Non-Sequitur # 59: SHHEEEIIIITTTTT!!!!!

Yeah, I kinda live there…

So. yeah…This week hadn’t been the greatest for me. I haven’t worked at all and I’ve been kinda bummed about that. I felt a little better after going to the movies Thursday. And Friday I thought I’d try to do something creative. Actually, I’d fallen asleep listening to NPR, then I decided to stop being so lazy and try to do something creative. So, it’s around um…after 5pm and I thought I’d get some beer and run back in the house.

As I left my apartment, I noticed policemen lounging around in the hallway on my floor. They told me  to take the stairs and I saw firemen in stairwell, so I dunno…I guess there’s something wrong with the elevators. Whatever. When I got to the ground floor, I asked the doorman what was going on. He said something like, “Oh, we got a tenant…” and trailed off. I then assumed either maybe someone called the cops cuz the guy in there was drunk or maybe he’d been evicted and didn’t want to go. Whatever.

So, I went to the liquor store, got my beer, and walked home. As I approached my building, a female detective told me I couldn’t go any further. I said, “Oh, I just live right there in that building.” She said, “Well, that’s where the problem is,” and ushered me and a couple of other people across the street. Then the loose rumors started. What’s going on? Someone’s gone crazy? Someone’s got a gun? Guns? Fuuck…

The police then told us  to move further down the street and started to section off the area with yellow tape. Maybe it WAS getting serious? It’s a hostage situation, evidently.  The older guy who lives on my floor, supposedly, he’s got a gun and a girl in his room and he won’t come out. I know the guy and usually he’s kinda low-key unless he’s drunk, so I figured the police would  talk him down and we’ll get to go inside shortly.

While I was lending against the wall waiting  a woman walked up to me and asked what was going on. I told her and we got to talking. Then some crazy dude walked up to us saying, “Move along! Good day!” He had to say it twice for me to realize that he was talking to me. He told me to stop messing with his wife. He walked her away and I heard him say,”I know him, he’s a hype.” I said, “Dude, you don’t know me!” He continued walking and said, “Good day!” I replied,  “No! Good day to you!” The male detective who was standing in front of the yellow tape smirked at the lameness of this confrontation.  Not long after, the police told those of still standing there  to move even further down to the end of the block. It  definitely was getting serious.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I see yellow police tape and the entire street blocked off and cops are standing around with automatic rifles, I assume the situation is not trivial. It’s funny how many people were miffed cuz the police told approaching people they had to either wait or go around the block. Can’t I just go over there? No, it’s very dangerous situation! Tsk! How inconvenient!

After awhile the temperature started to drop and the sun began to sink. I stood by another woman who lived in my building and we talked for a moment. She shared her coffee with me and also offered me a sip from her half pint (rum I think). I told her I’d be  cool with the beer I bought but thanked her for the offer.  Some people began to wonder aloud why the police didn’t just charge in the room and get the guy. It’s also funny how the rumors and stories started to circulate. Some people were saying a man shot someone and ran into the building. Some were saying that he was shot in the leg and ran into the building. The best one was that he had a bomb.

Eventually, the police slowly began to take down the yellow tape and told us that we could pass. When I entered the lobby, the building management told us to wait before we went on the fifth floor because the cops used tear gas to get the man out and it would take a little awhile to air out the hallway.

Apparently, what happened was that  it was the old army vet that lives on my floor. He hadn’t been taking his medication, however, he was getting high with a couple of girls. He thought one of them stole something from him and wouldn’t let them leave. Turns out he didn’t have a gun, although he did have a machete and knives. Reportedly, he was throwing the knives at the inside of the door when the police were here. When they got tired of trying to negotiate, the police used tear gas on him. They took dude to the hospital. I’m not sure what all the formal charges will be.

So, I guess that’s it.  Originally, I was going to write about seeing that movie The Master and some other random stuff, but yeah…shit got wild for a minute…

Non-Sequitur #58: I’m a Lazy Bastard

Sexy woman with brass knuckles by Francisco Ruiz Velasco just because…

Ok …I haven’t done a column in a looong time, just because I’m a Way Lazy Bastard, ok?

Train I Ride

A couple of weeks ago I was on the train and I sat behind a woman who smelled like coffee cake. She didn’t have a coffee cake with her  as far as I could tell, but she did smell like coffee cake. It made me hungry.

Last week I got on the Green Line El Train and they were using the fancy new trains! The trains smelled nice and were very clean. The seats are arranged differently in that they mostly all face each other. The idea is that during rush hour they’ll be able to squeeze more folks on to each car. But yeah, the train  cars smelled really clean.

Hurry, hurry here comes my stop

So, I was coming home from work on the bus last week and I was reading a local free paper. There’s a photo of a musician on the cover and a drunk guy felt it necessary to point out that the man was playing a trumpet. Cuz I guess maybe he thought I wasn’t aware of that? Drunk guy later tells me about how he’s able to meet nice girls but not keep them and this somehow segways into to him not being able to comprehend how some guys look at other guys romantically. Dude…I don’t know yer situation, but maybe, just maybe if you’d spend less time wondering what gay guys are doing and more time being not drunk, maybe the nice girls will stick around a little longer. I’m not judging…I’m saying this as one drunk guy to another.

I’ll be seeing you in Hell

One the same bus there was a girl with her boyfriend sitting a little in front of us. The young lady had a bag that had a bag with the logo of the punk rock band the Misfits. Right when I got off the bus, there was a young black man who was wearing a Misfits T-Shirt. It’s very interesting to me that The Misfits are one of the those bands you see their artwork everywhere and you start to wonder, is that person really into the group or did they just say,” That’s a cool shirt, Imma get one?” Either way it’s all good , I guess…I mean the band still gets their money, right? I ain’t  not goddam sonovabitch…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LOaEzmaPfU

Hmm…a cool comic book thing, I saw a girl (late teens maybe?) wearing a t-shirt with Capt America’s shield logo on it.

I saw a guy throwing up when I was getting on the Blue Line the other day. I wish I had something deep to say about this but…it was just a random guy throwing up…

I have a note written down that says “anthrax”. I can’t remember what this means. I probably heard a song by heavy metal group Anthrax in a place where I didn’t expect to hear it. But I really don’t remember now.

Here’s one I do remember! I was getting money at the bank and this was the song that was playing.

 

 

Non-Sequitur # 57: A Chance For Folks To Meet

The Simple Things You Say Are All Complicated!

Yeah, so like I had a lot of stuff on my mind, then I forgot a lot of it,  then I thought of some other things to write about, then I got lazy, so um…let’s just jump in here…

I walked  to the grocery store early this morning and when I turned down one particular street, I saw  workers towing tons of cars. It was very weird then I remembered that they changed the route of the Gay Pride Parade this year and the starting point was actually in my neighborhood. I looked around and noticed all sorts of little signs on the trees that had messages about parking restrictions. I thought yeah, lots of people are gonna come out of these apartments in a couple hours and be PISSED.

A couple hours later I went to a different grocery store to buy beer. Masses of people had started to gather for the pride parade and then I thought, “Hey, this is the corner where those young dudes sometimes try to sell weed. I bet they won’t be out here today.”  Sure enough, as I passed their favorite awning, I walked by a dude on his cell phone pleading with one of his buddies, “But…Dude! Yer missin’ out on all this money! An’ I’m mad at so-and-so cuz I cain’t even get him on the phone!” I kinda wondered if his buddies didn’t want to come out because they were homophobic or if they were just more than likely concerned about increased police presence.

Sort of related to the above, yesterday, I passed the liquor store and there were a few guys  having a heated discussion out front. It was two wino looking guys  and one slightly younger dude in a shirt and tie. The tie guy was saying, “God’s not gonna go to Phelps ( I can only assume they were talking about the Father Phelps who goes around protesting gays at the funerals of dead soldiers) and say, ‘Ok, what was he doing…and what was he  doing…and what was he doing’…God’s gonna come and say, ‘What were YOU doing?” One of the wino guys replied, “But would YOU have sex with another man? Would YOU suck a dick?” I kinda thought…homie, if yer gonna get into a religious argument, ya gotta do better than, “But would you suck a dick?”  Understand, I’m not  making a case one way of the other for homosexuality, BUT…I’m not going to grow my beard out right now, that doesn’t automatically mean I think that people who do are morally suspect.

Yesterday, I walked to the local comic book store. On one particular corner ( at a strip mall nowhere near the comic book store by the way)  I saw a dude dressed like a superhero just sort of standing there. His suit was white with gold accents and he had sort of a Thor looking head piece with wings on the side. Thing is, I’d seen him a few weeks ago at the corner near my house ( his name was Spear Guardian or something, I can’t remember exactly). At that time, I thought he must be going to some party or event or just cosplaying for fun or something. Now I wonder if he’s trying to become the Phoenix Jones of the north side or whatever. All I can say is do yer thing, bud…but be careful. There’s lots of wannabe drug dealers with drooping pants around here, but there’s also real criminals too, so watch yer back.

Um, what else? …Oh!

Last weekend I went downtown to an indie comics convention. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. It was right before the Puerto Rican Day Parade ( Yes, another parade. It’s Chicago. From here on in there’s not going to be one weekend without either a parade or neighborhood fest, just deal with it). The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo was at Columbia College downtownhttp://www.cakechicago.com/. I got down there a little early, so I killed time at a Harold’s Chicken on Wabash St. I gotta say, that Harold’s is way better than the one by my house. It was bigger and extremely well light. The small fries I ordered would have been a large at almost any other eating establishment.

I didn’t check out any of the comics for sale at the convention cuz I’d already spent my comics budget for the week and I was mainly interested in seeing one  panel about women and atuobio comics. I thought they’d have an unique perspective on the medium. The artists had pretty interesting things to say about visual style and how much of real life they choose to put into their strips. I was a little surprised when one of the women made a random Jack Kirby  reference, but what REALLY surprised me was all the 80’s punk rock music that was playing over the loudspeakers before the panel started. Here’s what stood out that I can remember…

7  Seconds – Clenched Fists Black Eyes

Black Flag –You Bet We’ve Got Something Personal Against You

Fear-I Love Living In The City

Misfits –40 Eyes

Fugazi- I don’t know which song, but I know it was Fugazi

Ramones- Blitzkrieg Bop

I totally remember that stuff from my teenage years. Hearing it in this venue made me feel both young again and very old at the same time. Fuggin’ mortality…

Also, last weekend there a street fest right here in my neighborhood. It was Chicago Pizza Fest or something. Even though it was within walking distance, I didn’t participate. The food they had there was exactly the same stuff I can get any day of the week only cheaper. They had live music of course. The headliners were 80’s new wave pop stars Berlin   and a local group called Too White Crew.  The bands might have gotten  me out there, then I remembered I only like one song by Berlin. An’ no…not Take Your Breath Away, but Masquerade.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azr2ooLlfzQ The other group was Too White Crew, they’re a local group that  does hip-hop/pop cover from the 90’s.  I didn’t make the effort to stay. Then it turned out I needn’t bothered anyway cuz Too White Crew  were so loud that I could hear them from my apartment with the window up. Luckily, I guess, I like TLC and have nostalgic feelings for Bev  Biv Devoe, otherwise I might have been pissed.

Um, ok…as I finished typing that last paragraph, my internet went out. I figured, “Alright, I’ll go out and get some beer and come back to it.” Outside right now the streets are swarming  with young people. I guess because of events related to Pride Day. On the way back to my house , I saw two girls and one guy who I’m going to assume was gay walking towards me. It seemed they had just exchanged words with a couple of thug looking guys behind them. The guy was saying, “I thought I heard him call me  a bitch! I was gonna blah, blah, blah!”  I walked by the thugs, the bigger of the two I sorta recognize from the neighborhood. His partner, however, I noticed had his pants sagging in the stereotypical “gangsta” way. They were literally just past his ass. I’m thinking like, “You wanna make fun of a guy for being gay. but you have your underwear showing. Do you even know where that ‘fashion’ started?” OH, THE FUCKING IRONY.

Comedian #1: When Before Watchmen was announced I said I wasn’t going to buy this one. I was at the comic store and bought it anyway.I was disappointed. Fuck me.

Enuff negativity! Let’s remember sweet, sweet music! Martha and the Vandellas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvITn5cAVc

 

Non-Sequitur #56: Summer and Blondes

Woman with Jimi Hendrix signature tattoo. Don’t hate…if you could have, you would have done it too. Hey, Jimi had his share of blondes, right?

Last week I was at Jewel Grocery Store buying artichoke and asiago dip and Doritos. I swear the girl (she wasn’t blonde) in line behind me let out a silent fart. Sure, she was cool about it and I didn’t let on…but, yeah…

Next morning I had beer and Cheetoes for breakfast. Yes, I am digging my own grave.

Morning after for breakfast I had wild rice and brocholli with a hot dog chopped up in it. Better, but not quite there yet.

Later, I went to the corner deli/grocery store and ordered three tacos for dinner. Two steak and one chicken. Funny, although the girl with big teeth is always there, I haven’t seen the lady who calls me senor in a long time. While I was waiting for food some dude came in wearing calogne so thick it almost knocked me out. On the the plus side, Blondie’s  Heart of Glass was playing in the store, so that made me happy.

Coming home from work last Thursday, an interesting woman got on the bus and sat between me and another dude.  She was a blonde lady wearing shades and carrying a cup filled with what I thought was tea. I was reading a local free paper that carries Dan Savage’s sex advice column http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=13860394. It seemed like the lady was peaking a  look at my paper so I turned from Dan’s column and went to the stage and movies reviews. I admit it, I got a little self conscious and didn’t want her to catch me reading the bit about what some dude was doing with his bear skin rug.

Anyway, things were uneventful for several blocks until the Blonde Lady noticed a young woman in the back of the bus wearing the T-Shirt of a particular rock star. Then we were all greeted to shrill cries of, “OH MY GOD! Johnny Lang! Oh my god…You saw JOHNNY LANG? OH MY GOD!!”  She then went on about how Johnny Lang is her 2nd favorite singer and how much she liked the girl’s T-shirt and oh my god Johnny Lang. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tigVYfHVmQ The young lady was polite and said thank you, but was clearly more interested in her i-phone than talking to strangers. That’s when I realized what the Blonde Lady’s fragrance was…it was perfume and gin.

Now please don’t think I’m judging. My Ex, the closest I’ve gotten  to having a love of my life was a heavy wine drinker. And had I been on that bus 24 hrs earlier, I would have been reeking of Ivory soap and high gravity lager. So, I’m not putting Blonde Lady down…I’m just saying Game Recognizes Game, ya know?

Blonde Lady then turned her attention to the guy who was sitting on the other side of her and they had a somewhat dis-jointed conversation about music venues in the city and suburbs. Their talk continued until she got off the bus. I took a look at her again when she was on the street. I saw her throw away the now empty cup that I originally thought was tea. Yeah…we’ll meet again someday.

Umm…comics?

Defenders #7: Art by Terry and Rachel Dodson…awesome! This issue features Black Cat  (she’s a platinum  blonde)stealing a Satan’s Claw for a group of group of collectors who promptly recruit her for another gig. Meanwhile, The Defenders are trying to track down the Prince of Orphans and their search leads then to Wakanda and the Black Panther. I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying Matt fractions writing on this series. I’m sorta looking forward to Jaimie McKelvie’s art next issue.

Animal Man #10:   ( Buddy Baker is blonde!) Ok, the story seems to be picking up again…so, I guess I’m happy again. Steve Pugh is a good replacement for Travel Foreman. He’s able to keep in step with the psychedelic horror vibe of the title.

Minute Men #1: It’s only the first issue and this seems to be mostly set up, so I’m not sure what to make of the story’s direction or what themes it will touch on later. Darwyn Cooke is very talented…however, so far this looks like a decent superhero comic and Watchmen was never supposed to be a superhero comic.

Hey! The weather’s been really nice lately! I think I’ll go outside and do something!

Finally, Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine.   Find this comic story and read it. http://www.atomicbooks.com/index.php/optic-nerve-7.html

Non-Sequitur #52: In Birmingham We love The Governor

Moebius AKA Jean Giruad 1938-2012

Item!

My supervisor’s daughter had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, so she made taco salad for us. Yum!

Item!

So like 75-80% of my day job involves sitting in a cubicle and making phone calls. So occasionally when my boss asks me to help move something or whatever I jump at the chance. I don’t mind helping and it breaks the monotony on those slow days. This particular day she asked me to set up a room for a focus group meeting whenever I got the chance. Of course I told her I’d be happy to do it. Imagine my surprise when I started moving chairs around in Room 1 and saw in the middle of the room…DOG POO! The president of the company frequently brings his dog to work and this was one of those days. Normally the dog is well behaved, but this time she left a special treat for us. I told my boss and she got a plastic bag to pick up the poo with and then found a wet vac somewhere. While taking care of the situation, my boss said something like, “Geez, I don’t like cleaning up after my own dogs, that’s why I have a husband!” Kinda made me laugh. But yeah…I work a semi-grey collar job. I just don’t  normally expect to be dealing with DOG POO.

I work in an office! Where'd this dog poo come from?!

Item!

Yeah, it got to like 60 degrees outside one day this week. On one hand I’m happy for the nice weather, but on the other hand this is not typical for this time of year in Chicago. We’ve had an usually mild winter this year. I foresee dread…

Item!

I read in a local paper that they are planning a broadway musical based on the movie Animal House. Yes, the raunchy gross out humor movie is being made into a musical to debut on The White Way.  I didn’t realize it, but I guess I woke up in the Bizzaro Entertainment Universe, where everything is the opposite of what you’d expect it to be. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll check out that family sit-com based on The Sex Pistols   The Great Rock n Roll Swindle and after that I’ll tune into that children’s cartoon inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

Item!

Ok, so I’m on the way home from running errands and I’m on the train. There’s a  dude talking to a woman and he’s talking loud enough that most of the car can hear him. Basically he’s going on and on about how he’s gay, but he’s tired of other gay people and wish he had more straight friends. The gay people he meets are just about sex and that’s all they talk about and it’s tiresome because there’s more to life than that. Ok, fine. Then he says he wishes there was someplace else to meet people besides the internet and bathhouses…BINGO! Dude, if the only place you try to meet people are bathhouses and the internet, of course a good deal of them are going to be either flakey or preoccupied with sex.  I’m not judging, I’m just saying…

Item!

Mitt Romney likes cheesy grits! Yeah, I’ll just bet he does…

Non-Sequitur #51: Girl You Know it’s True

Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke

Ed is a cranky old man

I was at the corner store were I buy burritos and submarine sandwiches when a group of teen-aged girls came in. They were a little loud and just seemed to be kind of wandering around. I tried to ignore them, but I could still hear their voices even though they were at the other end of the store. Eventually, the security guard told them to leave the store. The girls were saying stuff like, “Why?!” “Who’s he talking to?!” The guard was just like, “Because you’re being disruptive.” One of the girls replied, “Your FACE is being disruptive!” Once upon a time I might have chuckled to myself over this scene, but now I have to admit I was a little glad that he threw the hoodlums out. Yes, I’ve gotten old and become that guy.

Ed goes “Uh…”

Out of the blue, my bank calls me the other day. The lady introduces herself as one of the agents that has helped me a few times in the past and asked me if everything was ok. I’m like, um…everything’s fine? She asked me if I got the checks that I ordered weeks back and asked if there was any other service they could provide. I then realized that she was following up on a business transaction. It was just weird because literally the first thing she said was, “Hello, Mr Jackson this is Blah-Blah from Such-and Such…are you ok?” Like the way a friend would if he were concerned about your well being. “Dude, are you ok? We haven’t seen around in awhile…you’re not sick are you? We were gettin’ worried!” So, yeah… everything’s peachy.

Ed dissects pop culture

So I was listening to the radio and they were talking about the opening of Carrie:The Musical. I guess it was on Broadway years ago, but wasn’t successful. Now they’ve re-tooled the show. One of the actresses was talking about doing the special effects in a way that didn’t make the show campy. I thought…but doesn’t the mere fact that you’re doing a stage musical based on a horror movie from the 70’s in and of itself make the show campy? I’m not hatin’, I’m just saying…

Ed walks down memory lane 

Rest In Peace Davy Jones. I don’t care how fake you think they were, they had some good pop songs.

Things that warm Ed’s cold dead heart

So I’m coming home from the comic book store and I see a mom walking into a restaurant with her two young daughters. The smaller one was bouncing around and waving at random people. She tried to wave to a another little girl who was inside of the restaurant sitting by the window. The second little girl didn’t wave but she did smile back. Little kids trying to make other little kids happy..ok, I’m corny but it made me happy. Shut up.

Neil Diamond wrote this song! Recognize!

 

Non-Sequitur #47: But I Want You to Be True

Storm by Dave Cockrum

My Job Continues to Make me Fat

My boss had a birthday last week. Our supervisor who’s always throwing parties and what not, made taco salad. It was great. My waist line ever expands.

Unexpected Tunage

Coming home I was walking through the hall, I heard someone blasting Its A Long Way to The Top If You Wanna Rock n Roll  by hard rock band AC/DC. It made me happy.

Protest And Survive

Wikipedia and other sites shut down to protest SOPA. Due to public outcry, it seems the bill has been placed on hold. Yea, democracy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i70zFUh5ugA

Overheard On the Bus 

I was on the bus last week. A couple of young people were talking about the president. The girl said something about people voting for Obama just because he’s black. The young  man replied something like, “Well, you know black is the new majority.” I thought, yes… in someplace like Kenya. We live in the United States. Black people maybe 12% of the population, hardly a “new majority”. Oh, well…

Ed Is a Drunken Slob

Last weekend I was drinking alone at home and I decided to go out for some more beer. On the way to the liquor store, I ran into one of my drinking buddies.  Usually when I run into him he wants to hang out, but this time he had his bike and seemed preoccupied. I thought, ha! I bet he’s on the prowl for some mischief.  When I got to the store I couldn’t find the $10 bill I thought I had and I almost freaked out. I re-traced my steps all the while thinking that the bill had somehow slipped out of my pocket and blown away. When I got to my block, I saw my buddy hanging out on the corner. I thought, he’s definitely on the prowl for some mischief,  but I was cursing myself for being so stupid and careless. I went inside and saw the 10 bucks on the table. I then thought maybe this was a sign to not go out and get any more beer, that maybe I’d be fine if I’d just sat down at home. So, of course I scooped up the bill and went back to the liquor store. Yes…I suck.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTe5CIiiQTI

Etta James passed away. Rest In Piece.

Non- Sequitur #46: My Reflection In A Snow Covered Hill

Um, I drew this like 2 years ago...

Where’d all this frickin’ snow come from all of the sudden? I, I… oh, yeah…it IS  winter in Chicago. Never mind.

                              Mean Girl On The Bus

So, sometimes I see this teen-aged (?) girl on the bus when I go to work in the morning. Sometimes I see her with a young man. Over the last maybe one year, I’d see her with a guy for a few months, then someone new for several months. Recently, I saw her with a different boy. She’s young so it’s not like I think it’s a big deal for her to date different people. The most recent time they sat close enough to me in the back that I could hear snippets of their conversation ( I wasn’t ear hustling, I swear!). It seemed like maybe they were breaking up. She was the loudest and saying stuff like, “You must not have did it right,” “I didn’t tell you ‘cuz you would’ve been accusing me again,” and “You don’t want it, I don’t want it either.” What got to me was not her words, but her tone. She was very mean and argumentative even when she talking about getting a state ID. Then I thought about how she was with her other boyfriends, she spoke to them the exact same way. I know it sounds terrible, but I thought geez, does she want to be with some guy who’ll react negatively and yell at her or knock her on her ass?  Then I thought, no wonder the other boys are gone, I’d leave too. Who wants to be with someone who argues with them all of the time? On the other hand, I’m living alone right now so fuck me for being judgmental.

Hey, a picture of women's finger nail polish

Anime In The Mail       

Yeah, I got some anime in the mail.  The final volumes of Ghost in The Shell:2nd Gig. I really really enjoyed it. It was a pretty decent conclusion to a reasonably tight story about politics and revolution. Actually, it’s about a lot more than that. It’s about the web, cybernetic advancements, identity, individualism vs community, and the needs of minority/immigrant community vs the needs of the dominant culture’s stability…and it’s also about mullets.  I’m not sure if I’ll do a You Tube video review for it or not, but I liked it.  If I ever get a chance to write some sort of action/superhero/intrigue/sci-fi story, I would totally try to do something like this.

Got Ergo Proxy volume 4.  Very engaging. I’ll probably wait until next month before I get the rest of the volumes though.

I also got the first two volumes of  Gunslinger Girl.  It’s very different than what I expected. The premise is, there’s an organization in Italy called the Social Welfare Agency. It’s basically a front for a government institution that trains assassins. They use children for their recruits because the conditioning and cybernetic enhancements just seem to work better on kids than on adults.  I guess I initially thought that the show would be more either light-hearted or tongue in cheek, but for the most part, the concept is played pretty straight. The tone is pretty somber. It’s  kinda like Le Femme Nikta with school girls. I’ve only watched the first DVD so far. It’s not bad, just different than what I thought it would be.

                                                         McDonald’s Is Making Me Fat

So, I was at McDonald’s last night. I noticed that the woman who took my order had alternating colors of finger nail polish. Black then red then black. I dunno…I thought it was kinda cute.

 

Non-Sequitur #44: Nothing Changes On New Years Day

The Not So New Avengers by Jim Cheung

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…Out with the old, new beginings, blah, blah, blah…whatever.

I do not resolve to go on a diet

So, the maintenance man for my job’s building was teasing me  the other day about gaining weight. Something about the ground shaking as I walked by. Well, I’ll have you know, Richard…I lost 10 POUNDS this summer! So there! Course, this winter I’ve already re-gained 12 pounds, so…um…DAMMIT! You’ve won this round “Richard”, but I’ll be back!

I do not resolve to go out and meet new people

On the way to work, I passed a dude sitting at a bus stop. It was about 30 degrees outside and he was bare chested. It looked like he’d just taken off his jacket which was on the ground and his sweater which he still had one hand in. I remember thinking that this man either had maybe slight mental issues or he was just really really HIGH. I contemplated saying something, but what? “Hey, dude…it’s cold. Put your sweater back on?” And what was I going to do if he got belligerent? Get a cop and be like, “But Officer! He he wouldn’t put his sweater back on and it’s cold out!”

New people…

I was walking down the street earlier today. There were a couple guys coming towards me and one of them was wearing a Green Bay jacket. As I was passing them, a young man in a car who was turning down a nearby alley, stuck his head out the window and shouted, “PACKERS SUCK!!” Can’t we all just get along?

I do not resolve to be more practical with money. I got movies and comics to get!

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol: I saw it earlier this week and I had fun with it. Solid action packed flick. I mostly bought the actors in their roles and there was only a few minor plot quibbles. Not terribly complex or layered, but it delivered on the level it was trying to deliver on.

Aquaman #4: By Johns, Reis, and Prado with some really nice coloring by Rod Reis. This is the end of the first arc. It wasn’t super heavy, basically the plot is Aquaman fighting sea monsters while the general public cracks on how lame he is. Storywise, it was actually pretty thin, but I still enjoyed it. I liked the relationship between Aquaman and Mera. They came across as a mature couple that enjoys each other’s company, but each partner has their own mind. A bit unlike the contrivances we see on some sit-coms and and cliched comic books. The art is just gorgeous. Ivan Reis and Joe Prado do a great job at making the art bombastic and detailed, yet the faces they draw are just nuanced enough to convey emotion.

Avengers Children’s Crusade: One more issue to go in this mini-series and so far I’ve really enjoyed the ride. We deal with Dr Doom with magical powers and the question of what to do about Wanda and  is she really responsible for everything that’s happened and if she is, what next? Good characterizations and dialogue from Heinburg and very very nice art from Cheung.

I Bought Batwoman #4, but I haven’t read it yet.

Hm, I feel like playing guitar in the snow, but it’s been unusually warm this winter, so I’ll have to made due with this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiejqnbnFPk&feature=fvsr

Non-Sequitur # 42: Random Randomness from Random City

Mar-Vell and the Avengers. I think the art is Sal Buscema

Random!

The owner of the company that I work for brought his dog to work. I’m not good with dogs, I have no idea what kind of breed she is. Labrador Retriever?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmx2bQDO1Vk I just know it’s a black dog and a female. The dog’s personality is kind of funny. She’ll follow you around if you don’t pat any attention to her, but if you acknowledge her, she’ll run off and bark. Like a co-worker said, I guess that’s just her way of playing.

They gave us free pizza at work not long ago. It was good, I guess.

Lance Briggs, linebacker for the Chicago Bears has a new comic book from Top Cow coming out called Seraph. Because I am lame, I missed out on a signing he had a couple of weeks ago. Screw Me. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35586

So, I’m coming home on the bus last week  and as we approach a major intersection close to where I live, I see that the police have one side of the street sectioned off. I just assumed that maybe there was an accident or something. The next day I was reading the paper and discovered that the police actually sectioned off the block because they had  gunmen holded up in one of the buildings there. I literally live down the street from where this was happening and go to the dollar store in that building. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-12-06/news/chi-police-activity-in-uptown-shuts-down-parts-of-red-purple-lines-20111205_1_cta-red-line-cta-buses-standoff  Welcome to Uptown! Git yer hands in the air, Mutha Fucka!!

There was something wrong with the coffee pot we use at work, so I was under the impression that there would be no coffee that day. I went to the vending machine in the building to get my caffeine fix. I drank half a cup of some of the worst coffee I had in my life. It tasted terrible and didn’t give me that smooth caffeine buzz I’m used to from the normal coffee we drink. This stuff made me jittery and uncomfortable. I swear it could been just brown water with crack in it or something. Luckily, the coffee pot got fixed a couple hours later and we were  able to have normal coffee. Yay, normal coffee! Boo, vending machine coffee!

Someone brought a bowl of jelly beans and placed them on our supervisor’s desk at work Friday. I ‘m pretty sure it was the boss just trying to be nice. I’m not normally a big candy guy, but yeah… this  particular day I found myself hanging around the supervisor’s desk just a little bit longer than normal, asking questions I pretty much knew the answer to, and just um, stuffing my face with sugar and gelatin and corn syrup. Can’t go wrong with a sugar buzz on a Friday.

Archie Meets Kiss:  Eff Yeah! Now THIS is what we need more of in the comics world !   Crossovers that can get people excited! Well, I was excited anyway. Long story short…Sabrina the  teen-aged witch tries to cast a spell of protection over Riverdale, but Veronica messes it up causing monsters to appear. The members of Kiss also appear determined to stop the monsters. How will they stop the monsters? “The only way we know how…WITH ROCK!” America, eff yea…

Watch this quick before Led Zeppelin makes You Tube take it down…