Horrible self-indulgence, Year Five

Yes, it's the fifth anniversary of when I started this blog, and it's time once again to review the previous year. I hope you will indulge this trip down memory lane. Five years. Wow.

This insane world.

Man threatens to set his teacher on fire because she assigned "The Crucible."
Weird sex stuff. Totally safe for work, though!
The hardcore dude at the convenience store.
Horrible shoppers on Black Friday.
God is mean.
The people who named their kid Adolf Hitler.
Some odd news: Birmingham, England removes apostrophes from its street signs; Anna Nicole Smith's life is turned into an opera; a 13-year-old father; churches believe in evolution!
An Afghan law makes it legal for husbands to rape their wives.
Torture; Carrie Prejean; speed cameras.
No naked hiking in the Switzerland!
Are you looking for a sugar daddy?
The Pentagon no longer quotes the Bible; a man called 911 because his adult son's bedroom was messy.
Sex is fun!
A great photograph.

Sports.

The Phillies win the pennant!
The anniversary of the end of the 1993 World Series.
Did the media want Tampa Bay to win the World Series?
A phallic team logo?
Bad sports announcing round-up.
Sports photos of the year!
Sammy Baugh died.
Cool photo of Shaq.
Cute lumberjacks!
World Naked Bike Ride!
Pole dancing championships. It's totally a sport, man!
Rick Pitino needs to shut up.

Politics.

Sarah Palin is wacky. I suppose we already knew that.
Yay, gay marriage was banned in Arizona! Again, I might add.
Post-Election Day thoughts.
Even more Election Day thoughts!
Sadness over Dana Perino leaving the White House.
Why is there no love for the American system of government?
Fifty years of the Chinese in Tibet.
Legislation to make commercials quieter.
Moral relativism and torture.

Religious oddness.

Jews versus Mormons!

Link-blogging.

Best butts, scary Ronald McDonald.

My observations on life and my life in general.

The five stages of memorizing song lyrics.
Riding the rails in northern Arizona.
Classes you can take at Mesa Community College.
The quality of friendship.
I bite my lip.
I'm finding it hard to be a Luddite.
Thoughts about Disneyland and Los Angeles.
Pictures of me from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
My power went out!
The summer of 1979.
My long post about racism.
My twenty years of collecting comics.

Culture, popular or otherwise.

Sunny von Bulow died.
Betty Page died.
Ricardo Montalban died.
Estrada or Nada should have been a real show.
Zsa Zsa Gabor turns 92!
Hans Beck died.
Rihanna's birthday made me feel old.
Dr. Seuss's birthday reminded me of something.
Barbie turns 50.
Erik Estrada turns 60!
Stupid Americans!
Hollywood is conservative.
Movie review: District 9.
Sort-of movie review: Inglourious Basterds.
I don't get SpongeBob SquarePants.
How to celebrate Guy Fawkes' Day!

Books I read.

Carlisle vs. Army by Lars Anderson.
The Will by Reed Arvin.
Shadowplay by Clare Asquith.
War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayres.
Dreamland by Kevin Baker.
Sacrament by Clive Barker.
Abarat by Clive Barker.
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes and The Somnabulist by Jonathan Barnes.
The Alps by Andrew Beattie.
The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor.
For the Thrill of It by Simon Baatz.
The Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind.
Grant Morrison: The Early Years by Tim Callahan.

Great songs, according to me.

Part 39.

Into the back issue box.

The Magdalena vol. 2 #2.
Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #6.
Wolverine #94.
Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre #22.
Case Files: Sam & Twitch #23.

Death and sex in comics.

Dark Horse's Conan #0-50.
John Byrne's Next Men.

Comic reviews.

Three comics by Dwight MacPherson: Kid Houdini and the Silver-Dollar Misfits; The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, volume 2; Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Aetheric Mechanics; Almighty; Dad!; Fishtown; The Martian Confederacy; Obsession; Slow Storm; Tiny Life: l)a.
B. P. M.; Swallow Me Whole; Jobnik!; La Muse; Septic Isle; Damnation.
Winter Men and its long publication history.
Fantastic Four Visionaries volume 0; Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights; Eddy Current; Chronicles of Some Made; American Elf volume 3; Sulk volumes 1 and 2; Waltz With Bashir; Never As Bad As You Think; Miss Don't Touch Me; In the Flesh.
My Playmobil comic from the 1970s.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910.
Strongman; The New Brighton Archeological Society; The Bun Field; Supermen!
Blinded; Ace-Face: The Mod with the Metal Arms; Blazing Combat; The Eternal Smile; Pherone; Walled In; Studs Terkel's Working; Britten and Brulightly; T-Minus: The Race to the Moon; Jan's Atomic Heart; Super Human Resources.
Black Hole; Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?; Far Arden; Imaginary Friends; Praetorian; Smuggling Spirits; Asterios Polyp; The Nobody; The Hunter.
The Ragbox.
The Field at the Edge of the Woods.
It Tolls for Thee.
Mercury.
The Imposter's Daughter.
You Have Killed Me.
The Big Kahn.
No Pasaran!
Frankenstein's Womb.
Gauze.
Some New Kind of Slaughter.
Awakening volume 1.
Dark Entries.
10 Beautiful Assassins.
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse.
PS Comics.
The Colodin Project.
The Surrogates.
Stuffed!
The Storm in the Barn.
3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man.
Covered in Confusion.

Comics commentary.

My best comics of 2008.
DC comics in the 1940s.
Is Diamond Comics the devil?
The San Diego con, 2009!

My comic book shoppe.

Greg's Comics.
Ralph's Comic Corner.
Comic Zone.

Comics You Should Own.

Hellstorm #12-21 and Druid #1-4.
High Roads.
Hitman.
Human Target.
I Kill Giants.
The Incredible Hulk #331-346.
The Incredible Hulk #347-367.
The Incredible Hulk #368-401.
The Incredible Hulk #402-426.
The Incredible Hulk #454-467.

As always, I appreciate everyone who reads this blog, whether it's often or just every once in a while. Thanks, everyone! I know there are only about seven of you, but it's still cool that you're here!

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!

Horrible self-indulgence, Year Three

Yes, it's the end of my third year of blogging, so what better way to celebrate than with my annual trip through the past year of posts. I hope you'll forgive me for such awful navel-gazing. If you happened to miss anything I wrote over the past year, well, I forgive you, but here's your chance to catch up. Enjoy!

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

Our Halloween decorations get stolen.
The strange tale of the Goldfish Crackers.
Checking out what the Jehovah's Witnesses give out.
Halloween pictures!
Books we bought at the book sale.
Why I live in a horror movie.
The death of our cat, Smokey.
A sign of the Apocalypse.
I thought I had won, but I was sadly mistaken.
My sleep study.
Whose toes are these?
My weird wife.

THE WORLD AROUND US.

Yet another reason I don't read the newspapers.
Newt Gingrich is not a hypocrite!
Worst news story ever.
Things that angry up my blood.
People who better hope I never become dictator.
The Iraqis will just wait us out.
The pope is awesome.
The Virgin Mary appears in Minersville, Pennsylvania.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING.

The Mystery of the Sea by Bram Stoker.
Damascus Gate by Robert Stone.
Spanking the Donkey by Matt Taibbi.
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.
Dry Heat by Jon Talton.
Perfect From Now On by John Sellers.
The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs by Bill Jenkinson.
The Colony by John Tayman.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.
Crusader Nation by David Traxel.
Gettysburg by Noah Andre Trudeau.

TOP TEN LISTS.

My favorite junk foods.
My favorite cities.
My favorite cartoons.
My favorite guilty pleasures.

LINKBLOGGING.

Green Lantern meets Freddie Mercury, Bush as Sauron, rock album covers, Jesus bandages, and unintentionally sexual video games.
Odd news.
Strange maps.
Stuff on YouTube.
The bridges of Portland, the befuddled Swiss army, plots to overthrow the government, and Korean baseball brawls.

PICTURE DAY.

Pictures in artsy black-and-white!
Cruising on the Willamette.
Our Caribbean vacation - Grenada.
Our Caribbean vacation - the cruise.
Our Caribbean vacation - the Venezuelan hinterland.
Our Caribbean vacation - relaxing.
Our Caribbean vacation - the most disturbing photograph EVER!!!!
Nice pictures of Portland.
Autumn in the Northwest.
Going back to Pennsylvania.
A visit to my sister in Virginia.
Northern Arizona.

POP CULTURE.

How they made Lost better.
Noodlin' with chicks!
If Prince had any balls.
Worst lyrics ever!
Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?
Peyton Manning on Saturday Night Live.
How Bono comes up with lyrics.
Choose that album!
Bill O'Reilly goes postal.
Television finales.
Great albums by short-lived bands.
Worst tattoo ever?

THE WOMEN OF JERRY.

Part One, the pilot.
Part Two, season one.
Part Three, season two.
Part Four, season three.
Part Five, season four.
Part Six, season five.
Part Seven, season six.
Part Eight, season seven.
Part Nine, season eight.
Part Ten, season nine.

RANDOM HISTORICAL STUFF.

Nevada's land grab.

GREAT SONGS, ACCORDING TO ME.

Part 25, "House" to "I Am The City."
Part 26, "I Better Be Quiet Now" to "I Remember You."
Part 27, "I Shatter" to "If My Heart Were A Ball It Would Roll Uphill."
Part 28, "I'm A Mother" to "In The New Age."
Part 29, "In My Life Today" to "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance To Anything)."
Part 30, "Interior Lulu" to "Jerusalem."
Part 31, "Jerusalem" to "King."
Part 32, "Kiss" to "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance.
Part 33, "The Last Mile" to "Like It Or Not."

OUR ADVENTURES IN EGYPT.

Part One.
Part Two.
Part Three.
Part Four.
Part Five.
Part Six.
Part Seven.
Part Eight.
Part Nine.

COMIC BOOK REVIEWS - INTO THE BACK ISSUE BOX.

Power Man and Iron Fist #112.
Eternal Warrior #40.
Untamed #1.
Egypt #6.
Suspira #4.
Green Lantern #138.
Cyberforce #1.
Azrael #30.
P. Craig Russell's Night Music #1.
The Green Hornet #8.
Star Wars #83.
The Terminator: The Enemy Within #1.
Darkhawk #15.
She-Hulk #58.
Ghost Rider #23.
Supreme #51.
Crimson Dreams #10.
The Secret Defenders #9.
Demonslayer #2.
Cable #40.
Thunderbolts #22.
Justice League of America #240.
Action Comics Weekly #639.
Superman Adventures #36.
Daredevil #223.
Hawkman #22.
'Mazing Man #12.
Ragman #4.
Web of Spider-Man #22.
Objective Five #3.
Witchblade #86.

COMIC BOOK REVIEWS.

Batman Chronicles volume 2.
Rock Bottom and Seven Sons.
Bosnian Flat Dog, Content #2, and Vatican City, Las Vegas.
Agnes Quill, Ed's Terrestrials, and The Dreamland Chronicles.
Fun Home and Stagger Lee.
First Moon, Blessed Thistle, Red Eye, Black Eye, Para, and Borderline.
Giant Robot Warriors, Hip Flask: Concrete Jungle, Sore Thumbs, It Rhymes With Lust, and Solstice.
Alice in Sunderland and Elk's Run.
The Last Sane Cowboy and Other Stories, Pulpo, Worry Doll, Rocketo, and The Salon.
An Endorsement of Smoking, Mail Order Ninja, Polly and the Pirates, Mouse Guard, Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse, The Professor's Daughter, Three Strikes, Less Than Heroes, In Dublin City, The Homeless Channel, The Black Diamond Detective Agency, and Exit Wounds.
Justice League of America #10 (man, I love this post and the response it got).
The Vesuvius Club, Cowboys & Aliens, Silverfish, Black Cherry, Crécy, and Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened.
Yesterday's Tomorrows, The Last Call, Narcoleptic Sunday, The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, and Super Spy.

CONVENTION NEWS.

The Phoenix Comic Book Convention.
The San Diego Comic Book Convention.

COMIC BOOK THOUGHTS.

Two fading titans - baseball and comic books.
Why Fun Home is overrated.
How do we choose the comics we read?
Comics you bought after they jumped the shark.
Comics were better in the Seventies!
Or were they?
The death of the postmodern superhero.
How Civil War could have worked.
The annoying puritanical attitude of Americans.
A rather lame defense of Michael Turner.
Why I'm not the biggest fan of Darwyn Cooke's version of The Spirit.
The thrill of the hunt.
The Golden Age of Comics.
Galactus is suave.
Dazzler: ahead of its time?
Dialogue and narration from All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder #7.

31 DAYS OF SEVEN SOLDIERS.

31 Days of Seven Soldiers category.

COMICS YOU SHOULD OWN.

Dreadstar #41-64 by Peter David and Angel Medina.
Elektra Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Elementals #1-5 by Bill Willingham.
Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fregredo.
The Extremist by Peter Milligan and Ted McKeever.
Fantastic Four #347-349 by Walt Simonson and Art Adams.
Firestorm #58-100 by John Ostrander.
Flex Mentallo by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
Four Women by Sam Kieth.
From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.

Man, that's a lot of writing. I wonder who's been raising the kids all this time? Certainly not me!

I'd like to thank my vast legion of readers. I'm sure I have at least 10 regular readers, and I do appreciate them. I've been wondering about keeping up with the blog, because I feel a bit burned out recently. I ought to update my daughters' blog a lot more - they are growing very fast, as kids do, and I often miss some things that they do because I'm busy blogging about football or comics. I'd like to continue, because I know some people like reading this, but we'll see. Does anyone want to give me a pep talk?

Either way, I'm pretty happy about blogging for three years. It's been a lot of fun, and I've got to "meet" some interesting people. Thanks for reading!

Horrible self-indulgence, Year Two

Today is the second anniversary of the day I started this blog, and like I did last year, I'd like to review my favorite posts. I only do this once a year, so I hope you'll indulge me! I'm still enjoying writing this blog, and I appreciate the audience I do have. I always enjoy getting comments and people linking to me, so keep it up! I used to have a bigger audience, but it seems to ebb and flow every once in a while. It's strange. Some people used to come around here but don't any more, while I've gotten some new people. There are also people who have made me regular reading, and I obviously think they're the peachiest. I guess I just don't have enough time to surf the Internets much anymore, and that means I don't visit as many blogs as I used to, which means people don't know I'm out here. Oh well. I've also been having less time to post good stuff as well, and I feel bad for that. But thanks for visiting, everyone. I hope you keep coming back. I'm still having a good time.

In case you want to go back that far, here's the first time I did this, for the year prior. That would be kind of masochistic of you, though. So here's the categories.

LINK BLOGGING. I wish I had time to do this more often. It's fun.

The Robot Pope, the Face of Doom, loud porn.
Zebra Batman, gay trees, Halle Berry's big secret.
Banned bondage pants, Nazi monkeys, FOX News Christmas ornaments.*
God the Contractor, fake porn pix, man panties.*
Best Batman joke ever, Obscene Happy Meals, fractal cauliflower.
Urinal thoughts, monkey sex, books bound in human skin.
20 mean cities, pick-up lines that never work, perfectly times photos.*
Jesus links.
How to be a dictator, obsessing about Parker Posey, David Hasselhoff video.*
Masterpieces with crap endings, Academy Awards for kids, nude curlers.*
Bad Americans, racist Star Trek, MC Hammer's blog.
Sex with lambs, White Ninja comics, furry crustaceans.*
Shopping at Target, the biggest threat to America, the bra of the future.*
My stripper song, David Bowie judges you, cockroach jewelry.*
Impotent college boys, Jesus fights Greek gods, Operation Mincemeat.*
One link, but very strange.
Mr. T fights ninjas, the evil of Riverdance, creepy marionettes.*
My obituary, Spider-Man's weak point, the president is always right.*
Purple nurples, breakdancing gorillas, lots of YouTube.*

PICTURE DAYS. I promise I'll get some more up soon!

Napier, New Zealand, Part 1.
Napier, New Zealand, Part 2.
Taupo, New Zealand.
Pittsburgh, PA.
State College, PA, Part 1.
State College, PA, Part 2.
Harpers Ferry, WV.
Pigeon Forge, TN.
St. Louis, MO, and Kansas.
Wyoming.
Grand Teton National Park, WY.
Yellowstone National Park, WY, Part 1.
Yellowstone National Park, Part 2.
Salt Lake City, UT.
Bryce Canyon, UT.
Zion National Park, UT.
The Grand Canyon.
Oak Creek Canyon, AZ, and Lake Mead, NV.
Las Vegas, NV.
San Francisco, CA.
The first pictures of Portland, OR.
Cannon Beach, OR.
The Columbia Gorge, OR.
My wedding plus some other stuff.
Back home in Pennsylvania.
McKenzie River, OR.
Florence, OR.
New Orleans, LA, Part 1.
New Orleans, LA, Part 2.
The great Portland flood of '96.
Seattle, WA.
The Olympic Peninsula, WA.
Kah Nee Ta resort, OR.
Waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge, OR.
The winter in Portland.
Lake Tahoe, CA, Part 1.
Lake Tahoe, CA, Part 2.
Victoria, BC.
A walking tour of Portland.
Newport, OR, and points north.
The visit from my sister-in-law.

GREAT SONGS, ACCORDING TO ME.

Part 13: "D.M.S.R." to "Dear Friend."
Part 14: "Death and Dying" to "Devils Haircut."
Part 15: "Discotheque" to "Drip, Drip, Drip."
Part 16: "Drop Dead Legs" to "Enjoy the Silence."
Part 17: "Entangled" to "Exhausted."
Part 18: "Eye for Eye" to "Famous Last Words."
Part 19: "Fast Lane" to "Five-O."
Part 20: "Follow You Follow Me" to "The Full Bug."
Part 21: "Gallows Pole" to "Give it Revolution."
Part 22: "Given to Fly" to "Go'n Breakdown."
Part 23: "Gone Daddy Gone" to "Heathaze."
Part 24: "Hell's Ditch" to "The Hounds of Winter."

BOOKS I'VE READ AND WHAT I THOUGHT. I'm in the middle of Cryptonomicon right now, which is really freakin' long. I'll get through it eventually.

The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family.
Quo Vadis and Swastika. There's a combination!
Underground London: Travels Beneath the City Streets.
God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.
The Intelligencer.
All About "All About Eve."
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America.
Two books about Lost. How good was the season premiere? What a cool show.
The Short Reign of Pippin IV.

RANTING ABOUT POLITICS, SOCIETY ... WHATEVER.

An idiotic letter to the editor.
Racism and sexism in society.
The abuse of power.
We get the Christianity we want.
I get a letter from my Congressman.
Politics in Arizona.
Why isn't Bush a religious crackpot?
The trouble with boys in school.
The problems with Arizona.
Destroying Arizona's wilderness for fun and profit.
It's all connected.
Making it a crime to sell human eggs.
Denying communion to an autistic child.
It's only a movie.
How to destroy the United States.
Why there is no "War on Christmas."
Is religion necessary?
The Peter Pan-ification of America.
The rich get justice, the poor get screwed.
Thoughts about fathers.
Republican values.
It's the Democrats' fault we're losing the War on Terror.
A sad situation.
America stands on principles.
Why I don't like taxes.
The lack of male teachers.
American imperialism.
The objection to "international" educational models.
The Arizona 9/11 memorial.

TRUE TALES FROM MY CHILDHOOD. If I had more time, I would tell some more. Maybe someday.

"My family flees the country."

PEOPLE WHO BETTER WATCH OUT WHEN I'M DICTATOR.

Those who wanted to sue Major League Baseball because the Astros' roof was open.
Marissa. Remember her?
ESPN.

PEOPLE WHO NEED TO SHUT UP.

Harry Belafonte.
Kanye West.
Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone.
Mary J. Blige.
Britney Spears and Clementine Ford.
Hot chicks.

TOTALLY RANDOM HISTORY.

Acta Aunemundi.
The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius.
The Capture of Damietta by Oliver Paderborn.

TOP TEN LISTS.

My favorite poems.
My favorite fiction and non-fiction books.
My favorite movie scenes.
My favorite television episodes.
My favorite moments since 26 August 1992.
My favorite albums.
My favorite sports moments.
My favorite banned books.
My favorite English monarchs.

COMICS YOU SHOULD OWN.

Batman #452-454 by Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer.
Batman #515-552 by Doug Moench and (mostly) Kelley Jones.
Big Numbers by Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr and Brian Bolland.
Challengers of the Unknown by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.
The ClanDestine #1-8 by Alan Davis.
The Crow by James O'Barr.
Daredevil #283-300 by Ann Nocenti, D. G. Chichester, and (mostly) Lee Weeks.
Daredevil #26-50; 56-81 by Brian Michael Bendis and (mostly) Alex Maleev.
The Defenders #46-50 by Roger Slifer, David Kraft, David Warner, and Keith Giffen.
Detective #471-476 by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.
Detective #569-574 by Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis.
Detective #583-594; 601-614 by Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Norm Breyfogle.
Detective #629-633; 638; 643 by Peter Milligan, Jim Aparo, and Tom Mandrake.
Detective #801-808; 811-814 by David Lapham and Ramon Bachs.
Dr. Fate by J. M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen, and (mostly) Shawn McManus.
Doom Patrol #19-63 by Grant Morrison and (mostly) Richard Case.
Dreadstar #1-40 by Jim Starlin and (a little bit) Luke McDonnell.

VARIOUS COMIC BOOK STUFF.

A review of Persepolis 2.
My journey to Comic R!OT in Harrisburg, PA.
Proprietory rights in comics.
Why I love AiT-Planet Lar.
The cure for the common comic.
If I ran DC, Part 1.
If I ran DC, Part 2.
Why we buy comics.
Thoughts on Wizard's year-end issue.
Reviews of various trade paperbacks.
Things that are stupid in comics.
If I'm going to hell, I'm taking Mike Sterling with me!
Reminiscing about old comics I bought long ago.
Should we hold comics creators responsible for reprehensible behavior?
A defense of Chuck Austen.
Why the first six issues of Superman/Batman are bad.
The Bendis/Maleev Daredevil timeline.
Why Frank Miller is a fascist writer.
Whither the Marvel graphic novel?
My V for Vendetta review.
A nagging thought about continuity.
Graphic novel reviews.
My first comics.
Comic book masterpieces, Part 1.
Comic book masterpieces, Part 2.
Comic book masterpieces, Part 3.
The threat of the time-mind sync-warp.
The reality of the time-mind sync-warp.
Astonishing X-Men: when "awesome" isn't good enough.
Breaking down event comics: Identity Crisis.
Breaking down event comics: Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
Breaking down event comics: Day of Vengeance.
Breaking down event comics: The OMAC Project.
Breaking down event comics: Villains United.
Breaking down event comics: Rann-Thanagar War.
Breaking down event comics: Infinite Crisis.
Some more graphic novel reviews.
Wondering about feminine stuff in comics.
Paradigm shifts in comics.
Comic book urban legends! Warning: parody.
More graphic novel reviews.
I don't like the Avengers.
Waxing nostalgic about the Highwayman.
Ranting about spoilers.
Things we can learn from the Kree-Skrull War.
Ten questions with Kieron Gillen.
Taking a sentimental journey.
Into the back issue box #1.
Ten questions with A. David Lewis.
Into the back issue box #2.
Into the back issue box #3.
More graphic novel reviews.

PERSONAL STUFF.

My trip back to Pennsylvania last October. Possibly my longest post, but I still like it.
Krys does a strange thing.
Krys does another strange thing.
One of my many dark secrets, possibly the worst one!
The dilemma of family.
One of the many reasons why people suck.
Why I have a successful marriage.
Krys buys me socks, controversy ensues.
Flirting.
Advice for unmarried men.
A tribute to our cat, Zoe. We miss Zoe.

KRYS'S QUOTES OF THE DAY.

Krys's quote of the day I.
Krys's quote of the day II.
Krys's quote of the day III.

ENTERTAINMENT STUFF.

Something interesting on Magnum, P.I.
Something else interesting on Magnum, P.I.
Commercials during day-time television.
Name that band!
The greatest guest star in television history?
Recasting It's a Wonderful Life.
Reminiscing about 1980s actresses.*
Why I don't listen to the radio.
William Shakespeare vs. James Bond.*
Underappreciated movies.
Random television shows I miss occasionally.
Stealth is not a good movie.

SPORTS-RELATED STUFF.

The real reason Richard Nixon is rotting in hell.
Why women's tennis is awesome.*
Facts about home runs.
The horrible tale of Frostee Rucker.

GENERAL WEIRD STUFF.

Asian and non-Asian bra-related news.
Osama bin Laden's niece - scantily clad!*
The decline of western civilization.
A critical reading of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Man, I gotta do more of these. That was fun.
Blogs I read. More have been added since then, and obviously, I'm not doing a good job reading them, because the children are taking up so much of my time. Don't they know what's important in this world????
The most difficult question ever.
Strange gelatinous foodstuffs!
Random pictures of things.
The Apple computer guy who got fired for reciting a poem. Very funny. I don't know if the link still works, though.
A question.
Where's Coolio?
Mamie van Doren naked (!!).
Something strange in Mesa.
Armageddon comes to Phoenix.
Things I learned about men from Cosmopolitan.
The Tootsie Roll commercial from the 1970s.

And in case you missed it, read my latest bunch of reviews. It's right here. I did not like True Story Swear to God, and the writer/artist shows up in the comments and rips me a new one. Fine, fine stuff.

Thanks again for your support. We'll see what happens next year!

(An asterisk by the link, by the way, means that there are shameless cheesecake pictures in the post. I know my audience well!)