And the top reason why Nathan Fillion is more winning than Charlie Sheen...

1: CBS just signed Nathan Fillion to star in their new show "2 3/4 Dudes". The three quarters is Nathan Fillion's penis.

COMICS!!

If you didn't think I was going to start off with BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 this week, you're obviously new here, so welcome aboard. Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette take the action to Argentina this time for a team-up with El Gaucho. Bruce is hoping to get his old friend to join his worldwide organization, and teams up with him on a case. What really knocks my socks off is that in the last storyline we had a distinctive Japanese feel to things as Batman and Catwoman went to Japan. This time around we have the same creative team giving us a story with all the fiery heat I would expect in a "Scorpion Tango". We see a lot of parallels between Batman and El Gaucho and get just a glimpse of El Gaucho's life, and its enough to make me want to see a series about him. The highlight was Bruce's tango with Tristessa. Gorgeously drawn. I'm digging this grown up Bruce Wayne. He's not the preptime bad ass of fanboydom. This guy is a freakin' stud.

The batiness doesn't stop there. BATMAN AND ROBIN #21 continue Dick and Damian's case with a weird religious themed murderer. The White Knight is revealed and this new addition to the Batman rogues gallery is just creepy. He's methodical in picking his targets as well as in how he leaves his victims. This is a great storyline, which I expected of Tomasi. He's got the character chemistry down and has given us a case that we can sink our teeth into. Top notch stuff.

Was that all the Bat-stuff this week? Not a chance! BATGIRL #19 pits Steph against new foe, Slipstream. This story is actually a follow up to the events of the "Death of Oracle" storyline and ties in nicely to the Batman Incorporated brand. There's a bit of a new status quo emerging, with Steph getting online backup more from Proxy. Firewall also gets a major upgrade. This is a solid little story with Steph not only trying to track down and take down the new high speed thief, but also dealing with her fanboy Clance, AKA the new Grey Ghost. I really don't like Clancy, but that's on me as the old "Grey Ghost" episode of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES is one of my favorite episodes. Its nice to see the Grey Ghost in the DCU, but I'm a little ticked he's such a goof. Still, its another great issue from this really fun series.

Oh hey, about that whole "Death of Oracle" thingie, BIRDS OF PREY #10 wraps up that storyline. Gail Simone knocks it straight out of the park. I just wish that the series would get a solid artist. Since the departure of the overly exploitative Ed Benes, the art has been serviceable, but not terribly exciting. Fortunately Simone keeps our attention with some of the best writing in comics. This issue sets up the new status quo that I mentioned in Batgirl with the Birds taking on the Calculator and his hired thugs after the seeming death of Barbara Gordon. This story is a nice little reminder that these ladies aren't to be trifled with, ever. Black Canary and Huntress are utter forces of nature.

Rounding out my reads this week is ZATANNA #10 which isn't a bat-book, but is written by Paul Dini, so it still sorta counts right? This book is a bit of a sleeper. The Missus loves this title. We've seen Zatanna for years playing off the Justice League and aiding other heroes when magic cases pop up. This series gives us a better idea of Zee's heritage and the baggage that comes with it. This issue is very creepy in often a very subtle way. Is the man transformed into a puppet by Zatara really innocent? Zee takes him to her family's ancestrial home to find the answers. Its a big mistake, but one that is gorgeously illustrated by Chiff Chiang.

MUSIC!!

What was hilarious was this song hit right after "Learn to Fly" and bunch of people thought the Foo Fighters were just a nice little pop band. Suckers.



That's it for today. Sunday may be a tad light as there's two little girls who are turning four and there's a Tinkerbell themed party that I shall be smack in the middle of. Pray for me.

Fitch Beats up a Cheesehead for Comics!!

Shame! Or possibly sham. Its Sunday, February 27, 2011, I've returned to you, and this is The Side. "Where was Friday's post?" you may ask. More computer trouble, but its been resolved. I thought about posting up some stuff on Saturday, but it would have been more rushed and half-assed than usual, so I figured I'd wait.

Alright, time for a shameless plug. I like video games, but I'm not super up on all the news and details. Lately, I'm playing more older games since they're cheaper to get a hold of and i don't have the latest systems. So if you're looking for some video game news and articles, go check out my buddy Joe. You'll be glad you did.

BEATIN'S!!

The UFC last night proved three things to me: you don't ever want to get punched my Mark Hunt, Michael Bisping is an asshole, and Jon Fitch can't catch a break.

The main event last night was disappointing and not because of the fight. After seeing Michael Bisping blatantly throw a completely illegal technique and then go on to win I was a bit soured. However, then out comes Jon Fitch to some sweet Johnny Cash music. Much has been made of him coming into this fight, mainly due to him adopting a new diet which is pretty much a vegetarian one. He's been a dominant fighter in the welterweight division. And now standing between him and title shot is the former champion BJ Penn.

Fitch might look like he should be in a van with a Great Dane and some other kids out solving mysteries, but he's the real deal. He battled a very tough Penn in a grappling war the first two rounds, and then beat the crap out of him in the third taking the fight to the a decision. The Judges chose poorly and the fight was declared a "majority draw" meaning two of the judge called the fight even on points while the third said Fitch won. Even Penn said that him getting a draw in that fight was an act of the gods and he thought he lost. Fitch was very disappointed but his attitude about it was outstanding.

His stance is that its not his job to decide who gets a title shot. He's there to do his job and that job is to fight. He's said that if he hasn't convinced Dana White, the UFC and fans that he should be the number one contender to the title then he hasn't been doing his job right.

No excuses. No whining. Hard work and dedication. That's what I like to see. Does Fitch deserve a title shot? Absolutely. Will he get one? Probably, since he's not going anywhere, looks better than ever in the ring, and is patient enough to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

DIRTY LOW-DOWN SHAME!!

With me being knocked offline for a couple days I spent my mornings before work watching the morning news shows. I got to see some true stupidity. The big news was that blogger who got an interview with the Wisconsin Governor by posing as someone else. Pretty lame stuff considering the Governor said the exact same stuff in a press release a couple hours later. But this was apparently some kind of brilliant ploy against the Governor. What was the monumentally dumb part was they played a portion of the phone interview and the Governor said that since certain state senators are literally in hiding to avoid doing their jobs then he was going to stop the direct deposit of their pay and take the checks and lock them into the desks of the senators, so if those clowns want to get paid they better show up for work.

At this point the dim anchor woman said how horrible it was to even suggest that those state senators be locked to their desks. Not surprised she got confused as she does tend to get confused easily. Fortunately there a guy on the same show who is actually quite brilliant and pointed out her mistake. Unfortunately as he attempted to explain why the Governor is correct and the protesting unions are not the show conveniently ran out of time for that segment. Nice.

But yes, the bill is working its way through limiting the collective bargaining abilities of public unions in Wisconsin. Democrats were chanting "Shame" as it passed. Of course they're pissed. This directly affects them. See, this is about public unions. These unions are made up of people whose wages are paid by money from taxes. The heads of these unions donate money to politicians from union dues. Doesn't really matter what the rank and file union workers want, they don't have much say in the matter. Unions is Wisconsin donate a disproportional amount to Democrats over Republicans. The Democrats are pretty much in the Union's pocket as they know which side their bread is buttered on. So yeah, the Democrats are pissed because they couldn't stop this bill which would decrease the power of public unions. The whole reason this is going through is in an attempt to balance the state's budget. It doesn't cut anyone's pay or take away their pensions. All it does is put a check on the power of unions. The unions don't want it. The Democrats they gave money too couldn't stop it. So they're worried they won't be getting their hefty union donations come election season.

Yeah. That's a damn shame.

Its been such a crazy week with everything in politics. Protests are going on in a bunch of countries against their governments. Libya is completely nuts right now. I have to wonder if our Pop-Star-in-Chief isn't trying to get himself impeached with his declaring law "unconstitutional" and refusing to defend them. He was supposed to be the one with all this understanding of the world, and the world is going apeshit on his watch. Not his fault, mind you. There's nothing he can really do about it. But between that and his old lady giving him grief about her crusade as First Lady to fight obesity, I wouldn't be surprised if he's considering saying "Fuck this! I'm out of here, and going to go get myself a cheeseburger." So, he's doing a bunch of dumb stuff that Presidents can't do and hoping to get tossed.

Its just nuts. Fortunately, good old Virginia is trudging on fairly steadily. The only political uproar here is if our Governor will be on the Republican ticket as Vice President if he gets asked. Amazing how our budget is manageable and this being a right to work state. One hell of a coincidence.

Politics. It really is like a contact sport.

THE LATE MANNY FRESH

Manny Fresh is dead. That's the reports coming in via The Mike and Bob Show. Manny went out doing what he loved but also proved that masturbation and gun play are never a good combination.

But is there more to this story? Manny Fresh had his share of foes. They struck at him through Twitter, but Manny masterfully shut that down. Then came "Cupcake" who also approached Manny via the internet and attempted to lure him to his doom with the promise of weird sex while simultaneously trying to drive a wedge between Manny and the Dudes. Yet, still Manny persevered! But now it seems he has fallen, and while it appears to be accidental, I wouldn't rule out foul play. This could have been staged and Manny's body could have been left in the state that it was to try to shame his memory. However, it was Manny, so there's not much that could be done to shame that memory.

Could this secret cabal that was attempting to destroy Manny Fresh have finally succeeded? Is Peter Criss Mask somewhere out there oddly laughing at Manny's demise? Has Manny really been sent back through time and is being hunted by a metaphorical curse machine? Will be one day return to form Manny Fresh Inc and train Manny Freshes around the world?

Only time will tell.

COMIX!!!

I'm going to start this off on a serious note. This week we lost a really great talent. Dwayne McDuffie passed away due to complications from a surgery. You're probably familiar with is work. He's been a writer in comics for many years. He's done a lot of work with the DC animated properties. I even scripted the Justice League Heroes video game for PS2. McDuffie was a writer that you could trust to deliver. He didn't get the recognition that some of the writing "superstars" get, but when he's mentioned you're not going to hear much of anything bad about his work. And this is good. This is a fellow who will live on through the amazing body of work that he produced in his life. The day that he passed the animated feature ALL-STAR SUPERMAN that he wrote was released. I wasn't planning of purchasing it, but I am now. Not so much as a tribute, but as a fan who now has a greater appreciation to a talent that was taken from us to soon.

On to some actual reviews, and this week's book were really great. Starting the ball rolling with DETECTIVE COMICS #874. Earlier in the Snyder run the book was split with half of it following Dick Grayson and the other half following Jim Gordon. That format got dropped to complete the Grayson story, and now that its wrapped we pick up right where we left off with Jim Gordon and his son. When I was picking up my comic the guys were discussing Luke Cage and how that fella eats a lot. It seems that there's a lot of appearances with Luke Cage eating. So its funny that the first issue I read this week opens with a diner scene. Its brilliant. Its so tense that it palatable. Brilliantly written and the artwork by Francesco Francavilla is incredible. Grayson is indeed here and dealing with the after effects of his battle with The Dealer. Fortunately he has Red Robin to back him up. I always liked reading these two teamed up. It does seem weird that in the field Tim is referred to as "Red Robin". It just doesn't sound right, but that's just how it is now. Great issue front to back.

Moving on to another Red Robin appearance over in TEEN TITANS #92. Georges Jeanty pencils this issue, and i like his work, but I was really amped to get my Nicola Scott fix. After a few deep cleansing breaths I dove in. With everything going on with Calculator the story was mainly about the team preferring to have Tim with them than Damien. I understand it since a lot of the team has a long history with Tim. These are his best friends. It makes sense that he's with them now that his quest to find Bruce has been completed. However, I prefer the team with Damien on it. J.T. Krul really made that dynamic work and I was eager to see how this was going to play out in the long term. Looks like we'll never know. Something that was bugging me was the deal with Kid Eternity. He got snatched like a year ago and it seemed like nobody noticed. Well, they certainly noticed now.

Over in ACTION COMICS #898 Hairless Lex Luthor takes on his old Orange Lantern ally Larfleeze. Paul Cornell and Pete Woods are nearing the end of this story which has just been completely stellar. Just when you start to really pull for Lex Cornell reminds us of what a complete bastard that he is. The end of this issue has a huge reveal about Robo-Lois which had me smacking my forehead and wondering how I couldn't have seen that one coming. We knew she had an agenda separate from Lex's and that she was working for someone else. Now we know who and this has me itching to see the next issue.

ATOMICA #5 turned things from a light-hearted romp to a nasty chain of events. After talking with a counselor about her Amnesia, Rose discovers that Professor Colluns is missing! The hunt for the good Professor leads out plucky heroine straight to one Dr. Astray. Ted Astray is still a nasty opponent and fairly creepy, but the creepiness gets upped with his parting warning "Beware the Metavore!" I don't know what a Metavore is, but I'm damn sure bewaring it. I have to wonder if this has a connection with Atomica's past and if this is the "big bad" that Astray is working for. Hopefully we'll get more answers next issue.

MUSIC!!

I'm a general fan of there domestic policies concerning boggy marshes.



That's the whole nine yards for today. I'm ready to go back to bed or start a coffee IV. Money's on the latter. See y'all Wednesday.

Q, A, and Dough-ray-me!

Here we go! Its Wednesday, February 23, 2011, I'm one hard workin' dude, and this is The Side. I'm very glad to be working. After crawling around under houses looking to shore them up a bit I was sore an tired. So on my lunch break when I see some asshole from Wisconsin bitching and moaning that thinks the unions are getting crapped on I had little sympathy. The woman interviewing him told him a lot of people support teachers and think they need great pay and benefits, but they don't like that they're getting fraudulent doctor's notes so they can go protest. She asked the guy if he supported them doing this, and he blatantly avoided answering five times.

State senators are hiding to avoid a vote which wouldn't be taking away any pay or pensions from anybody. Its just unions getting pissy because they won't be able to throw their weights around as much. And some people wonder why I think unions suck. Get back to work, you whiney bitches.

ASK NOZZ DAY #2!!!

Joe Arnold had a bunch of questions that demand answers. Who am I to refuse his demands?

Why do we drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway?

Here in Virginia we have Skyline Drive which overlooks Shenandoah National Park. Its a very lovely drive. Very scenic. It was deemed a "parkway" due to it overlooking the park. Since then many very long, scenic roads have been referred to as "parkways". Driveways used to be much different than we know now. Many very large homes and manors had very long driveways leading from the house to the main road. Back then you really did drive on the drive way, since if you had the money for a personal carriage or the like you usually had a lot of property.

What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Assuming you're referring to the European swallow, around 24 miles per hours.

Can't we all get along?

Yes we can. As long as everybody agrees with everything I say and does everything I tell them then we'll all get along just fine.

How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?

Usually the answer is blowing in the wind, but that's the kind off crap answer you can expect from some hippy, and this here is a no hippy zone. The path to being a real man isn't about the quantity of roads, its about the quality. You can walk a hundred roads, but if they're all named "Easy Street" then you won't be much of a man. Its those long, rough roads that make you a man. The ones with lots of detours and shortcuts that look real tempting but don't take you anywhere worthwhile. And a real man is always walking that road and sometimes showing the way to those who need guidance. Those who stay true to the road get they're reward when they reach that destination, and hopefully leave clear footprints so others will know the path they walked.

IT'S A TRAP!!

I got the call Sunday evening after a full day or working and torturing children. "Dave just about cut his finger off, so I'm really needing you to work this week." The details were sketchy but when fingers are possibly missing its time to spring into action. Seems Dave had an accident while splitting wood over the weekend and took off a good portion of his middle finger. He'll be needing a skin graft which hopefully he'll be able to get soon to speed up his recovery. Nonetheless, I was out at the beach on Monday to try to help out and Dave made it out too hoping he'd still be able to work in his condition. Turns out he's still pretty capable, but every so ofter he gets a nasty jolt for wound.

So we were destroying a few walls and cutting up some floor and one thing we had to do was more an amour in the next room so it wouldn't get damaged. There was a small TV in it so I picked it up to move it and there he was: Ben Franklin.

I've found a lot of things in houses as I've worked in them. I've found porn stashes and sex toys. I've found things that home owners really should have cleaned up before I've gotten there. I've found a few bucks here and there that I never touched because that's a damn good way to lose your job.

This was different. This was a winterized beach house that no one had stayed in for months. We don't even know the last time the owner was there. But there was the most money I've ever found in a house that was essentially deserted. Was it a trap? Had the home owner planted it to test the honesty of the people working there? Had the last renter been just really absent-minded?

Oh how that one bill tormented us as we worked. It was like a test of our moral fortitude. We could have split it. Dave needed more bandages for his finger. There's a book I really wanted to buy. What could we do?

I won't tell you what we did.

But I will say I'm going to the comic shop happy today.

MUSIC!!

Those schmucks drive around in their cars blasting bass to the point to rattling windows. There used to be competitions to see whose car's sound system had the most bass. People would buy those stupid cars that look like toasters on wheels for the acoustics so they could really get their bass going.

Dumb bastards don't know shit about bass. Hit it Les.



That's the shooting match for today. I'm going to get some more work done. See y'all Friday. Behave yourselves. And if you can't, send me pictures.

Answers on the Internet (Ask Nozz Day #1)

Its Wednesday, January 26, 2011, I have a wedgie, and this is The Side. I love my nieces and I love the Batman underwear that they got me as a bit of a joke for Christmas, but the danged things don't fit quite right. Ah well.

I put out the call for questions, turning it over to you guys to let me know what you wanted me to address. Response was pretty much nonexistent, but a couple of people did have questions, so here we go.

ASK NOZZ!!

People have questions. I have answers.

jodie dragonfly - packed like a grand national winner?

The Grand Nation is a horse race in England. This joke comes from the British comedy THE BLACK ADDER GOES FORTH episode "Private Plane"



Yes, that is Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, and Stephan Fry all on the same TV show.

Rob Gordon - Q: Why is the link to Duck and Cover Studios broken.

My partner Chris maintained the site and had it set so that everything would renew automatically in with the company he paid for the domain name and such. Well, for some reason it got changed to not renew automatically, and we were so busy with trying to make ends meet with work, keeping food on the table, and roofs over our heads that the site expired and we didn't even see a notice to pay to keep it up. So it went poof and we didn't even know it because we weren't doing out weekly updates. Currently we're lying low with or comic ventures as we're needing to prioritize paying work.

WORLD AT LARGE

A lot is going on on the other side of the world. There was the recent overthrow of the government in Tunisia. Most recently there were massive protests in Egypt. One thing that it really key to those recent protests was the people's ability to use social media to organize. Social media, especially Facebook, takes it on the chin from me fairly regularly. This isn't one of those times.

Our government has its flaws certainly, but they allow us to speak our minds. If our representatives don't listen to us and abuse the power we allow them then they get voted out of office. Currently there's a lot of people feeling very disenfranchised by the government. They don't feel they're being listened to. That's why you have the Tea Party. They hold rallies and support candidates and ultimately they are about the people being heard by the government. Despite the lies spread about them they are a very diverse group of people, and they are very successful in getting their message out.

But that's America. We have the right to all get together peacefully and speak our minds. A lot of countries don't have that. So it really is amazing that there's these online social media sites that these people can access to get word out about their movements. The truth can get out without the spin that their governments or their media puts on things. Some of it is hard to watch. A few years ago someone caught a mob stoning woman to death and got a video out their their camera phone. Its a nasty slap of reality to know that things like that go on, and happens legally in some places.

I've seen social media used to try to tear people down. Cyber bullying, Everybody Draw Muhammad Day, and just about about every forum out there is going to have someone looking to just be a complete prick. But the internet is about more than that. Its information. It's giving people a global voice for which they can share their perspectives and points of view. Its allowing them to find people who share their concerns about the world and get organized to maybe make the world better.

The internet boils down to two things: information and freedom to spread it. Both things are important to remember. Egypt's government blocked access Twitter during the protests. Keep that in mind the next time you hear legislators talking about regulating the internet.

MUSIC!!

I do get kinda annoyed when I want to find a certain song, but all I can find is live versions. Still, sometimes its worth it to snag the live version.



Alright, time to go do something horrible. I would have done something horrible here like tell everyone who reads FANTASTIC FOUR that the Human Torch gets killed in today's issue, but the Associated press beat me to it.

Reconsidering Lara Croft

It's Sunday, January 9, 2011, there's something sour in the air, and this is The Side. Up until yesterday afternoon this post was going to be positive, light and have nothing to do with Batman. This being a nice change of pace. Well, it still has nothing to do with Batman, but after yesterday afternoon it certainly isn't light.

POLITICS

Yesterday, a lot of things got really out of hand. A 22 year old opened fire at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shooting her through the head and killing five others including a federal judge and a child. Currently there's a lot of people really upset with the government of this country, but this obviously is a horrible act by a very disturbed person. I followed this story quite a bit, but I did make the mistake of drifting down and reading the comments section on of the story on Yahoo. If you are ever feeling suicidal and need that extra push to take the next step in ending your own life, you really should read the comments section of anything remotely political on Yahoo. It makes it very easy to give up all hope for humanity .

Nearly immediately Sarah Palin and the Tea Party were blamed due to a graphic listing districts where the group hopes to get different people in elected positions and it uses gun target graphics to illustrate the areas. This is not the first time anyone has used such graphic in illustrations obviously, but still the image was taken down because considering the events of yesterday it was in poor taste to leave it up. Of course many didn't even need to know about the graphic to blame Palin and the tea party since they blame nearly anything that goes wrong in the country on them anyways.

Something horrible happens, including the death of a child, and people still divide up on political lines ready to fight the other side. Its amazing what assholes people have become. I understand that people are upset and angry and they want a target for that anger. I did a bit a digging. Congresswoman Giffords is an admitted Blue Dog Democrat, meaning she's not very liberal. She recently voted against Nancy Pelosi. Then some other little bits popped up about the shooter. This guy is completely off his rocker. Seems he's been like this for a long time having weird outbursts in high school, posting nutty stuff online, getting rejected by the military, and leaving college. He listed "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto" among his favorite books. An acquaintance of his describes him as very liberal. That doesn't add up because why would a liberal try to murder a Democratic Congresswoman.

The answer is very simple: he's got serious mental problems. He's not a Republican, a Democrat, a Conservative, or a Liberal. He someone who really needed to be under the care of doctors.

Will this horrible event spur people on to try to be more civil in the exchange of political ideas and maybe try to tone the venom out there down? Probably not. This isn't the fault of anyone except the shooter, but with someone with the mental problems he obviously has in an environment as abrasive as the political theater in Arizona its no surprise someone snapped and tried to murder a government official.

Bottom line: that guy is an asshole who'll be locked away thank goodness. Everyone out there turning this into an excuse to wave your napalm and pitchforks at the other side of the political aisle, screw you. You're part of the problem.

MODEL CITIZEN!!

For pretty much anybody over the age of eight who has even heard of video games, you've probably heard of Lara Croft, the star of the TOMB RAIDER series of games. The franchise is quite successful and have spawned a couple of movies starring Angelina Jolie. The character of Lara Croft is basically popular for two things, well really four things, two pistols and two giant boobs. Croft's bust size is what most people remember from the franchise. It was to the point that in the movies they actually used CGI to enhance the size of Jolie's breasts thus making a scene where she is running look like there were two strange, round life forms struggling to free themselves from the confines of her shirt. Yes, I have seen both of the movies, mainly due to the Missus being a fan of Angelina Jolie when she's going about the business of kicking people about the ass region. I do think I have one of the video games.

Hang on, let me check.

Sure enough! TOMB RAIDER III for the Playstation. I'm not sure how this got into the house or why. I vaguely remember playing this for about half an hour, maybe and then never touching it again. How did this get into the house? It's a used copy. I know I didn't buy it. OK, this is weird. Moving on.

Here's some big news, Lara Croft is getting a make over. This is an effort to transform her from a two-dimensional game hero to an actual character. The visual look has been revamped. Here proportions are less back straining. She's still depicted as beautiful, but not as an over-the-top sex symbol. The developers are rebooting the series as into what they are calling survival-adventure. The familiar elements of the previous games are there, but they say that they want this character to look a bit more vulnerable. If some rough stuff happens in the game, she will get messed up a bit and dirty.

My friend Michael when discussing the way Greg Rucka writes women said they are allowed to get beaten up, because they will get up, dust themselves off and then hand you your ass. It looks like that mindset is what was in mind with this reboot. Lara croft has never been depicted as dainty or needing to be rescued. However, unless you died in the game you never saw her hurt. You never got to see her strength of character because it never really got tested. Looks like that's going to change.

I've discussed before good feminism versus bad feminism. Bad feminism puts down or demonizes men, places women on a pedestal based solely on gender, and only serves as a wedge driven right into the divide between the sexes. Good feminism embraces women as capable and yet still feminine. Characters like Wonder Woman or Buffy Summers are beautiful, intelligent and just a capable as any guy without making a point of it. Its just accepted that they can handle whatever situation they find themselves in, so when they do need help, its not some damsel in distress situation. They do what they do without having to put a man down to do it.

If you had asked me a month ago if I would put Lara Croft in the same category as Wonder Woman or Buffy Summers, I probably would have laughed. Now the jury is officially out. This new step in the franchise is set to make us seriously reconsider the character, and its a step in a very good direction. Whether it succeeds or not, the game developers have realized that there has to be more to great heroine than looking tough and having a great set of bombs. There's actually being tough, being able to actually connect with players on an emotional level above 'horndog', and still being beautiful.

MUSIC!!

Coo coo ca-choo.


That wraps things up for today. Got another Buzz Tourney starting today so if you're interested you can hit the link on the sidebar. Stay safe and see you on Wednesday.