While You're Thinking of a Question

Here's my entry in the Ye Olde Comics Blogge Meme:



Also, don't forget this...and if you need a laugh, check out I Can Has Cheesburger

It's That Time Again....

Yes, friends, it's time once again to play "Just Ask Gordon!"

As you know, I like to answer questions from my loyal readers (the both of you), and am opening the old blog up for you to ask me anything. Anything at all.

Plus, as an extra special bonus - I will answer your questions live. That's right - I'll actually podcast the answers.

So, you have two ways of asking:

1) write your questions in the "comments" section, or (if Haloscan misbehaves):

2) e-mail them to me at blogthispal (at) gmail (dot) com [replacing the appropriate words with symbols].

Send me your questions by Monday, April 2nd, and I'll answer them - live!

Isn't that fun?

I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-ck

Yes, friends, I'm back - the trip to Chicago was uneventful (except for when my cat decided to sing along to the Monkees).

I have some phone service, but my Internet will take some time (in short - need to have a new phone jack installed). I'll do the free wi-fi at the local library, but all is well.

Nice to see you guys behaved. Even Sterling.

To Quote Jack Knight From Starman # 80

I'm about to make like a banana and split.

This is it. I'll be leaving STL within the next day or so. Luckily, pal Brian will keep up the bozo thrashing that I started. Once I'm settled in my new digs, I'll give you guys an update (I'm thinking Thursday-ish).

Andy, please e-mail me recommendations of places where the women are warm and the beer is cold.

Dorian - please help Mike not be such a cheater pants. And Mike, Swamp Thing pajamas on a man your age is so not cool.

Someone please keep an eye on Greg. He tends to get a bit hyper. I think it's all the soda he drinks, but I'm not sure.

Chris, Dave - please consider my offer.

Roger, Lefty, Eddie, Fangirl, and Fred - stay groovy.

Scott - thanks for the "free samples". I will definitely enjoy recreational placebo use.

Everyone else on the net - don't worry, I'll be back in a few. If you want, please post your questions in the comments area and/or e-mail them to me, and my first podcast will consist of answering reader questions.

Finally, while you're waiting - the number 4 source of referrals to this blog come from Australia. So, in that spirit, here's some excellent Australian music and stuff.

Open Post for Lefty & Tom the Dog

Hey Lefty & Tom,

Saw this on Stephen's blog first, and then confirmed on Whedonesque. Read about alternate plans in this post.

Who's up for me coming down and storming the CW offices, wondering which genius made the call?

Your pal,
Gordon

March's Record You Should Own

You know, I was trying to decide what Irish band to feature for St. Patrick's Day....at least, some Irish band that wasn't U2. (I always try, in this feature, to highlight music that people might not have caught the first time around). So many bands to choose from - the Undertones, Boomtown Rats, even Van Morrison...but then, I realized that in these times, there is a band that demands our attention.

"Inflammable material planted in my head/
It's a suspect device that's left 2,000 dead"

If "Suspect Device" were the only song that Stiff Little Fingers ever wrote, they would still be greats, coming in the second wave of punk in 1979. However, as
Inflammable Material demonstrates, Stiff Little Fingers were fiery, raw, and honest. Although they have been compared to an Irish Clash, I don't think the analogy fits: the Clash seemed more intellectual, whereas SLF were simply stating the facts, giving reports from the front line. Check the following lyrics for a key difference:

Clash: "All of the power is in the hands/of the people rich enough to buy it/While we walk the streets/too chicken to even try it."

SLF: "They take away our freedom/in the name of liberty/why can't they all just clear off/why can't they let us be?"

Even in 2006, this is still heady stuff....and it's only the lead off track.

There's no sweetener in this batch of songs - this is a flat-out aggressive album. There's no self-mythologizing ("You look for a hero/well don't look at me" lead singer Jake Burns sneers), merely tunes about conscription ("Wasted Life"), war ("No More of That"), racism ("White Noise"), record company dealings ("Rough Trade"), and a killer cover of Bob Marley's "Johnny Was".

Even the "pop" song, "Barbed Wire Love" - despite a slightly tongue-in-cheek tone - doesn't fall into the usual romantic cliche's. Read the lyrics and you'll see what I mean. Somehow, I don't see Green Day covering any of these songs any time soon.

So, want a St. Patrick's Day to remember? Get this album. Get two copies, and send one to our President. I think he could use a wake-up call.

[P.S. If anyone knows of a good indie-oriented online musicstore with an associates program, please let me know via e-mail.]

Dorian's Batman Meme

This is my take - no, it's not condemning those stores for underordering. They did the smart thing.

5 Things I'll Miss About St. Louis

As things begin to wind down a little bit, I'm in a slightly contemplative mood - here are the five things (other than friends and surrogate family) that I will miss about St. Louis.

1. Cardinals - as someone who grew up with two crappy baseball teams, I am grateful that I was able to live in a city with an excellent baseball team.
2. People - in many ways, St. Louis is slightly backward (which I'll post about after I'm in Chicago), but there is a neighborliness about the city, a real concern by a few select quarters. Don't believe me? Check out STL Rising. (Plus, this includes my friends, whom I'll miss dearly)
   
3. Star Clipper Comics - quite possibly the greatest comics store in the multiverse (sorry, Mike)
4. Food - Ted Drewes, Fitz's Root Beer, Toasted Ravioli, Schlafly Pale Ale...although St. Louis needs to get some decent frickin' pizza. And hot dog places. And large, artery clogging Italian beef sandwiches.
5. Tivoli - Mixing old school architecture with a slightly indie vibe, this is the place to see movies.
   

Arnold Drake RIP

Just heard this through Mark Evanier's site - also, as you all may know, I'm a big Doom Patrol fan.

A Modest Proposal

It is an issue that is tearing people apart. Dividing friend against friend, blogger against blogger, it is an issue that asks us - nay, demands of us - that we choose which side we are on. It threatens to crack the Internet in half.

I'm talking, of course, about the David Campbell/Chris Sims feud.

Both bloggers share a love of good, old fashioned comic goodness, complete with "F*** Yeah!" moments, random panels, bear wrestling, dog punching, and a great sense of humor. However, these two gentlemen are beginning to snipe at each other, and are engaging in a back and forth. Bloggers are being asked to determine who is the more "kewl" of the two bloggers.

My proposal - Dave and Chris join up Marvel-style and fight a common foe.

That's right - both of them need an archenemy. Someone worthy of being in conflict with them. A blogger whose very existence threatens all that we hold dear, and against who Dave and Chris have a fighting chance.

But who? Other than an abnormal love for Swamp Thing, Mike Sterling's harmless. Dorian and Kevin both possess wits capable of melting steel at 300 feet. Which comics blogger deserves to be a worthy adversary of Chris and Dave?

Me.

That's right - I'm full of myself, have a slightly snarky sense of humor, rarely (if ever) proofread my posts, and come up with boring, pretentious lists! Plus, I am volunteering to be your enemy.

I mean, Dave, marching in your plaid shirt and posting about allegedly "bad ass" soap opera stars just makes you look like a wuss. And Chris, I bought you a puppy, but I got hungry, and I ate it.

(See, I eat puppies! How evil is that?)

Plus, you can organize the rest of the blogosphere into fighting me. Maybe have Redhead Fangirl do Oracle-kinda stuff. Scott can provide medical services...or at least, free samples of vicodin, or something.

But Gordon, you're asking yourselves, Is this another of your caffeine-fueled manic episodes?.

Maybe, but here's a thought - if you're uncomfortable with me, I'm more than willing to help you find some blogger to become your nemesis. The blogosphere's full of self-important, pompous blowhards who have a slight contempt for their audience.

Again, takes one to know one in my case, if you get the picture.

Anyway, the two of you think about it - you two shouldn't be fighting each other. Much like Power Man and Iron Fist, or Power Girl and Huntress, you two should be a lean, mean, blogging machine. Join forces. The net needs you.

Ten Days and Counting...

I'm shooting to actually leave STL on 3/19, and am still in the midst of arrangements. Luckily, I'm thisclose to an apartment - might not be ideal, but it will keep the rain off my head, and got plenty of drugs for the kitty. I'll be blogging as much as I can, because I owe you guys

• A Record You Should Own
• A Movie Review that isn't about 300
• DVD Reviews (including Idiocracy, the movie Fox didn't want you to see!)
• 5 Things I'll Miss About St. Louis
• A Way to Resolve the Chris Sims/Dave Campbell "feud"
• An Open "Dear John" Letter to St. Louis, and
• Other wacky ideas.

As you're waiting why not check out John's altjiranga mitjina? He writes a lot about music (tends to see a lot of cool bands), also posts various other things like polls and the "Thursday Thirteen" and he's also posted a new variety show from Dave Foley. (There's a great story behind the title, and it doesn't remind me of high school days the way the name of Greg's blog does).

Of course, if you want to see Japanese pie rodeo videos, you should always check out Andy.

Mr. Humphries - Free At Last

Just learned about this through Honorary Unsubscribe, part of the This Is True newsletter.

John Inman: 1935 - 2007

His IMDB entry

Wikipedia

BBC Obituary

About Are You Being Served?

(Although it's not "classic" British comedy like Python or the Young Ones, it's good for a simple laugh).

Having a hard time lining up a pad in Chicago - more posts to follow.

Open Letter to Joe Quesada

Dear Joe,

First, I know you have other things to worry about, especially since your publicity department dropped the ball in terms of spoiling Captain America # 25. I'm also sure that you are catching up on reading the comics blogosphere, when you're not doing...well...whatever it is the editor-in-chief of Marvel does. But I wanted to talk about some concerns.

I'm not too upset about Captain America's "death" - not because I dislike the character, but in comics, death is nothing more than an inconvenience. I'm sure there are big plans for Cap to come back in a mega-ultra-crossover, "Captain America: Back from the Dead And Not Happy About It". It will feature 20 issues of Mark Millar writing Cap verbally abusing Iron Man.

But what I am concerned about is your contempt not only for the character, but for comic fans in general.

I'm sure you've seen this post on Kevin's site - the one where Paul Jenkins essentially claims that Captain America is "out of touch" with the common man. You yourself have said that Captain America has not "caught up" with modern times. However, I'm going to make a radical suggestion - that not only are you out of touch, but also that you don't understand what makes Captain America tick.

Captain America is the ultimate soldier - a "Super-Soldier", if you will - who sacrifices himself time and again for the ideals of this great nation. He's not about ideology (I don't think he's either Democrat or Republican), but an ideal - the belief in American principles of freedom and democracy. For Steve Rogers to care about the hip-and-now is irrelevant; he is a character who encompasses both the best of traditional "patriotism" and who tries to apply it to a nation that could use it. Plus, Joe, if you look at your archives, you will note that Cap has dealt with a national crisis of confidence in the past.

Now, I may be taking this way too personally - after all, both of my grandfathers served in World War II. One of my best friends served in the first Gulf War. My cousin served in the Marines. My great-grandparents brought my grandparents to this country years ago because of a promise...and Captain America fights for that promise. Although having a "Death of Captain America" story in itself might not be a bad thing, coming so soon after Civil War...well, it reeks of plot contrivance.

In fairness, I also bought Mighty Avengers and Avengers: The Initiative, and I can honestly say that these books are just flat-out boring and unrealistic. For example - in one of the books, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman fight, and it ends with one character telling the other "Tony Stark was so going to ask you out." I'm no expert on female psychology, but that just doesn't quite seem right.

Maybe you're trying to court a certain segment of the reading audience, Joe, and that's OK. However, may I suggest taking a cue from your Distinguished Competition - no matter what their faults, they are trying to reestablish a sense of wonder. Of treating its characters like human beings, and reestablishing their heroes as beacons of light and hope in dark times.

Unfortunately, you're slowly, but surely, snuffing them out.

Today's My Birthday

(And, of course, other stuff happened on March 6th as well)....

Here's an appropriately themed video - for you!

This One's For the Fat Guys

(Props to Camryn Mannheim for the initial catchphrase)

You know, I never thought I would write this, but Bouncing Boy is my new favorite bad ass.

No, I'm not being ironic or aspiring towards ISB-dom - as I watched this weekend's episode of Legion of Super Heroes, I realized that not only is Chuck Taine a supremely cool character, but he is being written in an almost shockingly original way.

I have to admit, I'm projecting a lot of myself into him. Growing up, I had a weight problem, and body image issues - not something men normally talk about. Oh, sure, I would make jokes about it - "Between me and Matter Eater Lad, no all-you-can-eat buffet will be safe" - but ultimately, I never saw myself as anything but comic relief. Gradually, however, I became much more confident, and found myself taking on leadership roles in a variety of settings. Much of that involved letting go of my doubt and "making people listen", moving past the comfortable "fat guy as jolly clown" and being assertive. Showing that, yes, I could be taken seriously, and that I was more than the sum of others' expectations.

Nice to be reminded of that.

Another reason why I like Chuck is the way the writers are handling the Bouncing Boy/Triplicate Girl "romance". Normally, the cliche is for the fat guy to want the unobtainable woman, but she's oblivious, and several cliches are utilized:

1. After being rejected/hurt/traumatized, the heroine decides that the fat guy is worthy of her affection, and so decides to "honor" him with her affection.
2. Some variation of Cyrano De Bergerac, leading to wacky hilarity; and
3. The hero being put in the "friend zone".
4. After proving himself, our heroine decides that the hero is worthy of her affection, and so acts accordingly.
   

What's refreshing? Triplicate Girl - long before we see Chuck assert himself - begins expressing an interest. Gosh, a fat guy loveable simply because...he is? I know I'm reading a lot into this, but quite frankly, it's refreshing, especially during a time when much children's television - much television in general - is geared towards the shove-it-down-your-throat-easy-moral.

So, DC, here's an offer - I'll write a Bouncing Boy mini-series. Free. Because I think you have an unsung hero in your ranks.

Friday Night Miscellany

Well, folks, the move is progressing rather nicely - I'm pretty well packed (need to clean out my basement); I'm trying to network and set up some job interviews, and am coordinating with Mom to find an apartment. Next weekend, I'm drugging up the cat and taking her on a road trip, just to see if she can survive. If she can last an hour, she should be able to last six hours in a car.

Anyway, just some random pieces of stuff:

• Here's a comic strip about an American classic. Please read.
• Admit it - you all would really love for me and Scott to perform this little ditty (safe for work)
• My thoughts on 52 - I'm really developing a love/hate relationship with the book. I loved issue 42 (with Ralph Dibny becoming, well, kind of bad ass); however, 43 was a little lame. Consider me a non-subscriber to Countdown
  
• Another YouTube goodie: this documentary on my favorite Python film.
• Thank you, Dr. Sordid!
  
• Current favorite site: LibriVox. It provides public domain books in e-text, as well as free audiobooks. Since I'm trying to get reacquainted with the classics, it's a great way to save some cash, plus, I can be smug around other bloggers.
• A good rationale for having IQ requirements for bloggers.
  
• From Lifehacker - how to build a resume that grabs people.
  
• Here are some e-mail do's and don'ts from Tech Soup.
  

Until next time, readers, always remember: don't smoke Crayolas. They'll stain your teeth.