Geeks In Our Natural Habitat

Emerald City Comicon
March 14, 2010

I was the third person there today. The girl in a pink wig at the ticket counter wanted me to walk the maze so she could point and laugh, but I simply went under the yellow "caution" tape instead because I am clearly such a rebel.

I got a picture of Leonard Nimoy's Left temple and ear. I got yelled at by Comicon Pawns for this. So, I kept trying anyways and got a picture of Leonard Nimoy's right temple and nose. I kept getting thwarted by people moving in the way.

I ended up with a box of autographed comics I worked over six hours of lines without a break to get signed ... and Flubber on VHS signed by Wil Wheaton ... all fueled by Powerade and a Milky Way bar ...

The pics in this post are mostly of comics artists and writers ... plus me with my bro, me with Wil Wheaton, some celebrity guests, Chad Vader's more successful older brother, and The Atomic Bombshells ...

I caught Ed Brubaker right before he took a break to watch Joe Q on stage, "Because I want to keep writing Captain America," he said. Then I caught Bendis later and he gave me a free comic because I was "sweet" for liking his Alias series. The Allred's are really nice. Brian Azzarello and I discussed the ending of 100 Bullets, confirming that I actually got the ending. Darick Robertson discussed inking styles and Spider Jerusalem. Guys I have been long time fans of like Kurt Busiek, Michael Golden, and Len Wein were very gracious about discussing their old books. Mark Waid signed the biggest stack of stuff I had for any one person without blinking. Tim Sale and I discussed Spring Training. Paige was nice enough to let me stash my box at her Corner Comics booth for part of the day. Wil Wheaton was very cool and gave me tips on publishing my writing. Catching lines at the right time is tough and I missed out on Geoff Johns by mere moments, but they had a really pretty girl holding the "I am the last person in line" sign and that felt like a dirty trick. Other artists and writers were also very cool. It is best to get stuff signed on Sunday and to be organized.

Having spent nothing on autographs or photos I still managed to get 142 items signed, although I got a total of 150 signatures since several items were signed by more than one creator - including a Vertigo Winter Special from 1999 signed by 5 of the creators. This also breaks down to one VHS cover, one flier, 3 ashcans, and the rest single issues or trades.

That looked familiar

And not in a good way.

Seattle Sounders FC 0
Portland Timbers 1
Community Shield Match
3-11-10 Qwest Field

A crowd of over 18K showed up on a school night in March, which is a bigger crowd than at least a couple MLS teams will get this year, and the Sounders FC go for a 2nd consecutive game without scoring on D2 opposition.

Yes, it is preseason.

But, c'mon ... possession doesn't matter at all without some finishing.

This Timbers team was terrible, their defenders kept kicking the ball up in the air as often as with any sense of direction. It was exciting to see the SSFC go for it and pound away, but this was simply an awful result.

Only two weeks til the opener and much like last year I think that if the boys get an early goal they will win going away, but if they don't they get tight when teams bunker down and stop playing soccer the way Portland did last night.

Photos recently taken in one big post instead of a bunch of little ones

Recently went to see The Fremont Troll.

Makes me think of Modena ...

A couple days a year if it is clear the sunrise hits my outside hallway and lights up the peep hole.

My current supply of unfrosted strawberry pop tarts.

This is what happens when the 13 year old decides to reheat the pizza on his own in the microwave.

Catnip toy. Pretty much sums this up.

I toss stale bread out to the critters and this piece landed like a horseshoe ringer.

Stupid cat.

BC Place, this roof is soon to be altered with a retractable one and a road trip to see my Sounders play the Whitecaps next season here seems sort of inevitable.

No, it's not the track at Daytona, it is the onramp to the Mukilteo Speedway Southbound near my apt.

Sunrise on the way to school one morning this week.

Book list 2010 ... month two

I entered February with a small stack of old paperbacks I got for a buck each at Half Price books and a couple of library books checked out - and a few on their way. I enjoy these old crime novels from the mid 40s through the early 60s even though they are short and sort of cheesy. My library selections sort of have tilted towards narrative nonfiction here in February, but there are a number of fiction works that trickled in, and took over for a while. Last year I tried for a book a month and made it, but was really thinking about the number 100 (or 104 actually, but those last four are like the .2 at the end of the marathon when you hit the 26 mile marker and aren't quite done) and fell short at 83. Again, these are in the order finished, which is different than the order started because I usually have more than one book going at a time.

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by John G. Neihardt
I started this once several years ago and only read a brief chunk. I am glad I decided to revisit. This book has enjoyed a huge following over the decades and when I finally got the time to sit down and read it this time it is clear why. So many native languages and histories have been lost, we are fortunate to have this. I have looked out over the Little Big Horn and wondered what it was like ...

Lyrics by Sting
I have to agree with Sting in that the removal of music takes lyrics away from their context. But, as I know all of these songs, I heard the music as I read. This was like reading the liner notes to a giant box set of Sting's solo material and all of The Police records in one package.

White King and Red Queen: How the Cold War Was Fought on the Chessboard by Daniel Johnson
An interesting take on the Cold War through the world of high level chess. With nearly a third of the book looking at Bobby Fischer and 1972. This is by no means an objective historical study of the subject looking at both sides as a disinterested observer, it is a very unapologetic politically conservative look and needs to be read with that in mind.

Kasparov and Deep Blue: The Historic Chess Match Between Man and Machine by Bruce Pandolfini
In 1996 Kasparov won 4-2 leading to the re-match in 1997 where he lost to the computer 3.5-2.5 in the final match. Technically, that makes it a split - and in soccer would be 6.5-5.5 on aggregate to Kasparov. However, the final game was a rout by the computer that is all that is generally remembered and distorts the reality that Kasparov won more games overall. This book is a move by move analysis of the six games in the second match.

And Another Thing ...: Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Part Six of Three by Eoin Colfer
I saw this on the shelf at a bookstore recently and literally stopped in my tracks stunned that there really was such a book. I love this material and had huge and mixed emotions about it, sort of like the Alice In Chains reunion. Yes, both of these have the endorsement of relevant family members ... but it is hard to take it all too seriously. I decided to split hairs and get Colfer's book from the library. I have yet to do the same with the other project.

The Greks Bring Gifts by Murray Leinster
This 1964 novel hits you over the head with its message. There is a note on the inside cover that reads "this is a contrived book" from a previous owner. Basically, it takes the "teach a man to fish" parable about dependency, sets it in a science fiction setting, and then pounds the issue. That being said ... The note inside doesn't do it justice. This is a terrible book on many, many levels ... and is perhaps the worst book I have ever read, or at least completed. It is all absolutes and excessive adjectives and if I wasn't reading for a number this year and stubborn (plus, it is short) I would have never got through it. It was overpriced at a dollar.

Angel Face by Fan Nichols
In 1955 this must have been a shocking tale. Today, it seems like an early draft or inspiration for Fatal Attraction. It reads quick and is fairly entertaining, but could also be a turned into a decent episode of Law & Order today ...

Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me by Martin Millar
This book made me wish it was 1981 again and I was preparing to go to my first Rolling Stones concert. It also made me think of the girls I crushed on and got no where with when I was 14, so it sort of evened out at that point. I have seen Plant and Page in concert, but Plant was solo and Page was in The Firm ... but, I too got to the front and could almost reach up and touch the guitar, and then the wall broke and there was trouble and Page and Paul Rogers had to talk the crowd back under control.

A Feast of Friends by Rosser Evans
A novel I got during one of my old paperback buying sprees. Set during the Great Depression, this 1961 Gatsby-ish tale is the reflections of a friend the first days after a tragic and mysterious or suspicious death. However it is not nearly as derivative as I thought it might be, which made for a much more entertaining read.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
I loved this book and have already been recommending it to people. The Amazon has been the source of all sorts of stories, myths, and adventures and this book is a great look at all of that. Percy Fawcett is actually the inspiration for The Lost World. The disappearance of the Fawcett Expedition in 1925 is one of the great mysteries of the 20th century.

Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore
The first prose novel by the writer of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and The Killing Joke. There are few writers that make me need to slow down and absorb their prose without pissing me off, Moore is now on that very short list after this novel. Still, this is a tricky read and only something to read if you are ready to be challenged.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
I have a lot of comments about this that will appear soon. The Ten Thousand Hour Rule seems valid though.

Fakers: Hoaxers, Con Artists, Counterfeiters, and Other Great Pretenders by Paul Maliszewski
I have always found that when I take stuff that is lifelike but fictionalized that I need to place words like "short story", "a fictionalized account of possible real events", or even "fiction" just below the title. Not everyone feels that way or works under that simple rule. That is what this book is about.

War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayres
Sending a young man who had never really been camping and had primarily been a hollywood or financial reporter to Iraq to be embedded in with Marines invading Iraq was only ever really going to lead to a funny book or a tragic ending. Fortunately, we got the funny book.


February total = 14 / YTD = 27 (goal 100)

Olympic Cauldron Day Trip to Vancouver today

Olympic Cauldron Day Trip to Vancouver today ...

It was a great day with thousands of people. We drove straight into downtown and parked in a garage for only 6 bucks ... like that would have happened in Seattle.

Finally Went To The Troll

For some reason I had never stopped at the Fremont Troll before this week ...

They Were All Blue

Up and down the side streets near the school yesterday were these perfectly lined up blue trash/recycle bins. It looked like a set up ... I am not certain I captured just how bizarre this looked in person.

Is Frozen Really A Good Idea?

Even at only $1.99/lb a frozen codpiece seems to be a bad idea ...

Welcome to Seattle Arlo White

Had a nice chat with new Sounders FC play by play man Arlo White. Just meeting fans he immediately had questions about the history of soccer in this area. This is a great hire.

The Mother of all PBJ's

Also on a Tuesday Night in November

So I walk up to grab a couple groceries before class and there is this guy loudly speaking to someone on his cell phone in the smoker area outside a bar. I was already scurrying.

"No, the toxicology report said there was no drugs or alcohol. I know that is bogus because I saw drugs."

I kept walking, ignoring as best I could whatever else he was saying at that point.

A quick trip in and out and as I walked out the same door he is still there, still on his phone, still pacing and agitated.

" ... lost thousands on an online poker website ... "

I had to stop listening at that point.

A Tuesday Night in November

I hate owing people money. Even a couple of bucks just bugs me when it is lingering out there. It's like if I let it hang out there it's an indication about how important someone else's time and money is tome. Whether fair or not, it feels that way.

So, owing a friend a couple of bucks needed to be taken care of. I set it aside in my wallet and gave him a ring. I would be driving by there and it was convenient. He was home, but would be leaving soon and since I was almost there it would be cool to swing by. This is merely back story though and really not very interesting to write about, let alone to read.

The real story is something else.

He was warming up his car, but as I turned the corner he wasn't where he would usually park so I had to look about. The weather was crap, typical dark and gray, a rainy November evening. There was a car parked across the street from his house that appeared to be running, its lights on while idling. As I pulled up it appeared his car was a darker color and could have been a neighbor of his, but there he was.

I pulled too far away to reach him through the window so I backed up and pulled closer. With the weather as stormy as it was I just wanted to be able to hand him the cash.

The cash was handed across through unrolled windows.

Apparently, the seedy nature of the transaction - when taken out of context mind you - stuck out to both of us. It stuck out enough that we both commented at the same time.

Two cars, idling, in the rain on a dark and barely lit side street, both with drivers windows down within an arms reach of each other exchanging cash by hand, chatting for a few moments and then each driving off ... nah ... nothing potentially seedy about that.

A Sunday Night in November

She was staring at me, and it wasn't making me happy.

Of that I was certain.

Of that I was wrong.

I was not wrong - this time anyways - because I am so often so wrong about so much when it comes to women. No, this time anyways I was so wrong for another reason entirely.

She had come in with an older gentleman of her same approximate age and I am reasonably certain I have seen her before, and should have known better.

Her brow was moving as if she was trying to focus, to concentrate. Her stare was direct, there was nothing of note around me and no one else near by. She matched my stare.

I was not upset, just a bit unnerved. Really, I wasn't staring back, just looking a few times in her direction and she never flinched or turned from my glances.

And then a few minutes later her companion returned with a drink for her and guided her hand to it. And I realized she was never staring at me in the first place. She could not see me. Her seat was set to where she could easily hear the band that was about to start. It felt like I should have known better.

And I tried very, very hard to stop feeling like a narcissistic ass.

A Saturday Night in November

I should have known better when neither stall was what should have been the way it usually is.

Business was conducted, I washed my hands, and took my leave.

In retrospect, there was a moment when a female voice seemed startled near me, but there was so much ambient noise that I dismissed it while focusing on another task.

As I stepped out back into the hallway I realized my mistake as the other door was clearly labeled. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed my error, but as the first two letters were generally obscured and the final three were clear and distinct I tried to feel better. I also made a point of picking up the pace before anyone saw me. As fate would have it I made it back to my cohort unscathed and untainted by accusation and the stigma and trauma of having been nabbed in my inadvertent misdeed. The place was pretty busy and this was a pleasant surprise. For the record I had not yet finished my single glass, albeit a big glass mind you, of malted beverage.

My mind drifted back to my first year of college, when a quiz was given to girls to see how well they knew - and therefore how much time they were spending in - my guys only dorm. One question of note was, "How many stalls do you pass before you come to one with a seat?"

There had been exactly zero urinals in the restroom I had chosen.

For a few moments I wondered if I was about to get tossed from the establishment, but it was clear that my initial assessment of having gone through unscathed was true.

I slurped my large glass of malted beverage a bit quicker though, on principle.

I waited for the 50-50 drawing and went back to only sipping my large glass of malted beverage and stared at the best legs I had ever seen in Seattle some more.

Since confession is goof for the soul I came clean to my bud. "Dude, I just used the wrong bathroom," I said.

He laughed as hard as you might imagine. Plus, he heeded to know that there was a chance I might get tossed. Getting tossed would have made a better story in some ways, or at least a better Facebook status update.

Later, upon completion of said large glass of malt beverage I made a second and much less traumatic trip down the same hallway.

I am uncertain, but leaning one way towards, about whether I feel better about having been sober or not during this escapade.

Book list 2010 ... month one

January 2010 reading list ...

Instead of keeping one huge list this year like I did on the ShotgunProse blog last year, I am going to try (try means an honest effort) to keep a monthly reading diary and go somewhat all Nick Hornby like he did there for some time for some English magazine. I usually read a hand full of books a month and this month has a larger list than most will because I found myself relaxing in front of the fire a lot. This list is in the order that the books were finished as I often have several books going at a time. These monthly lists will have several similar characteristics in the future; books my kids float my way, books on soccer, historical pieces, and some random fiction and science fiction, as I tend to kind of read what I come across in variously other random ways. Also, This particular list includes four books I got for Christmas, a book my dad loaned me, a book my daughter loaned me, a leftover paperback from last year, and the rest are library books that finally came in. The number of books is high this month in part because there are no huge ones. I go into February with little on the nightstand waiting to be read.

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell
My daughter floated this my way as a part of our "reading books together" thing we do. It is the female counter to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I can understand why a girl her age would love this book.

Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk
Part three of a very enjoyable Urban Fantasy series I stumbled across last year. I have been getting caught up on a lot of urban fantasy television I missed and so I am sort of in the mode for this mentally. This book takes a look at where science and magic might just overlap and how choices can have real consequences and I like that. A fourth book comes out this Spring and that will make a future reading list this year.

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham, Steve Leialoha (Illustrator)
The Fables Universe from DC/Vertigo Comics is the best thing going in comics and has been for some time. It translates really well to book format and I hope this story of the Pied Piper, Bo Peep, and others is not the only novel we get a chance to read.

World Whiskey by DK Publishing
This book is about the good stuff, why it is the good stuff, and how it becomes the good stuff. It is a textbook on whiskey and worth the read with some really solid details. I am not sure it was really meant to be read straight through like I did, but now that I have read it all I can more easily refer to it.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad: The Story of Acrassicauda by Andy Capper
The notion of sacrificing for one's art takes an entirely different twist in this story of a group of men from Iraq and their journey from local garage band to refugees in Brooklyn. As of this posting, one of their songs is currently playing on the Keeper Studios MySpace page. We usually don't think of metal heads as political refugees, but these guys have faced an awful lot for their art.

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody
I now know far more about a segment of the population of Minneapolis than I ever really cared to. It was a quick read and think is meant to be that way as it doesn't really take place over a long period of time and I would imagine the writer wants to convey that sense of pace.

Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football by Grant Farred
In 1986 I got a Liverpool fan pen pal in Cape Town, South Africa through World Soccer magazine who I am still in contact with that really makes this story of a young man from the same town in the same era that much more interesting to me. I guess it doesn't matter where someone is from, Liverpool FC is magnetic that way.

The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins, John Stauffer
The Antebellum South is a fascinating place. The post-Reconstruction Apartheid South is not. This book really delves into why the first thing was as true as the second. It is full of interesting characters and shows the ways in which war and peace do not always go as planned.

The Tao of Wu by The RZA
A couple things led me to this book. Recently, a friend reminded me of the movie Ghost Dog and my son has really turned on to Hip Hop recently. So, when I saw this title I decided to give it a read. The RZA is one of the more interesting performers in Hip Hop and this book gives an interesting look into his life and how it has transformed his art. I recently purchased a used copy of Ghost Dog as a result of reading this.

Lost Horizon by James Hilton
This book sold millions of copies in paperback in its day and introduced the world to Shangri-La. I got an early 60s edition paperback along with a bunch of others I read last year. I love this old stuff because the language and writing really tells you about when it was written and the culture and views of the time without a filter.

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football by David Winner
The Dutch World Cup teams of the 1970s are the greatest teams to fail to win a World Cup. They reached consecutive finals, against host nations, and despite their brilliant play are known as a team that fell short, much like the Hungarians in the 1950s and the recent Portuguese team. Sport is cruel that way.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler
This was on someone else's book stack a few years ago and it caught my eye at the library recently. As I have started taking more winery tours over the past few years I am starting to find this topic much more interesting and this book is worth the time and effort if you too like wine, even though it really isn't actually about wine. However, on principle I obtained a bottle of Woodbridge Pinot Noir 2007 (a French wine bottled in California that is nice and sweet up front but a bit dry on the finish) to sip on in front of the fire place while reading this. On principle.

Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution by Salman Ahmad
Yes, a second book about rock music in the Islamic world. Actually, this is the 4th I have read on this subject in the past year or so. This is a personal reflection by the author on what he has faced as opposed to an outsider looking at the scene.

January total = 13 / YTD = 13 (goal 100)