52.1 - 52.13

I started posting about DC's ongoing weekly series, 52, back in May, promising to look at each issue as it came out. Oops. Well, the series hit its quarter mark a couple weeks ago so I thought I'd jump back into some commentary...

For those of you who don't want to find the old posts, here's a quick recap of what brought the comic about: At the end of the big crossover series Infinite Crisis, the "big 3" of the DC Universe (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) leave the scene for various reasons. All DC titles start with storylines beginning "One Year Later" immediately following the end of IC; 52 tells the story of what happened during that missing year. Each issue covers a week of that year. It is written by Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns, and Mark Waid and drawn by a revolving cast of artist, though always with layouts by Keith Giffen and covers by J.G. Jones. Got it? Good.

There are many storylines weaving throughout this series, some of which I have found more interesting than others. At the top of the list for me is The Question and Renee Montoya investigating Intergang, a nefarious group that is up to...something. While the investigation aspect is appealing (they've tangled with several unique bad guys and have discovered the existence of a Batwoman), I enjoy their story as much for their interaction. The Question is an all-time favorite character (ever since his ongoing series by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan back in the 80s) and the tone here is just right. Montoya is equally intrigued by him, when he doesn't want to punch him in the face. I would love to read a buddy comic with these two. Anyway, by the time #13 rolls around they decide they need to head to Khandaq for more answers.

That decision will put them in the same area as another featured player, Black Adam. He's been portrayed as both villain and hero over the years and sometimes he's both rolled into one. In early issues of 52, he was maniacal in his wanting to "protect" his people from other super-powered idiots even going so far as to rip a villain in half. Recently, though, he has come under the influence of a woman who had been presented to him by Intergang emmisaries; she is getting him to see that he can use his power to actually change the world for the better. In #12, he takes her to the Rock of Eternity (where Captain Marvel appears to be losing his mind a bit) and offers her the powers of a goddess. She accepts and becomes Isis. This turn has me much more interested in this storyline.

Another pair of characters being dealt with are John Henry Irons (Steel) and his niece Natasha. He takes away her armor in the first issue and they squabble over the course of the next few issues, while he is also dealing with Lex Luthor in a variety of ways. Luthor has found a way to trigger the metagene in people (a concept first introduced waaaay back in a DC crossover event that I've forgotten the name of, alas) and has somehow done it to Irons as well; his skin is turning to steel, eliminating the need for his armor. Natasha is given that metagene, which leads to a huge confrontation between the two that she wins.

Booster Gold, meanwhile, is having some confrontations of his own. At first he is using his knowledge of the past (in the form of his robot companion Skeets; both are from the 25th century) to thwart villains and make a name for himself, which in turn garners him endorsments deals and riches (resetting the character to his original form). Problems arise when Skeets's knowledge turns out to be wrong and he eventually resorts to paying an actor to play a villain he defeats. Eventually he is found out and his fortunes take a quick downturn.

Finally, we see the ongoing travails of Ralph Dibny, who used to be known as Elongated Man. His wife was murdered during the series Identity Crisis (precursor to Infinite Crisis) and he is to the point of suicide. He learns of a cult devoted to the belief that they can resurrect the dead and his search to learn more about them forms the backdrop for much of this first quarter. Along the way he runs into Booster Gold and Green Arrow, among others. Things reach a head in #13, where he has his friends (Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Metamorpho, and Zauriel) covertly attend a ceremony to try and raise his wife from the dead; he wants their opinion on whether it can be done. They reach the conclusion the whole thing is a fake and process to break up the proceedings, though along the way Ralph becomes a believer and disappears completely in the aftermath.

That's not all either. There are the visits between mad scientists Will Magnus (creator of The Metal Men) and T.O. Morrow (creator of Red Tornado and more of a villain) which are smart and funny and filled with intriguing hints of what may be going on. There are the trio of heroes (Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Starfire) stranded on a faraway planet with an unusual presence. There are the cryptic messages at Rip Hunter's secret lair that seem to deal directly with the title of the series. There's the glimpse of new Chinese heroes, The Great Ten. There's the recovery of a another group of heroes who were lost in space. And there's the mystery of the newest hero in Metropolis, Supernova.

Issues #2 through #11 also featured a backup story titled "The History of the DC Universe." That history is a muddled mess with all the various crossovers and retcons over the last two decades and this story does nothing to make it clear. Starting with #12, two page origin stories have begun appearing. They are all written by Mark Waid and drawn by a variety of artists (one per hero). They are not essential but at least a decent diversion.

Obviously, I've been reading these issues as they've come out week by week. Reading them that way my enjoyment of the series would rise and fall depending on which storylines were being covered. But as I skimmed over the first 13 issues in preparation for this post, I found a whole that was even strong than the individual parts. Sure, the time frame seems a bit wonky as weeks go by without updates on certain storylines but it's an ambitious storyline. I like the idea of this series and the execution has been very good. You can guess at which writer has written which part but it is fairly seemless. The art has been solid too, thanks to Giffen giving consistent layouts. Joe Bennett took pencilling duties on 5 of the first 6 issues and several other artist have done mutiple turns (Chris Batista, Eddy Barrows, Todd Nauck). And the covers have been outstanding, with Jones outdoing himself almost every issue - my favorite so far has been #9, with Devilance the Pursuer menacing our three stranded heroes. Each issue has some taglines at the bottom as well - my favorite is #10's "You'll believe a man can fall" on a cover featuring Clark Kent plummeting towards the streets (yes, Superman may not be around but Clark definitely is a part of this series). So far, 52 has been worth the time and the $2.50 spent each week. Of course, I've been following DC Comics since I was 10. Your mileage may vary.

JUST RIGHT

As promised, I bought the second Jack Spratt mystery in hardcover (that's The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde) early last week and finished it on Friday. It's stuffed with all of the usual Fforde ingredients - wordplay, outlandish characters and plots (competitive cucumber growing plays a major role here), silliness and seriousness (well, a little), the knowledge that it is a story, and fun (to name a few). If you like that sort of thing, it's good. If not? I don't know...you'll probably throw it away in disgust. I prefer his Thursday Next series (and the great news at the back of this book is that she returns in The War of the Words next summer), though not by much. The next book in the series will be The Last Great Tortoise Race and I'm looking forward to it.

DON'T YOU LOVE A SINGER

That's advice given in a song called "Honest" from the new Long Winters album, Putting the Days to Bed. It's too late for me, though, cause I love John Roderick. I love him for his literate pop songs and I'm not ashamed to admit it. My feelings started growing with 2003's When I Pretend to Fall and last fall's EP, Ultimatum. The new record is my latest obsession. Come for the great pop/rock tunes and stay for the incredible words...

"Unkind girlish walk/Like a deed to the world without the talk/As you wade through the crows/I sit next to you, the seat's still warm" - "Pushover"

"If you're my anchor/then I'm throwing you over the side" - "Hindsight"

"Crave translates into slave" - "Ultimatum"

"Your magic beans mean at least you'll have one giant friend!" - "Clouds"

I could go on, of course, and most of the songs have a couple lines like that. Then there's the danceable groove and guitar of "Fire Island, AK" and the flat out rock of "(It's A) Departure" and the pop beauty of "Honest."

What I'm really saying is that you need this record. This record should be blasting out of every car as summer mellows into fall. It's top ten of the year all the way, probably top five. Go get it and enjoy.

P.S. You can also download a podcast from KEXP featuring almost an hour of songs and chat with the band. Go through iTunes and look up KEXP's live podcasts or just go to their website. It's free!

LITTLE TOY ROBOT

I have sad news to report - my friend Mike, known around the blogosphere as Little Toy Robot, has passed away. I learned about it this afternoon from his friend Lady Crumpet and I'm still in shock. I sent him an e-mail about an hour before I heard the news - The Long Winters are playing a $10 show in Chicago on Oct. 6 and I figured we could go and see it. We'd only been together face-to-face once, when he came along to see my brother perform in the Chicago Sketch Festival, but were talking about trying to get together more often. He was going to come and see the band last weekend but was unable to get someone to cover for him at work so he could get into Indiana in time. I liked his blog from the get-go and I liked him. I can't believe he's gone - he will be missed.

MOVIES I HAVE TO WATCH, PART TWO

I came across another movie that falls into this category while flipping around the HBO channels today when I was eating my lunch (Honey Bunches of Oats, yeah!) - "Wayne's World." It falls into the catergory of only watching for 10 or 15 minutes, especially if it's close to the Garth/"Foxy Lady" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" scenes. Or the end of the movie. It's not exactly a comedy classic but the original release caught me at the right time (I was 21 and a big fan of that particular cast of "SNL" and the Wayne's World skits on the show...the one with Madonna is a classic) and the things I enjoyed about it back then are things I can still enjoy now, whether I still find them funny or just have nostalgia for finding them funny, if you know what I mean. Party on!

Update: In the comments of the first installment of this scintillating series, my brother challenged me to watch "Rudy" and not cry at the end. Well, Jill and I caught the movie about a half hour in last week and decided to stick with it. Wow, what a bad movie. Sean Astin's character, the titular Rudy, really seems like he has mental problems. He's driven but he's not very bright about it. Sure, it's kinda cool to see him achieve his dream but no tears in sight for me. Sorry, Theron.

eMUSIC ROUND SIX

My new eMusic download period starts on Tuesday, so I should mention what I picked up on the last go-around. I've been listening to iTunes on shuffle for a couple weeks so I haven't really heard these pickups as much as I usual do, so I can't comment a whole lot on specifics.

Spoon/Soft Effects - This EP was just rereleased along with Telephono by Merge Records. I have a copy of that album and Series of Sneaks thanks to some guy in Iowa, so I just grabbed the songs I hadn't heard yet. It's more goodness from a band that just keeps rising up my list of bands I love. And if you don't have either of these, go buy the reissue. Now.

The Drams/Jubilee Dive - This is the band that rose from the ashes of Slobberbone; Brent Best is the man behind the mic once again. The Drams fall more into a pop/rock vein than the country/rock of Slobberbone and it's a bit more polished. That's not to say there aren't good songs here because there are. I'm still trying to sort through this one, so I'll leave it at that.

The Format/Dog Problems - I'd never heard of this band until I saw their name pop up on eMusic's chart of popular downloads. I investigated them further and saw a lot of good reviews - I'm always up for good power pop. Here's the thing, though...I don't know that I would classify them as power pop. A couple songs, yes. But on the whole? I'd call them pop music in the best sense - solid lyrics and songcraft with all sorts of instrumentation. A really nice find.

Harvey Danger/Little By Little bonus disc - This album just got reissued as well and it deserves a wider audience. If I had heard it in 2005, it would be right up at the top of my best-of list (hmm, maybe I should do a post about that). They swapped in a song called "Picture, Picture" and sent "Incommunicado" to the bonus disc along with some b-sides and writing snippets. I grabbed what I didn't have and it's all good. Still, the original album is perfection to me.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Yup, it's that time of year here at the Steiner household. Jill's first day is tomorrow, with students coming back on Tuesday. Grant starts next week Wednesday. This week is the last week of the second summer session at the Y, after which I will have three weeks off. I'm looking forward to being at home alone for most of that time...it's not that I don't love my family but it will be nice to have some freedom. I expect to get quite a bit of work done on new songs and hope to start the next phase of "The Year of 35" and starting working on some fiction. And yes, I'll read and catch up on DVD viewing and will probably spend too much time online. I gotta be me.

Mid-August also means the baseball season is heading into the final stretch. I haven't been able to watch the White Sox as much this summer but I've still been keeping close track. They weren't a fun team to catch for a couple innings for most of July but they have been coming around of late. Today they go for a sweep of the Tigers, which would leave them only 5 1/2 games back in the AL Central. I want the division - heck with the wild card! After that comes 4 games with the Royals. And football season is right around the corner too.

I've been in a terrible sleep pattern the past week plus; I get insomnia on occasion (think I may have mentioned this before). This time around I've not only been unable to sleep but I've had dreams full of anxiety and have woken up in the middle of the night on a regular basis. One of the anxiety dreams had me worried after I stole someone's identity and used it to get a credit card (guess Talk Talk left more of an impression than I even thought!). To balance that out, though, I had a dream were I was hanging with The Hold Steady and trying to articulate why I love them so much (guess I'm more excited for their new album, Boys and Girls in America, than I even knew - Oct. 3!).

Last night the cycle was broken and I had a great night's sleep. I feel really good today. Which means finishing my progress reports feels like less of a chore and I'm looking forward to the week ahead. And that makes me feel even better.

FEEDBACK LOOP

One of the many albums I bought in 2005 was John Vanderslice's Pixel Revolt. I had picked up his previous album, Cellar Door, when I visited my brother in March 2004 and had liked the music quite a bit but was bothered by the lyrics at times. Not sure I could explain why, really. Some listens I thought they were great...others not so much. Anyway, I'd heard good buzz on the new album last year and thought he was worth another try. I listened to it a couple times and filed it away. Seemed more of the same. I was wrong.

I pulled it out in June, during a search for something I hadn't listened to in a while. This time I was hooked immediately and I could not figure out what my problem had been. Were I to go back and do my best of 2005 list again, this would definitely be on it and in a very high slot (as would the albums from My Morning Jacket and The National and Tapes 'n Tapes).

There are several songs here that should have been on my best of 2005 mix. I love the moody tones of "Continuation," a song about a serial killer and the detective out to track him down but you're not really sure who is who. "Exodus Damage" is a gorgeous pop song about the fears and anxieties of 9/11. "Trace Manual" also deals with the fallout from the day and "Radiant with Terror" adapts lyrics from a Robert Lowell poem set to a stuttering, ominous beat. Vanderslice knows his way around a melody and the songs always have interesting bits weaving in and out of the mix.

I highly recommend this album and will not let his next record pass me by. No way.

THE YEAR OF 35: TWO AND TWO

On Aug. 3, G's Livid Penny played its second show. We were back at The Strike Zone where we had won a battle of the bands two weeks before. This time we played with two other bands, both of whom were battling (since we had already qualified for the finals, we were not eligible). We ended up getting there early and hung around playing pool and such, so our energy taking the stage was a bit lower than usual. We started out pretty well with a brand-new one, "TV Crush." It features some killer John Bonham-like drumming by Tom and some funked out bass by Graham with me singing dumb lyrics about loving Alyssa Milano and Jennifer Aniston. We didn't end it that well, which turned out to be a theme for the night. We were just a little off, though some songs went off without a hitch. Graham lost a guitar string in "Tempo" and I futzed up parts of a few songs. Still, our audience enjoyed it.

This Thursday saw us right back at The Strike Zone; this time for the battle of the band finals. We were one of 11 bands vying for the $300 prize for winning it all. Our slot was second-to-last at 10:30 (though it turned out one band couldn't make their earlier slot and went on very late). We got there around 9:00 and heard a couple bands play before it was time to load on our equipment. We'd practiced earlier that evening and had a setlist firmly in mind. We started with "Tempo," which hadn't gone well either of our first two performances. This time we nailed it and set the tone for the rest of the set - "Give Yourself," "Woke Up," "Song for a Day," "Jews and Gypsies," "Liquor Sink," and "Poor." Not only did we hear positive feedback from our family and friends but we also had comments by other listeners, who were very enthusiastic about our sound; no one else was playing keys or a harmonica. In the end, we tied for 3rd place. Not bad at all. It was only our third show after all.

Last night we played in DeMotte, which is where I grew up. We were one of several bands playing in the upper floor of a professional building...not the best setup for sound quality. Most of the bands were heavier, so we were definitely different once again. The kids in the audience seemed to appreciate what we were doing and those who came specifically to hear us thought we did well. We just made up our setlist on the fly and that was fine - our energy was there and we were pretty tight.

In the next few weeks we'll start working on some new songs and will hopefully be able to record an EP. As of now our next scheduled show is Sept. 2 and we have another one Sept. 15. We're still having fun and are happy with how it's all going.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE FABLES

Some patterns are doomed to be repeated, in stories and in real life. Take my reading relationship with Jasper Fforde. I bought his debut novel, The Eyre Affair, in paperback a few years ago after learning about the conceit behind his Thursday Next series. I liked it quite a bit and proceeded to buy the next three novels in hardback. So, last summer brings the arrival of a new Fforde book, The Big Over Easy, the first in a new series. Do I buy it? No, I wait until last week and buy the brand-new paperback edition. True to form, I liked it and I'm going to have to buy the next one in hardcover (which has now been published).

The series focuses on Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and the Nursery Crimes division. It's a world where cops not only have to solve crimes but publish their stories in "Amazing Crime Stories" or similar (lesser) magazines. Spratt is not in that club; he also has to deal with Friedland Chymes, the star of the Reading police scene. Spratt and his team are investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty and things are not what they seem. Add aliens, giant beanstalks, dueling foot care companies, a god, a mansion built by Dr. Caligari, and a whole parade of nursery rhyme characters to the mix and you get one entertaining book full of puns, jokes, allusions, and fun. Plus the murder mystery. Recommended.

I also picked up Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days), the seventh volume of the Vertigo comics series. This time around the residents of Fabletown are brought into contact with the Arabian fables and the first half of the volume is taken up with that culture clash and the problems of a d'jinn. We also see developments between Prince Charming and Beauty, learn Boy Blue's fate, and lots more. The second part of the volume is a two-part story detailing the brewing love between two wooden soldiers in the Adversary's kingdom who wish to become flesh so they can consumate their love. Their wish comes at a price, however.

This series has quietly become one of my favorites, in large part due to Mark Buckingham's art. He uses page borders to help set the scene, as well as small drawings at the top of the page to do the same. It's somewhat akin to how they would use the individual character logos in Justice League of America or Legion of Super-Heroes. The writing is good too, obviously, with plenty of ongoing plots and character moments. But Bucky's work truly makes it fun.

Finally, I picked up the first issue of the new volume of Castle Waiting. Linda Medley self-published this series a number of years ago (followed by a stint at Jeff Smith's Cartoon Books) and it was a favorite of mine. It has been on hiatus for quite a few years and I no longer have those issues. Fantagraphics has stepped in and is now publishing not only this new series but a collection of the series up to this point (which I have not yet picked up). Anyway, the new issue reprints the final two of the previously published series (they were left out of the collection), plus a new story. The charm of this series lies not in any fast-paced plotting but in the characters living in a castle that has been abandoned by its royalty as well as Medley's wonderful cartoony style. Yeah, I know I'm not describing this well enough. It's fun and funny and interesting and a joy to look at while you read. What more can you want in a comic book?

VIA CHICAGO

I watched Wilco at Lollapalooza via the webcast earlier tonight, saving "Deadwood" and "Entourage" for tomorrow. I can't pass up a chance to see my favorite band in action; I've only seen them in person once (that needs to change on their next big tour). They played a mixture of songs from the last three records, plus four new songs. Of those, I really liked "Walken" and "Let's Fight," though I enjoyed the other two as well. Jeff Tweedy started talking about the reason why they are back in Chicago before he got sidetracked by security hauling someone away...I assume he was going to say they're finishing recording the next album. Which means it will probably be early 2007 before we see it. I can't wait.

MOVIES I HAVE TO WATCH, PART ONE

When I'm flipping around on the TV, there are certain movies I come across that I have to stop and watch. Sometimes I'll hang around for 10 or 15 minutes; sometimes I'll sit and watch the rest of the film. Tonight I ran across a movie on one of the HBO channels that fell into the later category - "Field of Dreams."

It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it or how well I know the whole movie (and yes, I know a lot of the dialogue by heart...not that I could quote it to you if we were talking but I know it as the movie is rolling), I have to stop and watch. It's that combination of baseball, a fantasy element, and the emotional story of a son trying to connect with his deceased father. I love it. And yes, I cry every time. Not just at the very end either. Doc Graham's sacrifice gets me too. Then there's the game of catch at the end. Makes me think of my dad every time and becomes even more poignant the older he gets (though he still plays in a softball league at the age of 64). This year Grant expressed an interest in playing baseball, which made me very happy. He and I have played catch together too. Today he turned 9 years old and will start 3rd grade in a few weeks. Time keeps on moving...

Anyway, I love my father and I love my son and I love "Field of Dreams" too. Even if it makes me cry.

BIG EVENTS

Two big happenings in Chicago this weekend, neither of which I am attending. Sure, time and money (and interest) factor in but tomorrow is Grant's 9th birthday and I just don't want to miss an occasion like that. Luckily, the internet is there to make me feel like I'm not missing a thing.

I've been checking out the Lollapalooza webcast off and on today. The Raconteurs played a great set and as I'm typing this Ryan Adams has just started. I've fallen out of touch with Adams but I'm going to listen to/watch some of his set. I do like "Cold Mountain," the opener. Wilco goes on Sunday night at 8:30...I may have to watch "Deadwood" on demand.

This weekend also has Wizard World Chicago going on. I used to be a regular at the Chicago comics convention, even before Wizard World took it over. I haven't been going on a regular basis for 5 or 6 years now. It's just a big crowded mess and doesn't really appeal to me. Plus, I can keep up with all the news at Newsarama and/or Comic Book Resources. Trust me, I used to have to wait until I got home to find out what "happened" at the con anyway.

TALK TALK

I finished T.C. Boyle's latest, Talk Talk, this afternoon. I liked the book quite a bit; in fact, it may be right up there with The Tortilla Curtain as my favorite of his novels. The themes of identity and communication were handled in a variety of ways and the writing was outstanding as usual. I've heard talk of readers being dissatisfied with the ending but I didn't have that problem at all - I was expecting something it to be something other than it was. A resolution, a realization. Recommended.

I'm in one of those periods where I've been starting posts and then erasing them. I don't feel my communication skills are at their highest at the moment. It also seems I don't have that drive to post as much when the band is active with practice or shows. We practiced Monday and play tomorrow, so that could explain the restlessness.

Anyway, I've now read 20 books and have just under 5 months to read 20 more to reach my goal. I've got a book ready to go; we'll see how long it takes.

TV NIGHT

Ah, summer TV. If it weren't for HBO and baseball, I'd have it on only to catch the news here and there. Tonight, of course, I watched the only two shows I'm currently keeping track of - "Deadwood" and "Entourage."

How great has Gerald McRaney been on "Deadwood" this season? His George Hearst is menacing and idiosyncratic and polite and intelligent and more. Ian McShane has rightfully had award nominations and critical praise but next year's Emmys had better have McRaney up for an award or else. Well, I'll just shake my head one more time at the injustice of it all, I guess. Anyway, tonight's episode was great as usual. Death and schemes and comedy and the introduction of Wyatt and Morgan Earp, plus a powerful ending. Can't wait for next week.

"Entourage" is no slouch either. Tonight dealt with Ari's attempts to create a big new agency; Vincent's continual willingness to stand up for his principles against his better (monetary) interests; and Drama's big audition with Ed Burns. Good stuff. And next week? Vegas.

I was also shocked to see that we can watch the first episode of the new season of "The Wire" almost a week before it premieres via HBO On Demand. How cool is that? The question is, do I watch it that early and have to wait almost two weeks for another episode? Or do I watch in On Demand and then again when it airs? That show is always worth multiple viewings, as I mentioned a few days back.

Speaking of On Demand, I plan on checking out BBC America's "Life on Mars" at some point this week. I've heard good things.

Oh, and tonight is post #100 of this blog. Wonder if I can do the next 100 before the end of the year...

SUMMER SF AND FANTASY

Here's a rundown of what I've been reading since the early part of June...

I started with River of Gods by Ian McDonald. I'd heard quite a bit of buzz about it and I always love reading a nice big book (it clocks it at close to 600 pages), plus I'd read a few of the short stories that feature the same setting and had liked those. The book lived up to expectations. It's set it a future India and focuses on a wide variety of characters who come into contact with each other, sometimes having a direct effect on one another. It's a future of drought; trying to keep AIs from advancing beyond human intelligence; where the biggest soap opera is populated by AI actors; new energy sources are being explored; people choose to live as "nutes"; and so much more. It's sprawling and filled with great ideas and good writing and I recommend it highly.

Next up (while driving to North Carolina) was the sixth trade of the comics series Invincible. It's a rare thing for a super-hero series to survive that doesn't come from the Big Two (DC and Marvel) but Robert Kirkman has a winner on his hands here. It's fun, full of subplots and characters, and highly entertaining. A Different World (yes, he names all the collections after 80s sitcoms) sees Invincible traveling to another planet and coming into contact with his estranged father, followed by the consequences of having been gone so long. It's just as good as the rest of the series and I would suggest starting with Vol.1, Family Matters. You'll be hooked.

My other vacation read was Paragaea by Chris Roberson. I've read and liked some of his short stories and the concept behind this seemed one that would appeal - a Russian cosmonaut falls into a tear in space and ends up on another world full of airships and jaguar men and artificial men...a throwback to the pulp era. I was right. It was a fun adventure full of cool ideas and mythologies. My one problem was that it seemed the characters were at arms length; we got to read about them and heard what they thought but never really got to know them. Still, I will definitely be read more of Roberson's work.

I bought DMZ: On the Ground at Midtown Comics when we were in NYC and I read it while up at the lake. It's the first collection of a new Vertigo series by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli set in a near future where the U.S. is going through another civil war. The DMZ in question is New York City and we get to see what is happening through the eyes of Matthew (Matty) Roth, a photographer who gets left behind while on an assignment. As this is the opening arc, much of this is setup but it works well. The book reminds me of Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan in tone and style but that's not a bad thing. I'll definitely pick up the next volume.

Once we were home I jumped into some short fiction in the form of the August issues of Asimov's and F&SF. Highlights of the former were Stephen Baxter's "In the Abyss of Time," about exploring the future of the cosmos; Kristine Kathryn Rusch's "Crunchers, Inc.," about a future where the worth of someone's life is decided by number crunchers; and Michael Swanwick's "Tin Marsh," a tale of nastiness and revenge on a far-off world (Swanwick is always worth reading). I liked the F&SF issue even more but there were again a few standouts - Ken Altabef's ""Pleased to Meetcha," a short idea story with a good twist; Robert Loy's "Jack B. Goode and the Neo-Modern Prometheus," a pun-filled tale that fills in more of the saga of Frankenstein's monster; Robert Reed's "Misjudgement Day," about a mysterious illness affecting part of the brain (Reed is also always worth reading); and Terry Bisson's "Billy and the Spacemen," another installment in the series.

And most recently I tackled Vellum by Hal Duncan. I mentioned that I put it down after 100 pages in frustration but I went back to it. The book focuses on several different characters in several different time periods and across several different world of the Vellum and within a few paragraphs you can be in several different places. It can be difficult. Also intercut with those stories are adaptations of Sumerian myths and Greek myths. I was able to follow it well enough but the sections dealing with Seamus Finnan were very tough for me to take. There wasn't necessarily a whole lot of plot movement through out much of the 460 pages either. Duncan has named James Joyce as an influnce and that is readily apparent. The story does not end here either - a sequel volume is due in the near future. And while I don't agree with all the critical praise heaped on the book I will probably read Ink when it arrives.

Of course, summer is not yet over but since I'm currently reading Talk Talk my streak of SF and fantasy is. For now.

NOW WITH UPDATED LINKS

I took some time this morning to go into the template and add links to some of the blogs I visit every day. I will probably be doing more of the same over the next few weeks. Not only do I want to highlight the people I find interesting but I hope that this may bring some more readers my way (not that I don't love my faithful 8 readers!). So please hit the links and go read those great blogs. I'm going to keep plugging away on my end.

EMPTY ROOM

I realized earlier tonight that comments may be sparser than usual around here. Trevor is here in Chicago for the Pitchfork Festival and then is going to Colorado for some vacation. Jeff is busy being a brand-new dad (and congrats again!). LTR hasn't posted to his own blog in about a month, though I enjoyed that Futurama promo for Al Gore's movie. I haven't seen Dan around these parts in quite a while. And as for my brother, his roommates are having computer problems so his access has been limited; I did spy a new blog entry as his site today, which means maybe those problems are changing.

I need to find a way to expand my readership...coupons? consistent posts? actual content? How do I become the next blogging sensation, empty room?

[Silence]

Okay then.

OCCUPIED HEADSPACE

I've been busy with a few projects this week, trying to fit them in around work and such. I finished Vellum on Wed. night. Yes, I decided to give it one more chance and while it tried my patience at times I did enjoy it on the whole (more in a book review...maybe). I got four comic books this week and read through those (yay to all of them - 52, Batman, Action Comics, and Astro City: Samaritan Special) and then started on T.C. Boyle's Talk Talk last night. My plan is to finish it by Monday, which means I would then have 5 months to read 20 books in order to reach my goal for the year. It'll be a real challenge but I'll do what I can. The first book in August will definitely be Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy...after that, who knows.

I've also been taking some time to process a few new albums, purchased the old-fashioned way. Last week saw the release of the first Golden Smog record in 8 years, Another Fine Day. It's no surprise that I've been a fan of the Smog ever since I learned about their existence (Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris in a band together!). This record is a real collaborative effort and has a bunch of great songs, including some in a power pop mode. I love it. The new Long Winters, Putting the Days to Bed, really has a hold of me too. Highly recommended. And then there's Highway Companion, the new Tom Petty solo album. It's solid but it also feels like a reworked greatest hits album or career overview.

I've also been trying to come up with lyrics for a new song we were working on the other night. I'd come up with a simple rhythmic chord progression on Monday morning and played it for the guys at practice that night. They like the space in it and we worked out a great instrumental version with Tom going nuts on the drums and Graham really funking things out on the bass. So, my homework was to come up with something with thoughts of playing it at our next show (this coming Thursday). It's starting to work itself out in my head and I believe it will be called "T.V. Crush."

SUPER TUESDAY

Lots of great new music releases today...

Tom Petty/Highway Companion
The Long Winters/Putting the Days to Bed
Silversun Pickups/Carnavas
Midlake/The Trials of Van Occupanther
The Drams/Jubilee Dive

And in rerelease...

Harvey Danger/Little By Little
Tapes 'n Tapes/The Loon

I know the Petty will be at Best Buy and they'd better have the Long Winters album or I will be highly annoyed. Midlake and The Drams (the band that picks up from Slobberbone) will be eMusic downloads. The Silversun Pickups will probably have to be purchased online. And I own both the HD and T'nT records and highly recommend them. Happy purchasing and listening!

THE TEASE

Last night I was getting prepared to watch both "Deadwood" and "Entourage" as they aired, the first time I could do it this season. I had the channel tuned to HBO and was half-reading and half-watching the rerun of "The Wire" they were airing first. I'm a huge fan of "The Wire" and find it just as compelling on a second or third viewing. Anyway, between shows they ran their little "Buzz" promo and it just happened to be about the new season of "The Wire." It's going to deal with the school system, at least in part, as well as the mayoral elections and who knows what else. I can't wait. It starts in September.

MORE DC ANIMATION

Plenty of news out on San Diego this weekend, where the biggest comics convention in the U.S. just wrapped up. I found one bit very interesting and pertinent to yesterday's post about the Justice League animated series...

Bruce Timm is overseeing a line of direct-to-video animated movies featuring adaptations of DC characters and stories. The initial batch is scheduled to feature New Frontier, which was a recent mini-series by Darwyn Cooke featuring a story set in the early days of the Justice League; Superman/Doomsday, which I'm assuming is the whole death of Superman story rather than the follow-up Dan Jurgens mini-series that came out a couple years after the original; and maybe most interestingly, "The Judas Contract," which was one of the biggest stories of the 80s about the betrayal of a member of the New Teen Titans. With Timm at the helm these should be of a high quality and I'm looking forward to seeing them and sharing them with Grant. (via Newsarama)

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Grant and I wrapped up our viewing of Justice League Season 2 on DVD yesterday. The set came out a couple days before we went on vacation, so we only saw a few episodes before we left. We picked back up once we got home and have steadily worked through the discs. 26 episodes in all, broken down into 11 two-parters, one single ep, and the season finale three-parter "Starcrossed."

I highly enjoyed the first season but this season really ramped things up. The animation just got better and better, especially in the fight sequences and focusing on multiple actions in one shot. The villains were huge too - Darkseid, Brainiac, Dr. Destiny, Despero, Amazo, a new Secret Society, Vandal Savage, Joker, and more - all topped off by a full-scale alien invasion in the finale. The characters were much sharper, as were the relationships between them. I enjoyed it tremendously and am so glad Grant enjoys the series as well. The first season of "Justice League Unlimited" comes out in October and I can't wait.

This week also saw the release of Justice League of America #0, the latest DC relaunch of its premiere super-team. The JLA had disbanded in the wake of Identity Crisis and the lead-up to Infinite Crisis; the result of the latter series was the disappearance for a whole year of the "Trinity" (or Big Three) - Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. That year is being chronicled in 52 (which I will get back to writing about) and all of the regular DC series have been showing storylines set "One Year Later." Now it's time for the JLofA to get back into the swing of things.

I still think of zero issues as a new thing but they've been around at least ten years by this point. I still think the idea is a funny one...what's wrong with starting with #1? In this case, though, I think the conceit works pretty well. The story is told from the POV of the Trinity, highlighting various events from the history of the JLA as seen through their eyes and the relationship between them. What's interesting is that possible future events are included as well, a device I've always loved.

This issue also focuses on a wide variety of artists, many of whom illustrate scenes from the history of the League they were a part of. Luke McDonnell gets reprise the Detroit era and Kevin Maguire the bwa-ha-ha era and so forth. These switches are deftly done in service of the script.

Fan reaction to this issue has been mixed but I thought it was very well done by writer Brad Meltzer. It gives me hope for his year-long run, which will truly kick in with next month's #1. I'll definitely be there.

THE YEAR OF 35: STRIKE ZONE

Last night Gs Livid Penny made its full band debut at a bowling alley called The Strike Zone in Rennselaer, Indiana. Graham played guitar and bass; Tom was on drums; and I played guitar, bass, keyboards, and a little harmonica. It went very well.

We didn't realize when we got there that we were in a battle of the bands situation. It didn't really matter to us, especially since we got to play last and the longest in any event. The first band was a heavy, screaming band with Amber in their title (something for Amber, something beginning with an "A"); I heard one or two of their songs and then went to grab some food and gas. Next up was our friend Tom Adamson, who plays in a band called Bottle Rocket Blue. He played a mix of originals and cover (Elliott Smith, Lou Reed, David Bowie). Then came Dime Store Millionaires, a band that formed around the same time as we did. They have a folkie sound, with guitar, banjo, and glockenspiel being the main instruments for night with some accents of drums and violin. Finally, it was our turn.

We took a couple minutes to make sure our levels were good (I had an amp for each instrument plus my vocal mike) and make sure we were tuned. I had to turn my keyboard at an angle so I didn't run over the chord, which was different. We'd also done surgery on my guitar before the show, so I could put on a strap and play standing. Anyway, it was time to play.

We opened with "Jews & Gypsies," which is the song we'd pretty much nailed that first day we practiced on the porch back in May. It's a strong song of Graham's and the crowd was with us. We then did "Woke Up," which is the first song I wrote, and things just moved along from there. We had a couple small problems here and there but we always found ourselves again pretty quickly. The crowd definitely seemed to be enjoying the show, especially as we moved along. Tom Adamson was dancing along to our closer, "Poor," which is a real country thumper. I had to borrow and harmonica holder so I could play both it and the bass on the song, but the harmonica kept slipping away. Oh well. We'll nail it next time.

Once we were done, we got a nice round of applause and then congratulations from the audience. Some of my co-workers had driven down and seemed genuinely glad that they had. Jill and my mom were there in support of me too. Then to top off the good feelings, one of the Strike Zone workers came over with our share of the money for the night ($70!) and said we had won the battle of the bands. That meant we get to go back and play in the finals on Aug. 10 against 10 other bands. The winner takes home $300, which would be great.

It was such a blast to do the show and I think all of us feel good about what we accomplished. Now it's back to practice so we can tighten things up and work on new stuff. We'd like to start recording soon too. Definitely a lot more to come from Gs Livid Penny.

Here's the setlist, just for fun...

Jews & Gypsies
Woke Up
Give Yourself
Under the Cops
Song For a Day
Waste Your Breath
Tempo
Decoder Ring
Liquor Sink
That's Okay
Poor

QUICK HITS

I've given up on another book, my third this year and second in a row (no wonder I'm behind on my goals). I got 100 pages into Hal Duncan's Vellum and I just can't bring myself to continue. The critical praise and blurbs it has gotten make mention that it's a difficult work and it definitely is. A difficult read isn't always a deal-breaker for me but the way this is written, in short bursts that shift in time and character without making a whole lot of sense, just is not appealing to me. Oh well. On to the new novel from T.C. Boyle...

I am now caught up on the current season of "Deadwood," thanks to HBO On Demand. I missed the first ep's premiere and then had no opportunity to see it while on vacation. I've watched the first 6 eps over the last few days and I am enjoying the show as much as usual. Great writing, intrigue, fascinating characters...what more can you want from a show? And why did it take me so long to catch up? Because I also had to catch up on "Entourage," which I actually watched this past Sunday at its usual time. More good stuff. "Lucky Louie?" Yech.

Went to pick up the new Golden Smog at Best Buy yesterday but was unable too due to a problem with their scanning equipment - none of the new releases were out in any department. One of the clerks searched a half of a huge pile for me (or so she said) without turning up one of the 8 copies in the store. It took some more searching on behalf of a different clerk today but I was finally able to walk out with it. I've listened to it once and it sounds good. You know, I really want that Gnarls Barkley disc too...

Started up a new session at work this week and it's been fun getting back into the swing of things and seeing a bunch of kids I haven't seen in a while.

Our anniversary was Monday but we didn't make a big deal what with me going back to work and Grant having his own swimming lessons and me having to go to band practice. But part of what makes our marriage work is not making a huge deal out of occasions like that and getting jealous or angry or what have you. It's been a good 13 years.

And tomorrow night is the debut of the full G's Livid Penny lineup. Can't wait!

BOOK PURGE

I'm not generally attached to things, except when it comes to art. Books, comics, CDs, and the like. I used to think I should hang on to all of it because it could come in handy in the future...though what for was always vague. I did get rid of all of my comics (though not my trades) a couple years ago and I will take books off the shelves from time to time, donating them to the library.

This past week has been dedicated in part to clearing out my wife's grandmother's apartment; she was recently in the hospital and has had to move to a facility where she has a smaller place and assisted living. I only did some of the work, staying home with our son on some of the days where my wife went over to work on the place. On Saturday there was a subdivision-wide garage sale where the apartment is and we managed to get rid of quite a bit of stuff.

Last June I helped my dad clear out his mom's place and then helped with my other grandma's place when she passed away in October. I've seen how much stuff people can accumulate and how much work it is to sort through all of it. That's allowed me to be a bit more diligent in what I choose to keep around (our small house can only hold so much too). When it was time to do a book purge a few days ago I dug a little deeper than I normally would...and yes, it could have been more but getting rid of books is hard for me. I definitely took a step, getting rid of things I knew I would never read again even if I enjoyed it. Here's the list....

Stephen Baxter/Manifold: Time
Terry Bisson/The Pickup Artist
Emily Bronte/Wuthering Heights
Bryan Charles/Grab On to Me Tightly As If I Knew the Way
Quinn Dalton/Bulletproof Girl
Nick Hornby ed./Da Capo Best Music Writing 2001
Dean Monti/The Sweep of the Second Hand
John Updike/Brazil
John Updike/Memories of the Ford Administration
John Updike/Pigeon Feathers
John Updike/Odd Jobs
D.B. Weiss/Lucky Wander Boy

And as I was rearranging the shelves, I made a discovery - I hadn't accounted for one of the books I've read this year, River of Gods by Ian McDonald. That means I'm still behind but not quite as bad as I'd thought. Yay me.

eMUSIC ROUND FIVE

Today's post makes 88 for this incarnation of my blog, which is the same number as the keys on a piano. That means it's only fitting that I mention the new music I picked up during my most recent eMusic month...

Shearwater/Palo Santo - I really like the music on this album but it's been hard to figure out the lyrics; the lead singer sings in a very high register, which may be contributing. I'm confident I'll figure it out or to put it another way, the music intrigues me enough to keep trying to figure it out.

Camera Obscura/Let's Get Out of This Country - I've pretty much become a Merge junkie and while this one doesn't hit me immediately like The Essex Green, there is definitely a lot to like on this album. A female lead singer doesn't hurt either.

Cracker/Greenland - I lost track of Cracker a few years back but a friend recommended their new one to me, so I jumped back in. They are still miming that classic rock vibe (with a little reggae thrown in) and I always fine David Lowery's lyrics worth a listen. Solid stuff.

TV on the Radio/Young Liars - That same friend also recommended the new TV on the Radio album but it's not available on eMusic just yet. And after listening to this EP, I hope the new one soon does show up because this is great music. I'd heard "Staring at the Sun" on KEXP but kind of lost it in the overwhelming volume of music I was hearing for the first time (this is around when I started listening to KEXP). This is really good music, capped off by a cover version of The Pixies' "Mr. Grieves." I most definitely want more.

THE YEAR OF 35: CONFIDENCE, COLLABORATION, AND CONCERTS

In June I started to branch out in my performances. Valpo has several open mic opportunities, one of which is a coffee shop called Anna's (well, it has a longer name but I'm not sure how to spell) that runs them on Tuesday nights. Things are generally looser there and you get to play four songs (the other places have only been two a night). I decided I would try and write a new song for my debut there and sat down that afternoon with a lyric idea. I didn't quite get there but I had the chords down and a good idea where I wanted to go with it. Still, I went and performed my two originals, the Dramarama cover I had learned for Front Porch's anniversary the Thursday before (by request), and attempted Wilco's "A Shot in the Arm." It all went reasonably well - I was a little out of key with "Woke Up" and I didn't quite get the G minor chord on the Wilco but I got a good response from the audience (including a high school kid who thought I was awesome) and a bit more respect from the assembled musicians.

That night also saw the debut of Dime Store Millionaires, a group made up of people I'd met on the open mic circuit. They were making their debut at a coffee shop that coming Saturday, for which Graham was the opening act. After watching their performance, Graham got very jazzed about the band idea again and was open to doing my songs in the band context as well. So, we spent some time over the next couple days playing together - he adding guitar licks (acoustic) and harmonies to my songs and me putting some keyboards and harmonies with some of his songs. During our practice on that Thursday my wife appeared in the living room saying she thought one of the songs he'd been playing ("Poor") needed something extra...and she pulled out a harmonica from behind her back. She and Grant had snuck out of the house, gone to Front Porch and bought the harmonica without us knowing. Luckily, it was in a key that worked with the song. I blew on it once or twice and we decided we'd be okay.

That night was open mic at Front Porch and we decided we'd practice some of our material. Graham went first and did one of his songs without me and then I got up and we did "Poor" together. Then it was my turn and we dueted on "Woke Up" and "That's Okay." I felt completely comfortable being on stage with him and had no doubts in my abilities. We got a nice response and I even had someone compliment my harmonica.

The next day was Friday and we planned to get together to practice some more and play again that night at Music of Oz's open mic. Before Graham came over, I managed to finish the new song and we were able to practice that and create a setlist for the next night. At the show that night, Graham went first again and I joined him for 2 of his three songs - "Poor" and "Waste Your Breath," for which I played piano. Then it was my turn. We did "That's Okay" and debuted the new one, "Song For a Day." There were some children in the audience other than my son, so we didn't do "Woke Up." I did the Dramarama one more time. It went reasonably well except when I screwed up the chord changes in the chorus of my new one. My parents also got to see my perform for the first time that night as well, which was fun.

Saturday rolled around and we got to the place a couple hours before we were scheduled to perform. As the opening act, we were going to do 9 songs (all 3 of mine and 6 of his). We hung out for a while as Dime Store got all their stuff set up and then it was time to do a quick soundcheck and set up our equipment. Graham had brought his kick drum and we had our guitars and brought the keyboard and I had my harmonica; the place (a coffee shop) also had a piano that we used. Things went well - we got a nice response from the crowd (my parents were there again) and even got interviewed by a guy from a local music magazine. In fact, you can read the interview here; click on the article about Dime Store Millionaires and scroll down to the last paragraph.

The following week we started up band practice again, as we hadn't been able to get all three of us together for a little while. Graham switched from guitar to bass on my songs and we added in Tom's drums. That first night we worked on "Song For a Day" and it was so cool to hear my song fleshed out in a full band setting. One of the best experiences I've ever had. We only got in two practices before it was time for vacation, though.

Before we made the trek east, there was one more performance. Graham was the scheduled host for the open mic at Front Porch, which meant he got the first half hour to himself. He played two songs by himself and then I came up for a couple more. Once again we got a nice response from the crowd; Jill said people were really into "Poor."

I brought my guitar along on vacation. I wanted to be able to play and I wanted to be able to perform for family members who hadn't heard me, such as my brother. I also thought I'd be able to get some more songwriting done - I had another song half-completed and yet another I had a first verse and music for. Well, the songwriting didn't work so much, though I did figure out the chords for two more songs. And I did perform for everyone at the lake on July 3, which was fun.

I had an idea in the car on the way back home to speed up one of the songs I'd been working on and I was able to sit down on Friday night and got the song done. I played it for Graham when he came over to practice on Saturday and he was extremely positive about it, saying he'd pay money for it (nothing like encouragement from your bandmate and a songwriter you respect). So, "Decoder Ring" is my fourth song.

We got back down to band practice on Monday and have another one again tonight. Why? Gs Livid Penny debuts as a full unit next Thursday night at a bowling alley. I'm looking forward to debuting on the bass and just having the energy of the drums while we play. I'll let you know how it goes...

BEHIND

Our vacation ended last week; we arrived back home around 6:00 last Wednesday after a car trip of almost 13 hours. Vacation was good - lots of time with family and some interesting sights and events - but it is always good to get back home to your own house and routine and (especially) bed. I've been having a weird transition back to regular life, feeling like my person in somewhere behind my body. Like I'm still in Ohio or something, traveling to catch up with myself. Every day hasn't been like this and Sunday was definitely the worst but I still feel like I'm missing some part of myself. I'm doing my best to get fully locked in to the here and now and expect it won't be long.

I am also behind on other things, including this blog. It's funny, I had the energy to devote to it when we left on vacation but I had limited internet access. Anyway, I know I've hardly written anything in the past few months. I've thought about plenty of posts - reviews and "Year of 35" updates and cool things around the net and more on 52 and so forth - but they existed only in my head. The thought of trying to catch up on them makes the prospect of picking up the blog extremely daunting, so I'll probably just leave all of that behind and just forge ahead with the new (and maybe doing some catch-up along the way).

And you want to talk about being behind? I'm waaaay behind the pace for the book-reading goal for the year. My goal for 2006 is 40. We are now more than halfway done with the year (and about halfway done with July!) and I've only managed to read 17 books so far. 17. Yikes. I took 3 books on vacation and only read one - Paragaea by Chris Roberson, which I liked well enough. I did start a second book - Grab On to Me Tightly As If I Knew the Way by Bryan Charles - but gave up after 40 pages. You would think a rock'n'roll coming-of-age story couldn't go wrong with me but there you go. I do have the third book left to start, Hal Duncan's Vellum, and the new T.C. Boyle (Talk Talk) is out too. Yet I've been reading through the current issues of Asimov's and F&SF before starting on those. And maybe making up for those weeks of lost internet time a little too much. Obviously, I'm going to try and get back on track. I'll let you know how it goes...

AWAY

I've been away from the blog for a while and that will most likely continue for a time since we are now physically away as well and internet access on Jill's laptop will be spotty at best from here on out. We are in Columbus, OH and will be leaving for North Carolina in the morning. Eventually we will make our way to NYC/NJ and Canada Lake in the Adirondacks of upstate New York.

I've been keeping busy with band practice and performances and work and watching 3 seasons of "Scrubs" on DVD and the first season of "24" as well. I read Ian McDonald's River of Gods in there too.

I have my guitar along with me and a bunch of CDs (can't get enough of The Essex Green's Cannibal Sea) and a handful of books like Chris Roberson's Paragea and the latest Invincible trade. Plus, we're hanging out with family on both sides and have plenty to do as well. Oh, "Superman Returns" is on that list.

Anyway, I may get a chance to check in but you'll probably have to wait a few more weeks before I start getting into any sort of posting groove again. Take care of yourselves and I'll talk to you soon.

FUTON

My father-in-law sold his house recently; he's been living in Columbus, OH with his new wife and no longer needed the house in Maysville, KY. He'd been planning on giving us some furniture from the house - mainly a bed and nightstands. Our bed is old and creaky and the one he had was much newer and slightly bigger. He signed the closing papers on May 22 and then loaded up a U-Haul and drove up to us. In addition to the bed and nightstands he brought and chair and some lamps and another nice piece where he stored his albums and a futon. Our house is small, so not everything could be used inside. We do have a porch that becomes an extra room in the summertime and Jill rearranged things so the futon could fit.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time on the futon and it was very nice. It was a beautiful day out and the futon was very comfotable. I read quite a bit of Absurdistan out there yesterday and also took a little nap. Watched some sports too. I'm looking forward to a summer of the futon. Thanks, Dad.

Oh, and I read 230 pages of Absurdistan yesterday and finished the book. I liked it. I'll say more once I get around to a proper review (which will be in September at my current rate of speed). Next up in the reading queue is Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness and then the July issue of Asimov's and then Hal Duncan's Vellum.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

My brother pointed out on the phone last night that I hadn't updated my blog. My head's been full of a lot of the blah blah lately and I've haven't been feeling too coherent. I laid off the guitar for a few days as well. Part of my problem is that the current session at the Y is almost at an end...two classes tomorrow and then I'm off for a week! I love my job but I'm ready for a bit of a break.

I've also been distracted the last few days by "Scrubs." I picked up Season 3 on DVD when it came out the other week and hadn't gotten around to it yet. Jill started watching the show with me when it came back in January, so I thought she'd want to go back and watch the third season with me. She did...but then she decided we should go back to Season 1. I was happy to oblige - it's a funny show and well worth watching multiple times. So the last few days have been devoted to whipping through the first season and this afternoon we started on Season 2. Which means we have about 40 episodes or so to watch yet.

And now that the current season of "24" is over I can allow myself to start watching Season 1, which Grant and Jill got me for my birthday. This was the first time I watched the show and it hooked me big time. The season finale was great. So was the season finale of "Lost," for that matter.

I've been reading too, of course. I need to do reviews for The Empire of Ice Cream and Black Swan Green and Apex Hides the Hurt and The History of Love. Plus I'm working through Absurdistan right now.

I'm quite behind on talking about music too. Today I started listening again to everything I've bought or downloaded so far this year and the plan is to write about all of it. We'll see.

I have been doing the open mic thing still - tonight was my fifth overall. I played "That's Okay" and quickly learned a Dramarama cover ("Work for Food") to help celebrate the 15th anniversary of Front Porch Music. My performances are getting better but my fingers still want to move strangely at times. Ah well.

Happy birthday, Theron!

52.2

I was going to post this last week but didn't get around to it. I'm reading these issue when they come out (on Wednesdays), so I'll try and be a bit more timely with my posts. Anyway...I thought this issue definitely delivered on the promise of the first. Now maybe this was because it only focused on the characters and situations I found interesting in #1. Or maybe it was just good.

Ralph Dibny learns more about what is going on at his wife's grave and the mystery of it leads him to twitch his nose just a bit; perhaps this will lead to the Elongated Man taking up his detective role once again.

Booster Gold visits Dr. Will Magnus (who created the Metal Men) to make sure nothing is wrong with his robotic companion Skeets. He doesn't seem to think so but later on a plane rescue turns out more difficult than anticipated due to more misinformation from Skeets. Another mystery.

Speaking of mysteries, we see Magnus visiting T.O. Morrow, another brilliant man who is also a criminal. Morrow is told that his creation, the android hero Red Tornado, has perished in the recent battles; Morrow mentions one of Tornado's brothers, the Red Inferno. We also learn that someone is rounding up mad scientists, which explains Dr. Sivana's disappearance last issue.

The other major action of the issue is between The Question and Renee Montoya. He acts all mysterious but ends up hiring Renee to do some detective work. Plus, there's a scene of two women sleeping together (really sleeping, perverts), which you don't see too often in a mainstream super-hero comic.

The end solves a mystery to a certain extent but raises another bigger one and then we're on to the back-up feature giving us the history of the DC Universe in our newly-streamed timeline.

I say, give me more, as long as it's as appealing as this issue. Guess I'll find out tomorrow...

eMUSIC ROUND FOUR

Last time I waited a few weeks before using up my downloads. This time? Done in just days...

Grandaddy/Just Like the Fambly Cat - It took about a week for this one to turn up but I knew it would, since the rest of their albums are available. It's good and it's their last one.

Twilight Singers/Powder Burns - I've liked Greg Dulli for years but have never gotten around to picking up anything from this band or The Afghan Whigs. The new one is great rock music - I like a band that tends toward the dramatic, as long as it's held it check. This delivers.

Archers of Loaf/Icky Mettle - Long been interested in this and now I've heard it. This was Eric Bachmann's band before Crooked Fingers and was more rock-oriented. I've only listened once but I liked it.

WHO WANTS LINKS?

I missed Free Comic Book Day the other weekend; it wasn't high on my agenda and I let it slide. I shouldn't have, because I forgot all about Free Scott Pilgrim. What is that, you ask? It's a brand-new adventure of the fantastic new graphic novel series that I rambled about late last year. And it was free. Oops. I've been saved, however, as it has been posted here. If you haven't read the series, I hope this gets you hooked. I haven't read it yet, as Bryan Lee O'Malley says it takes place after the third volume, Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, which is due out next week. I can wait. I suggest you don't.

Want to watch something on You Tube? How about the pilot for "Heat Vision and Jack," which starred Jack Black as an astronaut and Owen Wilson as his talking motorcycle? Oh, and Ben Stiller was involved too. I haven't taken the half hour to watch it yet but I plan to this weekend. (via someone on the BKV message board)

Jason Isbell of the Drive-By Truckers just did an instudio on Minnesota Public Radio in which he plays an acoustic version of "Easy on Yourself" from the new album and a brand-new song called "Dress Blues." Go, listen, enjoy. (via LHB)

The new Jon Auer (of the Posies) album is finally here - Songs from the Year of Our Demise. You can listen to the whole thing here.

I am in love with the pop sensibilities of Central Services. Go to their MySpace. (via You Ain't No Picasso)

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bishop Allen. I picked up their March ep and haven't gotten enough of it. I will talk more about it soon. But for now, check out their MySpace page. (via several leading music bloggers)

52.1

INFINITE CRISIS, the latest epic storyline for DC Comics wrapped up the other week. It was a thematic and at times direct sequel to CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, their first such event in 1985. I was all about that previous series and it introduced me to many characters I didn't know yet while also wiping out their multiple Earths (along with multiple Supermen and Wonder Women and so forth)in order to streamline the DC Universe (or DCU). IC briefly flirted with the idea of restoring the multiverse but settled for once again streamlining the DCU. How successful they were is a topic for another time. Or not.

The end result of the series is that, for varying reasons, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman disappear for a whole year. This has lead to DC publishing their comics under a banner of "One Year Later," which started in March. All titles had a change in the status quo of the series via this concept. I haven't read many of them, so I can't offer much comment. You may wonder what happened during that missing year. Well, DC is telling you one week at a time.

52 is a comic that will be published weekly and offers a real time look at what happened in the DCU during that missing year of continuity. A weekly series is a massive undertaking and part of my interest in this series is whether they will be able to meet that schedule. I appreciate the risk involved and like that they are willing to try something like this. How are they doing it? Four writers - Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, and Geoff Johns. A rotating cast of artists assisted by breakdowns on every issue by Keith Giffen. All under covers by J.G. Jones, whom I think is one of the best in the business. The first issue came out last Wednesday and I thought I would offer up my weekly thoughts on the series for as long as I stick with it.

#1 opens up by checking in on three people - Ralph Dibny (better known as Elongated Man; his wife Sue was killed during the opening salvos of the current DC direction in the IDENTITY CRISIS); Renee Montoya (a cop for the Gotham P.D.; her partner was recently killed in the pages of GOTHAM CENTRAL); and John Henry Irons (also known as Steel, he was one of the replacements for Superman during the big "Death of Superman" storyline more than a decade ago). The first two are depressed and not coping very well and Steel is working in relief efforts around the world after the events of IC.

Next we see Booster Gold, who has returned to the corporate ways of his debut 20 years ago. Not only is he pitching drinks while beating up bad guys but he has also rented out space on his uniform. Booster and his robot companion Skeets also happen to be from the future, which they are using to their advantage. Booster plans on being a part of the brand-new Justice League, which he is confident will be announced at a hero's funeral at the end of the week. I was a fan of Booster when his comic series was around and then through various titles like Justice League, though I was glad when he seemed to gain more substance. Not sure how I like this new/old take on him.

There were other parts of the issue that didn't do much for me - Steel and his niece; a look at Black Adam, the ruler of Khandaq; the fact the fate of Wally West, the Flash, was dealt with in such an off-handed matter. Seems like you would want one of the main parts of your big series, IC, to be dealt with in another way. Yes, I know I'm losing you.

Here's why I'm coming back for #2...Ralph gets an interesting message concerning his late wife; mysterious things are afoot with Dr. Sivana; the memorial for the fallen heroes and how things go awry from Booster's perspective; and the brilliant appearance of The Question at the end of the issue. I'll let you know how the new issue goes in the next couple of days...

EXTRA-CIRRICULAR

I did say I'd start posting on May 15, right? What? I said May 1? Darn typos...

You know I've been keeping myself occupied with music (if you've been reading my sporadic Year of 35 posts, that is) and I'm still putting in a few hours a day in the YMCA pool. And I've been reading (though not as much as I'd like to) and watching TV (Lost, Sopranos, Big Love, 24, Amazing Race, Scrubs, Gilmore Girls) and some baseball (again, not as much as I'd like). Plus, hitting shuffle on iTunes like a junkie. But I've also managed to do some different things over the past week or two...

I went to prom. Sadly, it's not a new experience for me. I went to two of them when I was in high school and this was my ninth as a chaperone. How do I get so lucky ever year? My wife is one of the junior class sponsors. Do I get to hang out and watch her dance in her cute dresses while she hangs out with the students? No. I get to eat quickly and then go to the lobby to make sure no one tries to leave before they are allowed to. Occasionally I escort someone to their car and make sure they don't grab any alcohol or pills or what have you. It can be interesting when something happens and there is usually an upset girl whose boyfriend is being a jerk. This year? Boring. No criers, even. That's a good thing, of course, but it made the hours go by that much slower. Oh well.

Last week I got to be a crossing guard. The regular guy went on vacation (fishing in Kentucky) and asked if I would fill in. We're friendly and I will walk with my son a couple days a week just to talk to the guy. Things went well the first three days but then the weather took a turn for the worse and I got to stand in the rain on Thursday and Friday. Not something I'd want to do on a regular basis. The good news? He paid me for it. The bad news? My wife is going to take it to help pay off some purchases. Oh well.

By the way, tomorrow brings the debut of The Raconteurs. Oh yeah!

eMUSIC ROUND THREE

My regular eMusic subscription hit its second cycle on April 15. I get 40 downloads a month for $9.99, have no complaints about the service at all, and would recommend it to those of you looking to get as much music as you can. Commercial over. I grabbed 4 albums this time around...

The Black Keys/Chulahoma - This is an EP of Junior Kimbrough covers. I like the Keys and this sounds good after a couple listens. Their new full-length should be out later this year too.

Centro-Matic/Love You Just the Same - I've rambled on about how much I love Fort Recovery and I had to go back and pick up some of their older work. This album is pretty darn great too.

The Essex Green/Cannibal Sea - Trevor put a track from this in his April mix and I liked it. What really sold it was hearing "Penny and Jack" on KEXP. It's a pop album with interplay between male and female voices. How can I resist?

The Black Angels/Passover - I first heard this band on KEXP last year and really liked the songs off their self-titled EP. I never did get around to buying that but three of the songs are on the new full-length. It's heavy rock in the Velvet Underground vein, hypnotic and catchy (though it can blend together a bit). I also grabbed the remaining tune from the EP.

My new download period started today and I'm not sure what I'll pick up. But that's the fun, isn't it?

THE YEAR OF 35: FRONT PORCH (x2), BACK PORCH, BASEMENT

I made my open mic debut at Front Porch Music on May 4, as promised. It's the longest-standing open mic place in Valpo, though there are now several. I've also been going there the longest, since about 1993, so it was nice to finally get up on stage and perform myself. Once again I played "Lonely Holiday" (Old 97s) and my first original, "Woke Up." I forgot what verse I was on in the former and missed some chord changes in the latter but it went well on the whole. Jane, one of the owners, told me she liked my song and wanted to hear it again. That made me happy.

On Sunday, May 7, I was supposed to have my first band practice with Graham. He was going to come over and we were going to work on adding bass and keys to some of his songs. He called in the morning and said the drummer wanted to come too, which was fine by me. Graham arrived first and we unloaded the gear and set up the mikes and amps and our back porch, then he started teaching me one of his newest songs. Tom (the drummer) came as we were doing that and we got his electronic kit set up. We were ready to go. We started on the song I was learning - "Jews and Gypsies." It didn't sound too bad and the first pass. What was cool for me is that I thought a small desending bass run would sound good and actually executed it. We worked on it a few more times, getting in and out of a slow part and such, and had it sounding quite good. My neighbor was yelling encouragment too. We worked on a few more songs with varying degrees of success (I came up with a solid keyboard riff for another song and my harmony contributions worked out pretty well). We played "Jews and Gypsies" one more time and called it a day. It was so much fun.

I had come up with a simple chord change on my guitar that day and a melody presented itself. By Monday night I'd come up with a first verse; Tuesday morning brought the second; and Wednesday gave me the rest of the song. It was as easy as "Woke Up." By contrast, I'm still at a loss for some lyrics on a third song. Anyway, "That's Okay" stands as the second song I've written.

I was back at Front Porch this past Thursday and had even more people in the audience watching me - my boss and co-workers and their friends and husband in one case. I started off with "Woke Up" again and did better than the week before, though I was still missing that one chord change from A to D - too keyed up, I think. I decided I should play "That's Okay" too and it went very well. My cheering section all said I did very well and I got another positive response from Jane, who liked the new one and heard more in the first one.

On Saturday I packed up the keyboard (which Graham had loaned me so I could work on the songs) and an amp and went down to Wheatfield (Graham's house) for another Livid Penny practice. Tom got there right after me and we set up down in the basement. I used a different bass and played with a shoulder strap for the first time. We started with "Jews and Gypsies" and it was as good as where we left it. We worked on three more songs and got two more worked up pretty well - "Puppet on a String" and "Tempo." After we were done my head was stuffed full of music. I think I did well, considering it was only my second time in any kind of band situation. I'll practice this week and we'll do it again on Saturday. And I'm back to Front Porch on Thursday too.

I'm having a blast doing this...