Horrible self-indulgence, Year Four

Once again, I've finished another year of blogging. Yes, four years ago today I started, and I haven't stopped, although I'm sure many of you want me to! I don't have as many readers as I used to, and it makes me sad, but I'm going to keep plugging along for a while, as long as I like doing it. I post more at Comics Should Be Good! these days, mostly because there's always something new to say about comics (and I can piss off more people over there!) and I get paid to do it (not much, but a bit). However, I appreciate everyone who reads this, and I wish I had more time to write here. So here are the highlights from this past year of blogging. If you're interested!

BOOKS I READ.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.
The Dark Angel by Mika Waltari, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization by Bryan Ward-Perkins, and Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Saved the World by Colin Wells.
From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith by L. Michael White.
Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land: The Vietnam War Revisited by Andrew Wiest, ed.
Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship by David Fleming.
Love and Death in Kathmandu: A Strange Tale of Royal Murder by Amy Willesee and Mark Whittaker.
Charlemagne by Derek Wilson and Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of A.D. 800 by Jeff Sypeck.
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester.
Jeeves and the Tie that Binds by P. G. Wodehouse.
Napoleon and his Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship by Isser Woloch.
In Search of Myths and Heroes: Exploring Four Epic Legends of the World by Michael Wood.
Pontius Pilate by Ann Wroe.
Nanjing 1937 by Ye Zhaoyan.
Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman.
Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles - "The Steagles" - Saved Pro Football During World War II by Matthew Algeo.
Young J. Edgar: Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties by Kenneth D. Ackerman.
Jews and American Comics: An Illustrated History of an American Art Form by Paul Buhle, ed.

POP CULTURE.

The glory of Katrin Cartlidge.
Let's recast Arsenic and Old Lace!
Scary things in the Sunday comics!
What's up with The Departed?
The birthplace of fame: Scappoose, Oregon!*
My dream about the television writers' strike.
A fun gentlemen's club.
Is the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue porn?*
A question about No Country for Old Men.
Dawn Wells arrested with marijuana!*
Hope for large-breasted women!*
Ian Ziering as Cortés.
My new favorite sport.
Raquel Welch's birthday.*
Copping a feel!
Every kid plays video games.
John McCain as an old Batman.
The Dark Knight and its impact.
The Japanese have an ambassador to promote anime.

LINK-BLOGGING.

Congressional idiocy, right-wing idiots, pole dancing for kids, and hot grade school teachers.*
George Bush slapping ass, Craig Sager, singing Muppets.

GREAT SONGS, ACCORDING TO ME.

Part 34: "Little Guitars" to "Love Buzz."
Part 35: "Love Removal Machine" to "Many Too Many."
Part 36: "Mean Street" to "Monday A.M. First Thing."
Part 37: "Monkey Wrench" to "My Country."
Part 38: "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" to "Next to You."

MY KOOKY LIFE.

Did Krys break her foot?
Did Krys break her foot? Part Two!
What happens in Arizona when it rains.
At the book sale!
Living in Beirut.
People who annoy me at the ballet.
Should my wife divorce me?
We get fake grass.
Our journey to Pennsylvania.

PEOPLE WHO DIED.

Mr. Whipple.
Suzanne Pleshette.
Heath Ledger.
Arthur C. Clarke (and Ivan Dixon).
Edward Lorenz.

NEWS OF THE WORLD.

Americans are reading less than ever.
Hot Italians giving weather reports!*
Independence for Kosovo!
Weird news from Venezuela and Nigeria.
Racism in South Carolina.
Did they find D. B. Cooper's parachute?
Anger about a vodka advertisement.
Wacky events in the Congo.
A girl and her embryonic twin.
Arizona kids who shouldn't have graduated, but did.
Bike tragedy!
More of civilization circling the drain.
Have Americans lost their sense of humor?
Is stripping the world's oldest art form?
Naked protesting.
Julia Child: spy!
Minorities will soon be the majority.
Raising a nation of wusses.
No room for moderation in politics.
The Large Hadron Collider is turned on.

PEOPLE WHO NEED TO SHUT UP.

Conservative talk show radio hosts.
Alicia Keys.
Megan Fox.*

TOP TEN LISTS.

My favorite television theme songs.
My favorite NFL (and AFL) Championship Games.
My favorite wars.
My favorite Christian sects.
My favorite fictional detectives.
My favorite hair metal videos.
My favorite science fiction novels.
My favorite celebrity crushes.
My favorite vacations.
My favorite empires.

PICTURE DAYS.

Snow-shoe hiking near Mount Hood.
Silver Falls State Park.
Downtown Portland - in black and white!
Our house in Portland.
In the mountains with my wife and sister-in-law.
The Chinese garden in Portland.
Waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Part One.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Part Two.
Spring in the Basin.
I receive a Master's Degree.
Our final visit to Seattle.

INTO THE BACK ISSUE BOX.

Green Lantern and Adam Strange #1.
The Incredible Hulk #301.
World's Finest #283.
Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #25.
Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #2.
John Jakes' Mullkon Empire #2.
Ka-Zar #14.

COMICS REVIEWS.

The Simping Detective, Shortcomings, Cairo, The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Blakc Dossier.
The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories.
Popgun volume 1, Of Scenes and Stories, Munden's Bar.
I read Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.
Midnight Sun, Therefore Repent!, The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery System (volume 1), Scout, The Interman, Houdini, The Handcuff King, Berlin: City of Stones.
Hazed, Candy or Medicine, The Unwanted, That Salty Air, Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah, Holmes, Cinema Panopticum, 2 Sisters.
Nixon's Pals, The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch, Three Shadows, Breathe.
Skyscrapers of the Midwest, La Perdida, The Dopple Ganger Chronicles: The First Escape, American Terror: Confessions of a Human Smart Bomb, The Safest Place.
Lost at Sea, Vampspew, Bluesman, Tiki Joe Mysteries, Antiques: The Comic Strip.
Nobody, White Death, Codeflesh, Monster Attack Network, Aces: Curse of the Red Baron, Dugout.
"Essex County" trilogy, Too Cool to be Forgotten, The Goddess of War, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard, Wondermark: Beards of Our Forefathers.

COMIC BOOK COMMENTARY.

What are "fun" comics?
The "best-of" edition of Wizard magazine, 2007.
Why I review comics.
Wonder Woman on the cover of Playboy.*
My best comics of 2007.
Wonder Woman in the Sixties.
Wizard magazine from October 1992.
My revelation regarding Secret Invasion.
Issue #200 of Wizard magazine.
Free Comic Book Day in Mesa.
My top ten runs in comic book history.
The price of comics.
Confessions of a comic book nerd.
Is Green Lantern: Rebirth a good comic or not?
My experience at the San Diego Comic Convention.
Is DC publishing torture porn?

COMICS YOU SHOULD OWN.

Fury by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
Grendel #1-12 by Matt Wagner and the Pander Brothers.
Grendel #13-23 by Matt Wagner, Bernie Mireault, Hannibal King, and Tim Sale.
Grendel #24-33 by Matt Wagner, John K. Snyder, and Jay Geldhof.
Grendel #34-50 by Matt Wagner, Tim Sale, and Patrick McEown.
Hard Boiled by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow.
Hard Time by Steve Gerber and Brian Hurtt.
The Heckler by Keith Giffen, Tom Bierbaum, and Mary Bierbaum.
Hellblazer #27 by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.
Hellblazer #41-50; 52-83 by Garth Ennis, Will Simpson, and Steve Dillon.
Spider-Man #1-5 by Todd McFarlane (this is an April Fools' Joke, by the way).

Thanks again for reading. Blogging is fun, isn't it?

* Denotes cheesecake in the post! Beware!