Saturday, March 28, 2009
Vagabond life
I left home for college at 19. My parents had purchased the home they still live in while my mother was pregnant with me and still live there. Since then I have moved regularly. Today I have lived in my apt for 4 years and 2 months and at the age of 41 it is the longest I have lived in one place since I was 19 and left for college. For some reason it seems worth noting.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
My Dave Sim Collection ...
I recently received a package from Dave Sim ... it this package was a letter and original art. The character drawing that he enclosed was a gift I appreciate very much. I am now very much looking forward to glamourpuss #7 in May and the character that he says would not have been had it not been for me.
Dave, this is so very, very cool.
Dave Sim was the creator and artist on Cerebus for 300 issues. I picked up my first issue (#16) and followed the story to its conclusion. Over the years I have also collected other works Sim was involved in working on.
This post is to show off a bit of the other material I have collected. Much of this collection comes directly from Dave himself.
I had the good fortune to meet Dave at Zanadu Comics in Seattle in the early 90s when he was on tour. He autographed a few issues for me and drew a Cerebus head for me on a poster. In addition, he autographed a charcoal drawing of Cerebus that I had done. I had my fanboy geek on something fierce.
Yes, I had a letter printed in an issue of Cerebus during the Melmoth storyline. I have only had three letters printed in comics. The issue of Cerebus, an issue of Hepcats, and one in Bone.
Years later, I received written responses to a couple other letters I wrote. The letters directly responded to my comments. A two page letter in response to a couple of poorly written letters by me took me a bit by surprise. However, I had done a poor job of supporting my arguments and Dave's responses did a good job of pointing that out.
Then one day I got some original pencils in the mail. These were pencils Dave uses to later light table onto the pages. He apparently sent out a bunch of these to fans. Needless to say, some of these are framed and on my walls.
Also in the pictures is my autographed Cerebus issue from the Neil Gaiman practical joke and a note where Dave sent me another autographed Cerebus for a friend of mine. Plus, there is another signed poster that was a gift and my promotional issues of glamourpuss #1 and Judenhass.
Shotgun Prose has reviewed and commented on glamourpuss issues and Judenhass. I have also signed the online petition for Dave and commented on that "controversy" in other posts.
So, to totally keep my fanboy geek on I must say this. This collection of stuff is something I enjoy having and displaying and I would not have most of it if Dave Sim was not generous with his readers.
Dave, this is so very, very cool.
Dave Sim was the creator and artist on Cerebus for 300 issues. I picked up my first issue (#16) and followed the story to its conclusion. Over the years I have also collected other works Sim was involved in working on.
This post is to show off a bit of the other material I have collected. Much of this collection comes directly from Dave himself.
I had the good fortune to meet Dave at Zanadu Comics in Seattle in the early 90s when he was on tour. He autographed a few issues for me and drew a Cerebus head for me on a poster. In addition, he autographed a charcoal drawing of Cerebus that I had done. I had my fanboy geek on something fierce.
Yes, I had a letter printed in an issue of Cerebus during the Melmoth storyline. I have only had three letters printed in comics. The issue of Cerebus, an issue of Hepcats, and one in Bone.
Years later, I received written responses to a couple other letters I wrote. The letters directly responded to my comments. A two page letter in response to a couple of poorly written letters by me took me a bit by surprise. However, I had done a poor job of supporting my arguments and Dave's responses did a good job of pointing that out.
Then one day I got some original pencils in the mail. These were pencils Dave uses to later light table onto the pages. He apparently sent out a bunch of these to fans. Needless to say, some of these are framed and on my walls.
Also in the pictures is my autographed Cerebus issue from the Neil Gaiman practical joke and a note where Dave sent me another autographed Cerebus for a friend of mine. Plus, there is another signed poster that was a gift and my promotional issues of glamourpuss #1 and Judenhass.
Shotgun Prose has reviewed and commented on glamourpuss issues and Judenhass. I have also signed the online petition for Dave and commented on that "controversy" in other posts.
So, to totally keep my fanboy geek on I must say this. This collection of stuff is something I enjoy having and displaying and I would not have most of it if Dave Sim was not generous with his readers.
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Inaugural Game of SSFC!
Seattle Sounders FC 3
New York Red Bulls 0
XBOX Pitch at Qwest Field - Seattle, WA
March 19, 2009 - 6PMish
Some random notes to go with the photos ...
- People stood the entire game, just not in my section.
- I spun two wheels outside the stadium prior to the game and one a free ticket to another game and a dog biscuit.
- Hooters has a "Lake Union Sounders Fan Club" and I will watch at least one road game there.
- Fredy Montero is very good and needs to be hidden from Chelsea this summer.
- Having the one drunk in your section sitting next to you with a horn and a propensity to spill beer is not fun.
- I have never heard a crowd sing the national anthem quite like that before.
- A politician being booed should not surprise people.
- Team speed emotionally wears down an opponent.
- Having the Upper Bowl tarped really does take it out of the picture.
- They need a stoppage time clock on the screen.
Goal #1 in Sounders FC history ...
Ladies and gentlemen I give you Fredy Montero ...
August 19, 2009
Seattle, WA
XBOX Pitch at Qwest Field
12th minute
The Airport
I live in the flight path.
Locals are split on the issue.
But, here's the deal as I see it ...
There is this full-sized, jumbo jet capable airstrip. It is in the major metropolitan area of a city in need of more airstrips but with no convenient location to add. We are expected to believe that somehow the feds won't simply force commercial use down our throats?
There is an opportunity to work with the growth to make it as palatable as possible with community involvement. This opportunity will not last once the feds and courts start inevitably weighing in. There is a sense of inevitability here that too many in the area are trying to say is not there. They are trying to be a speed bump. The problem is that speed bumps are not stop lights. People drive over speed bumps.
I'm not sure I like it either, but there are ways to make it work.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
2002 is finally here!
I have sat by and watched as the Sounders FC have built up to the Inaugural game.
They have remained true to their roots.
They have tapped into the community.
They have brought in a solid roster and coaching staff.
They have us all ready to wear that awful green that I now must love.
Tonight, 2002 is finally here!
Here is some Sounders stuff from over the years to commemorate the day ...
... and if I had the opportunity to have today and tomorrow off I would already be in a pub on a two day Guinness diet ...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Is the GU rivalry in Hoops bigger than the UW?
I think so.
As a Coug I enjoy the rivalry with Washington in all sports, but I am not convinced that the real rival in hoops any more is with the Dawgs.
My freshman year at Wazzu I went to a game on December 10, 1986 and saw the Zags win by one 59-58. At the time I - and my dorm mates - were really depressed because we thought of GU as some lowly school. In the 80s John Stockton had played for GU and the program was starting to go on an upswing. It would not be the only GU win in that era. With the proximity and ability of fans to attend easily it felt like a rivalry was really brewing.
For many years prior to the early 80s when Seattle U dropped out of D1, the Seattle versus Washington rivalry was huge. It is now being rekindled with the return to D1 by Seattle U. Washington's closest actual D1 opponent would be Portland otherwise. I would like to take a moment to point out Portland beat Washington this year, just on general principle. Washington has not had a truly close geographic rival in decades. The Cougs have EWU, Idaho, and GU within an hour and half drive of campus. In Philly, much is made of having 5 schools in town. Seattle, with the loss of the Thunder needs the SU and UW game to come to have meaning.
Fast forward to 1996. The Cougs had finished something like 7 straight winning seasons and had been to the NIT a couple times and the Big Dance in 94. GU had also finished another winning season and had been to the Big Dance recently. The first round of the NIT would take place in Pullman and there was a really nice crowd with a huge GU travelling section. On March 14, 1996 I watched the Cougs beat the Zags 92 to 73. It was awesome and odd for me at the same time, since I had gone to GU for a year in 90-91.
Prior to the 96 NIT game the Cougs and Zags had not played for a few years. There was a lot of talk and build up to the game due to that. The series was revived and GU has won most of the games, but with the return to being good under the current regime, Wazzu and GU is a heck of a game. It has been nice to dominate Washington lately, but when the Cougs snapped their losing streak to the Zags a few years ago, that felt better.
Now, the GU game is one to look forward to on the Wazzu schedule. Washington is ducking the Zags any more, but Wazzu never will again. It is awesome.
So, the Cougs are playing the Dawgs, and that is great and all. But, the real rival for Wazzu hoops is the Zags.
As a Coug I enjoy the rivalry with Washington in all sports, but I am not convinced that the real rival in hoops any more is with the Dawgs.
My freshman year at Wazzu I went to a game on December 10, 1986 and saw the Zags win by one 59-58. At the time I - and my dorm mates - were really depressed because we thought of GU as some lowly school. In the 80s John Stockton had played for GU and the program was starting to go on an upswing. It would not be the only GU win in that era. With the proximity and ability of fans to attend easily it felt like a rivalry was really brewing.
For many years prior to the early 80s when Seattle U dropped out of D1, the Seattle versus Washington rivalry was huge. It is now being rekindled with the return to D1 by Seattle U. Washington's closest actual D1 opponent would be Portland otherwise. I would like to take a moment to point out Portland beat Washington this year, just on general principle. Washington has not had a truly close geographic rival in decades. The Cougs have EWU, Idaho, and GU within an hour and half drive of campus. In Philly, much is made of having 5 schools in town. Seattle, with the loss of the Thunder needs the SU and UW game to come to have meaning.
Fast forward to 1996. The Cougs had finished something like 7 straight winning seasons and had been to the NIT a couple times and the Big Dance in 94. GU had also finished another winning season and had been to the Big Dance recently. The first round of the NIT would take place in Pullman and there was a really nice crowd with a huge GU travelling section. On March 14, 1996 I watched the Cougs beat the Zags 92 to 73. It was awesome and odd for me at the same time, since I had gone to GU for a year in 90-91.
Prior to the 96 NIT game the Cougs and Zags had not played for a few years. There was a lot of talk and build up to the game due to that. The series was revived and GU has won most of the games, but with the return to being good under the current regime, Wazzu and GU is a heck of a game. It has been nice to dominate Washington lately, but when the Cougs snapped their losing streak to the Zags a few years ago, that felt better.
Now, the GU game is one to look forward to on the Wazzu schedule. Washington is ducking the Zags any more, but Wazzu never will again. It is awesome.
So, the Cougs are playing the Dawgs, and that is great and all. But, the real rival for Wazzu hoops is the Zags.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Vote for my flag ...
Please go to goalseattle.com and vote for my flag ... "oxymoron" ... in the flag contest.
The contest runs from March 5-8 and the season tix to the winner will be awarded on March 9.
A lot of work went into this flag and I would appreciate any support ... thanks.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Carrot Soup for lunch today ...
The kids tried it, although the color and look made it tough for them ...
What is the diff?
Spring Training games or World Baseball Classic games ... what is the diff?
They are scheduled at the same time on purpose. Unlike the World Cup in soccer, the baseball internationals are designed to minimize the impact on the teams. A guy takes swings and plays a few games in March for the USA or for his team in a Cactus League game ... what is the diff?
They are scheduled at the same time on purpose. Unlike the World Cup in soccer, the baseball internationals are designed to minimize the impact on the teams. A guy takes swings and plays a few games in March for the USA or for his team in a Cactus League game ... what is the diff?
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