How Slow Can You Go?

I recently ordred a couple of books from Amazon and since I just finished a novel last night I decided to check on the status of my order this morning. Here is what I found...

As you can see the package left Bell California on November 10th and is expected to arrive in La Verne California on November 16th.

Well, I know the US Postal Service is slow, but as you can see on the map above Bell is only about 34 miles from my home in La Verne. I guess my question is why does it take the Postal Service six days to move a small package 34 miles? How slow can you go?

Hydrogen for the Masses?

Two months ago we learned that plain salt water could be coerced into flame and now Pennsylvania State University has come up with a way of creating cheap, abundant hydrogen from renewable sources. Lets get this shit done and kick Exxon and the curb already!

Another Gauntlet

A few weeks ago I was writing here about the gauntlet we had to run when trying to publish comics in the 1970s. I talked about censorship and hypocrisy and was in fact in a pretty emotional state at the time. I was supposed to have my first salon showing of my artwork this past weekend and the day I wrote about the gauntlet was the day I learned it was not going to happen.

The flier above was created for the event and when I saw the Narnia artwork I hoped there would not be any problems with religious conservatives attempting to impose their out-dated beliefs and their comical prissy fucking attitudes on my artwork. I had reason to worry.

Apparently my nudes were a problem for the Narnia artist, who demanded a new flier be created, one that did not include any nudes. She also put some pressure on the supposed art lover whose house was being used for the salon and suddenly she didn't want my nudes either.

I was never told not to attend, but it was made clear that I and my artwork were not wanted.

My son said I should do the show and only take nudes, shove it right in their face and laugh at their discomfort. I thought about doing that, though I never considered my nudes a political statement of any kind. Maybe I should. In the end my pancreatitis sapped all my strength and ate up all the time I should have been using to prepare for the show and maybe that is just as well.

Fuck, I'm still pissed.

Reasons to Strike

One of the main things the writers are striking for is a piece of the Internet revenue generated by the products they help create. Some have argued that there is no profit to be made from the Internet, well, that's the story when writers ask for a piece anyway. here is the other story, straight from the horses' asses mouths...

Harlan Ellison on the Writer's Strike

HARLAN ELLISON
- Sunday, November 11 2007 11:58:36

STRIKE OBSERVATION

I got out here in 1962, very soon after the WGA strike that damn near bludgeoned into poverty every screen/tv writer I knew ... including the magnificent, dear Robert Bloch, who loaned me $300 to find a place to live upon my arrival. Three hundred bucks Bob did not have, nor could he afford to loan out. It took me six years to pay him back.

I have been through every strike since that time, sat on prelim negotiating committees, sat on the WGAw Board of Directors for two tough terms, have worked on policing committees whose purpose was to keep the Alliance honest, and I have written "pr" voicing the writers' position for all manner of mediums...many many times.

And I must tell you, from a clear and high view of the past, THIS strike is singular. It is unlike any OTHER strike of the writers I have ever been witness to. In the following way:

The general public...all of YOU who come here...totally uninvolved and essentially unaffected people in Wisconsin and New Jersey and Montana and even Hawaii...you all GET IT!

Miraculously, unbelievably, no amount of AAMPT badmouth of writers in general ("MILLIONAIRES PICKET FOR MORE $$$") is making any inroads. Heaven only knows what it'll be like in a month or two, but RIGHT NOW this is perceived by the general public and (to my amazement) the internet as a gestalt, as a RIGHTEOUS WORK STOPPAGE!

As one who has unrelievedly been a growl and snap pit bull about the Internet, per se, I humbly and a bit embarrassedly thank you all for your yeoman support.

And you may post this everywhere, anywhere, it makes you feel good to have a committed viewpoint tug its forelock in public.

I ain't saying I have come to love trolls or scammers or YouTube jackasses...but gee whillickers, folks, I am impressed as hell by your sagacity and solidarity.

With considerable respect,

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Another Reason to Go To Denver

I remember not too long ago that many were boycotting the city of Denver. OK, maybe it was a while ago, but times have changed. If you were ever tempted to go to Denver (I used to live there, so I have been tempted in the past),, Denver recently added another arrow into its quiver of enticement: they legalized marijuana!

Ain't nothing like that Rock Mountain High!

RoboCop, Closer Than You Think!

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times ran a story on the new equipment the LAPD has started to use including the T3 personal vehicle pictured to my right.

Two cool things they have added to a new LAPD SmartCar are an automatic license plate recognition system that identifies stolen cars parked on either side of the street and in traffic ahead of the car, and a dart-gun system that when fired can attach a GPS tracker to a fleeing car.

Maybe RoboCop is the wrong image; maybe the Batmobile is closer to the truth!

My Father

Right up until the time my mother had her stroke, our Mexican cruise was pretty much a wonderful vacation. Besides being with family, I had hoped to get some artwork done on the ship. Toward that end I brought most of my pastels and an easel. I did paintings of both my mother and my father, and as usual the one of my mother just did not turn out. I have never created a good likeness of her. However, the one of my father I think turned rather well, based on a photograph taken during our first night's dinner on the ship.

Odd Numbers

As previously mentioned, I had a CT scan on Tuesday, which revealed a few problems with my liver and pancreas, but that most of my digestive system was in pretty good shape. The CT scan was enhanced with a contrast agent, in my case I believe it was an iodine solution. As a diabetic on Metformin, the contrast solution causes problems, as the two mixed together can have an adverse effect on my kidneys. So I was told to stop taking the Metformin until told to begin using it again.

This leaves me in a bad place. Earlier in the year I was taking Metformin, Glyburide and Actos for my diabetes, but the Glyburide worked too well and sent my blood sugar dangerously low, putting me into hypoglycemia three or four times a week. I had to quit the Glyburide. Actos was found to increase the risk of heart attacks and I was taken off of it in July leaving me with only Metformin between me and high blood sugar and now I was being told to stop the Metformin.

An odd thing has happened though. My blood sugar numbers this morning, four days after last taking anything to regulate it, are better than they have been in months and as an unregulated fasting blood sugar, are better than they have been in years. In fact, the 112 reading I had this morning is not even considered diabetic.

Could all this be because I have been on a very low-fat diet for two weeks? Could it really be that changing my diet and, hey, maybe even exercising now and then, could really get me off of these pills, at least for a few years? I'm reminded of what Bill Maher said in one of his "New Rules" just two months ago...

In Hillary Clinton's health plan, the words "nutrition" and "exercise" appear once. The word "drugs" 14 times. Just as the pharmaceutical companies want it. You know, their ad weasels love to say, "When diet and exercise fail..." Well, diet and exercise don't fail. A fact brought home last week by a new Duke University study that showed exercise - yes, exercise - is just as effective a cure for depression as Paxil and Zoloft.

So ask your doctor if getting off your ass is right for you!

Son of a bitch!

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #80

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #80 (On Sale: November 9, 1967) features a cover by Curt Swan and Neal Adams. They made a pretty good team and I love the visual here of Lois ripping out the words "Girl Friend" from the logo.

"Get Out of My Life, Superman" is by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. When Superman misses Lois Lane's birthday party, the girl reporter is humiliated. She leaves town and moves to Coral City, home to America's space program. Lois changes her last name to Lorne, takes a job as a nurse, and vows to forget about Superman. Her plan is made easier when she saves the life of astronaut Rand Kirby which begins a romance.

Superman misses Lois after she has left town. When he is assigned to cover a story in Coral City as Clark Kent, he finds Lois. She tells Clark that she doesn't want Superman to find her, but when danger presents itself, she suggests calling Superman for help. After the danger has been averted Lois pretends to be under the influence of truth serum and tells the Man of Steel that she doesn't want to see him anymore.

I believe this was one of three comics I bought the first time I bought comic books. The other two come out in a few days.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

My Health

I had my CT scan on Tuesday and a nurse from my doctor's office called yesterday to say that it showed sort of what they expected. I have a fatty liver (not sure what can be done about that except the obvious change of diet and more exercise), some inflammation of the pancreas indicating pancreatitis, two small polyps on my pancreas and no problems with my gall bladder or any thing else.

I am scheduled to see the doctor again next Monday; until then I am to keep eating a low-fat diet. Ha! Like I'm gonna chance feeling that pain again! I should know more after I talk to the doctor.

I am feeling a lot better today. I ate beef for the first time in almost two weeks last night to no ill effects and, except for feeling tired and rundown and a little sore in the digestive tract area, feel pretty good. I stopped the vicodin after a few days and just use Tylenol for pain.

I think I am mending.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Wonder Woman #174

Wonder Woman #174 (On Sale: November 7, 1967) features a cover with the unusual team of Carmine Infantino and Irv Novick.

"Steve Trevor – Alias the Patriot" is by Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick and Mike Esposito. Angle Man discovers a way to remove Wonder Woman's super powers. He knows that she will continue to fight crime, so he provides Steve Trevor with pills which give him powers. He hopes that Wonder Woman will retire and marry Steve, then he will ensure that Steve runs out of pills and cannot renew his powers. However, Steve shares the pills with Wonder Woman and together they track down Angle Man. Wow, is this a really awful sounding story or what?

The back-up story, "Wonder Woman Vs the Air Devils" is also by Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick and Mike Esposito. Capital City honors several super-heroes with statues placed around the city. Wonder Woman's statue is made of gold and is protected by Steve Trevor. The King of Crime plans to steal the gold statue by diverting Wonder Woman with attacks on the other statues. He succeeds in taking the statue and kidnapping Trevor. Wonder Woman is unable to pursue him to his island hideout because she fears for Steve's life.

Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island, where she meets with her mother. A passing meteor shower gives Wonder Woman an idea of how to rescue Steve. She hitches a ride on a meteor which strikes the King of Crime's island. Her surprise catches the crook off guard, allowing the Amazon Princess rescues Trevor.

And people wonder why the O'Neil/Sekowsky/Giordano Wonder Woman reboot was so desperately needed?

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Slowly Working It

When my doctor found out that the ER released me without determining what was wrong (basically they released me from the ER in the exact same state I entered the ER) and didn't even perform the CT scan he had requested of them, he was furious. I have been waiting since then for the hospital to call and schedule the CT scan; it only took them thee days. I now have a CT scan scheduled for Tuesday and maybe then they can start to figure out, besides the initial attack of Pancreatitis, what all is wrong with me.

I actually got to eat something I could chew today, some chicken and rice that my wife made. Along with some peas it constituted the first real meal I have eaten in eight days. I had a small portion and it seemed to give my stomach a slight problem, but now four hours later I feel fine. I've lost 13 pounds the hard way and would love to keep some of that off, but at some point I will regain an appetite. My digestive cavity is still tender and I have a hard time sleeping, but I am hopefully off the Vicodin and only on Prilosec and Tylenol.

I hope to be back to normal soon; of course, since my mother's stroke, back to normal will be anything but.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Aquaman #37

Aquaman #37 (On Sale: November 2, 1967) features just a stunning Nick Cardy cover; it's beautifully designed and masterfully executed, full of raw emotion. How could anyone pass up this comic on the stands? To me this cover marks the beginning of Cardy's ascendancy as one of the greatest cover artists of all time.

"When the Sea Dies" is by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. A great cataclysm under the sea interrupts a fight between Aquaman and the Ocean Master. The sea itself begins to rot. Aquaman traces the source of the disturbance to a scorpion-shaped vessel piloted by the Scavenger. The villain is searching for a time decelerator hidden under the ocean. Aquaman's best efforts are unable to penetrate the Scavenger's ship, so he forms a temporary alliance with the Ocean Master.

Mera and Aquababy are then kidnapped. Aquaman is unable to free them, but when the Ocean Master locates the time decelerator, the Scavenger leaves his ship. Ocean Master tries to double-cross Aquaman, but he is stopped. The Scavenger uses the time decelerator in an attempt to become immortal.

This strip is sort of a turning point for Aquaman as it features the last appearances of Tusky the Walrus, and Storm and Sea Imp, Aquaman and Aqualad's giant sea horses. I know, I said this about the sea horses in Aquaman #35, but I was misinformed I guess.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Back Again

This is going to be short. I began having the same problems as before on Tuesday night, but wanted desperately to stay out of the hospital, so I took some of my wife's Vicodin and toughed it our through a pretty rough night. Since all they did in the hospital was manage my pain and not feed me I though I might be able to do the same at home, but I wanted to let my Dr. know what was going on. He wanted to see me within the hour and after looking over my file from the hospital stay told me to go back, that they would be waiting for my in the ER. So back to the hospital I went. Unlike the first time, my amylase count (a digestive enzyme that only goes high if you have Pancreatitis) was low, so after seven hours they cut me loose again, with my own prescription for Vicodin. Morphine it is not. I hurt like hell and almost constantly, but it seems to be getting weaker over time. I hope to beat this thing by just not eating.

So I'm back again, but for how long I have no idea.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Strange Adventures #207

Strange Adventures #207 (On Sale: October 31, 1967) features Neal Adams' first Deadman cover and his fifth cover of the month.

"What Makes a Corpse Cry?" is by Carmine Infantino (plot), Jack Miller (script) and Neal Adams (art). Deadman leaves the circus to search for his killer. He remembers an encounter at a night club prior to his death in which he was threatened by Rocky Manzel. Deadman returns to the club hoping to learn if Rocky was responsible for his murder. He takes over the body of Paul the bartender and discovers a counterfeiting operation under the club. Deadman's efforts get Rocky apprehended by the police and free Paul and his girlfriend Liz from Rocky's grip. Reprinted in World's Finest Comics #226 and Deadman #2.

The back-up story is "Man of a Thousand Shapes" by Joe Samachsom, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs and is a reprint from Strange Adventures #66.

Edited by Jack Miller.

I'm Back

I know, you didn't even know I was gone, right? Yeah, that's the way things work these days, sometimes people disappear and you don't even notice they are gone till much later, sort of like that favorite comic strip that you used to read every day and then one day you notice that you haven't read it in weeks and only then do you realize that it has been ousted from the pages of your newspaper.

So, I'm back. I was only gone for a short time, but it feels like it was a lot more. It started Saturday evening with a pain on my right side, just under the diaphragm. It felt like a hunger pang, so I paid no attention to it and ate a little; but it didn't go away. It wasn't a bad pain, just a little irritating, so I ate some more (this gorging on food consisted of a Healthy Choice pizza [not recommended] and a Healthy Choice dinner [not too bad]) and it filled me up, but that little nagging pain remained. Much later on I had a few grapes as a snack and about fifteen minutes after that all hell broke loose inside my body.

That little pain mushroomed in size and became a consistent pressure, like really bad gas, that surged across my body along the course of my diaphragm. Burping brought no relief and the pressure kept mounting. I knocked back two Pepcid to no affect. And then I began to vomit, also to no affect; the pressure kept increasing and with it the pain. I went up stairs and told my wife something was wrong with me and then I went and vomited again. When I came out of the bathroom my wife was dressed and ready to take me to the hospital. It took another 45 minutes of pain and more vomiting for me to agree with her.

The waiting room was the worst part; I was pounding on my head and gnawing at my knuckles, anything to get my mind off the waves of pure agony that coursed through me. Eventually they admitted me to the ER and gave me a shot of something that did not work. Next they gave me a shot of that liquid bliss called morphine and within minutes my agony became a dull ache I could easily live with.

They said it was my gall bladder, then gallstones, then pancreatitis caused by gallstones, then pancreatitis caused by an unknown agent. The only way to deal with pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, is to give the pancreas nothing to do and the only way to do that is to not eat. I spent Sunday in the hospital eating the occasional ice chip and nothing more. Every three to four hours as the pain came back I was given another shot of morphine. By Monday morning I was going about nine hours between morphine injections and feeling not too bad.

I saw a doctor on Monday around noon who told me that I did not have gallstones, or pancreatitis, and in fact they did not know what was wrong with me, but that they were going to let me go home anyway. I was feeling good and had a last morphine injection at about 3:00PM on Monday and was released about 6:30. But they had given me somethings to eat, broth and jello and the like and there was some discomfort in my stomach. By the time I went to bed at around 9:30 I would have killed for a morphine shot.

The original pain was gone, but it felt, and still feels, like a baseball bat was taken to my abdomen, like every organ in my digestive system is black and blue. It was a hard night, made only slightly better by Tylenol.

So I'm back and feeling like crap and unable to move much and unable to sit much and unable to lay down much, which pretty much means I cannot in any way get comfortable. But I'm back.

The Gauntlet

I was reminded today, and I'll tell you at a later time how that came about, of censorship and right-wing hypocrisy and how fragile is our freedom to express ourselves artistically in a country where religious nuts are allowed to run wild and impose their screwed up version of morality on the rest of us, and it got me thinking about another time, long ago, when I ran into almost the exact same scenario.

My comic book partner (hell, we went to high school together) Baron Mrkva and I were finishing up work on our first comic book, Mayhem #1 and were in search of a printer. We had little real knowledge of what we were attempting and almost zero contacts with anyone in the business, so we trusted in each other and few others, to maneuver our way through the gauntlet, where we started out as high school buddies who knew nothing about publishing comic books and where at the end we had a comic book published. It was a fairly daunting gauntlet, but one we were jazzed about traversing.

This was before the Internet or on-line forums; there was really no place to go for information except to those who had already made it through the gauntlet, and like I said, we did not know any of those people. As it came closer to the time of publication, I began scouring the indica of existing underground comic books for clues as to where they were printed and found information in one that pointed to a printed in Riverside California, not more than 20 miles from my home in San Bernardino. We called the printer up, told him what we were doing and asked if we could show them some of the artwork. We were concerned about the number of half-tones the book would require and that special care would be needed with the book in that some pages were pre-toned using zip-a-tone sheets and some were not, being done in wash and some had a little of both.

We made an appointment and trudged down to the printer with our originals where we discussed prices and volume and timing. All seemed to be going well till we began showing him the artwork. He had a problem with my artwork. "There are naked people in here."

"Yes, yes there are."

"Well we don't print pornography."

"Good for you, this is a comic book with a few naked people in it, not pornography."

"No, I won't print pornography. It's a sin."

"The last comic you printed was 'Tits and Clits #2'!"

"No, we never printed that book."

"It's where I got your name you asshole!"

The guy suggested I might want to change my artwork to conform to his idea of morality. Fat chance that was going to happen, then or now.

So, but for a tit-shot or two, one flopping soft penis and a not actually shown blow job, all far tamer than almost anything in Tits and Clits, we would have had a printer.

Sometimes The Truth Just Appears Like Magic

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Justice League of America #59

Justice League of America #59 (On Sale: October 26, 1967) sports a Mike Sekowsky and Sid Greene JLA cover.

"The Justice Leaguers' Impossible Adventure" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Sid Greene. Five Justice League members are teleported to the planet Marithania by its rulers, the Impossibles, to have their super-powers taken away on the grounds that, whereas their fellow members have earned theirs, these members came by their abilities by mere chance. (Superman, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter gained their powers by accident of birth, Flash received his super-speed through an accident, and Wonder Woman's abilities were a gift of the goddess Aphrodite).

When the Impossibles' enemies, the Contras, attack, the powerless heroes are forced into battle, and actually benefit from their loss, because their various weaknesses have also disappeared. Reprinted in Justice League of America Archives Vol. 7 HC

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Brave and the Bold #75

Brave and the Bold #75 (On Sale: October 24, 1967) features the fourth Neal Adams cover of the month and Neal's first shot at doing Batman.

"The Grasp of Shahn-Zi" is by Bob Haney, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Historians note, this story takes place on Earth-1, but does not explain how and/or why the Spectre, who lives on Earth-2, is visiting. Later stories reveal that there is an Earth-1 Jim Corrigan, but only one Spectre. Therefore, this story is considered the first appearance of the Earth-1 Jim Corrigan. If you don't know what all this Earth-1 Earth-2 mumbo jumbo means, don't sweat it.

Batman is a guest at a Chinese New Year party in Chinatown. The mayor of Chinatown, Bill Loo, admits that the old ways of his people are slowly changing as the new generations, like his son Danny, embrace modern culture. Shahn-Zi, a near-immortal river lord, is angered by this cultural transition. He seals off Chinatown from the rest of the city with a mystical barrier. He then tries to force Danny Loo to become his successor.

The Spectre is the only being capable of penetrating the mystical barrier. He enters Chinatown and joins with Batman to stop Shahn-Zi. While the Spectre battles the river lord directly, Batman acts to break the spell under which he has been put. Reprinted in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1 TPB.

I owned this book for a while before I actually read it. As a kid this Adams' cover just scared the shit out of me.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Update on My Mother

We have spent the past five days at the hospital with my mother. Since we checked my mother into the hospital her heart has been constantly monitored, she has had three CAT scans, one EEG, daily speech and physical therapy and been put on and off a number of new drugs. Also, the manufacturer of her three-month-old pacemaker have been in doing something or other (apparently they have a number of units that are failing and killing patients). It has been very difficult for us to get any word from the doctors, until last night when we talked to all three of them (she has one for her heart, one for her brain and one for the rest of her).

A few days ago they had her on cumadin to thin her blood. She got a phone call and lightly hit herself in the cheek when answering the phone. Within a few minutes the whole area under her eye was black and bloated with blood. They took her off the cumadin as she is blind in one eye and very disoriented as a whole right now.

Yesterday they put her back on the cumadin as her heartbeat is extremely erratic. The doctors now believe that the erratic heartbeat triggered the stroke and could trigger another one if they don't get it under control. Her heart doctor said that Mom will not be going home until it is under control, which means she will spend at least two more days in the hospital. The neurologist could not find the results of one of the CAT scans, but is sure they will turn up soon. She also said that the EEG showed a lessening of brain activity on the left side, which is exactly what they expected.

The night nurse told us tonight that so far the cumadin has not corrected Mom's erratic heartbeat. The pacemaker is pacing her a lot of the time and then it goes up quite a bit as well.

My sister and her fiance are still here, but he will be going back to Oregon on Sunday, the same day my brother from Washington flies down. I have a brother in Nevada that is planning on coming next weekend and a brother in Texas who is still deciding when will be the best time to come.

The hospital is draining the life out of all of us as we spend 8-12 hours a day there. My sister and I were there yesterday evening and the TV was on in Mom's room and Gladiator was on. My Mom kept looking at the screen and finally said, "This looks interesting, too bad we can't hear what is being said." I went over and turned up the sound. We then showed her for the umpteenth time how to adjust the volume and she shook her head as if to say, "That is too complicated for me to learn." Some things have changed, but she was very much like her old self last night, which right now is the best we can hope for I guess.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Star Spangled War Stories #136

Star Spangled War Stories #136 (On Sale: October 17, 1967) features another Joe Kubert War That Time Forgot cover.

Inside "The Hot Rod of Death" is by Robert Kanigher and Jack Abel and features the War That Time Forgot.

The back-up feature is "The G.I. Who Cried Tank" featuring Sgt. Mule (I've never heard of this one) and is drawn by Jack Abel

Edited by Robert Kanigher.

Less Than Royal Treatment

We got back from our Mexican cruise on the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas, in honor of my parent's 65th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Except for dropping $200 at the Texas Hold-Em table everything was going fine until our last night on the ship. We had a cocktail party in my uncle's cabin before dinner, my Uncle Gordon, my parents, my sister Barbara and her fiance Mick and Dayle, Brian and me. We left to get ready for dinner and a few minutes later Barbara, Mick and the three of us we seated at our table in the dining room, having just ordered our drinks when Uncle Gordon came in and said, "We think Rosalie (my mother) just had a stroke!"

We spent the next three hours in the ship's medical facility. My mother's blood pressure was 198/97 and she was incoherent. The doctor (at least we think he was a doctor), a big Russian man who spoke in broken English and possessed a loud barking voice, ordered the nurses about as they began dripping something into my mother, which slowly began to lower her blood pressure . When it got to 145/90 he said she was "out of trouble," that for her that would be "normal" and that she could not survive on a normal blood pressure of "120 or so." He and the nurses then left the room and I sat there watching her blood pressure slowly go down to the "normal 120 or so" and then still lower. When it got to 103 I found the doctor and asked about it. He then took her off the drip and her blood pressure went back to the 140 area.

They released her (against our wishes) and we kept asking the doctor about a stroke. "She no have stroke. Stop saying that word. No stroke here. High blood pressure only problem. No stroke." We watched her through the night and when we got off the ship in the morning I drove her to her hospital and we spent the day getting her checked in. They looked at her in the ER, did a CAT scan and said she had had a stroke. Duh! She had trouble forming words, didn't remember anything about Saturday, was docile and quiet. When we checked her in she had to sign an admittance form. She signed "Rosalie" and then stopped and stared at the paper. I said, "Keller" and she slowly signed her last name. She got into a room around 9:00 PM, ten hours after we arrived at the hospital.

She was better yesterday, remembering the cocktail party and the doctor (she thought he was handsome), but not much else. She was speaking better, being able to form more words. They will be looking for heart damage today and to see how her new pacemaker is working.

We did this trip this year because we were not sure both my parents would be around for a 70th anniversary; I hope we were wrong.

I did some checking this morning and it appears that Holland America is rated as having the best medical facilities and we may take that into consideration next time we cruise. When we took Holland America to Hawaii in 2003 we awoke the first morning to a Coast Guard helicopter hovering outside our balcony. A passenger had had a heart attack and they called for an air-lift. They also TURNED THE SHIP AROUND to meet the helicopter and put us 8 hours behind schedule when we hit Hawaii five days later. On Royal Caribbean the doctor would have most likely argued with the passenger over the chances that a heart attack had occurred.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Blackhawk #238

Blackhawk #238 (On Sale: October 12, 1967) sports an unusual cover by the usual team of Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera.

Inside we have "The Walking Booby-Traps" by Bob Haney, Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidera, a continuation of last issue's story. The Blackhawks are captured by the international criminal Barbarossa and the traitorous android G.E.O.R.G.E. agent, Johnny Vak. The team is knocked unconscious, then mysteriously released. When they return to G.E.O.R.G.E. headquarters they each discover powerful explosive implanted into the skulls. Though Mr. Delta places them under arrest for going off on their own while suspended, the team escapes in order to prevent the explosives from hurting others.

Edited by George Kashdan.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Tales of the Unexpected #104

Tales of the Unexpected #104 (On Sale: October 10, 1967) has a very dramatic cover by Neal Adams. When the mystery/horror craze hits in full stride over the next few years, Adams will be the guy who does the majority of the covers. Here is his first "mystery" cover for DC.

Inside we have "Master of the Voo-Doo Machine" by Carl Wessler and Bernard Baily which would later be reprinted in Unexpected #162, "I Was King of Dagger Island" drawn by the amazing Leonard Starr (known mainly for his 22-year run on the syndicated "On Stage")and reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #1 and finally "The 24-Hour Nightmare" drawn by Jack Abel.

Edited by Murry Boltinoff

Off to Mexico

I leave this morning for a week-long cruise to Mexico in celebration of my parent's 65th wedding anniversary. Our group will consist of my wife Dayle and me, our son Brian, my parents (duh!), my sister Barbara, her fiance Mick and my Uncle Gordon. First time cruising for Barbara and Mick, but the rest of us are old-timers at sea. We will be hitting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The brochures say there is wi-fi in all the cabins and most of the common areas, but we shall see if this is so and how much will it set me back. I may post from the ship or I might just say, "Fuck it; I'm on vacation."

When I get back I have to get serious about finding work as it will be closing in on three months of unemployment by then, but I also have a salon showing of my artwork in early November and I need to get a few more pieces done. I shall be busy when I return, but hope to not think of much of this while at sea, though I am taking most of my pastel supplies, so if the mood strikes I can get a few pieces done on ship.

Something Republicans Could Learn From

Did anyone else catch the amazing video of Marion Jones on Countdown Friday night?



You can tell she isn't a Republican. Honesty, contrition, guilt and shame, things Republicans know nothing about.

Republicans Bash the Troops!

Oh why do they hate America so much? Why do they hate freedom? What can you say about a despicable Republican party that would actually try raising money off of Rush Limbaugh's attacks on Iraq veterans?

How unpatriotic! How unAmerican! How desperate?

Watch this from tonight's Keith Olbermann.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superboy #143

Superboy #143 (On Sale:October 5, 1967) sports a really wonderful Neal Adams cover, his first for the "Boy of Steel."

"The Big Fall" is written by E. Nelson Bridwell and drawn by Al Plastino. Plastino is another guy who is on his way out at DC. He has about six more months of work before he is let go after drawing Superman and the Superman family for 20 years, a victim of a style that cannot change with the times.

The second Superboy story, "Superboy's Civil War Time Trip" is a reprint from Superboy #91 by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. A Smallville celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Civil War through a re-enactment includes the Kent family, Lana Lang, and Lex Luthor. Superboy travels into space to stop an alien missile, but when he returns to Earth he sees Clark Kent participating in the play. Knowing that it can’t be the real Clark, he watches and thinks that the explosion sent him into the past where he is seeing the real Civil War.

The people involved resemble the future residents of Smallville, except Clark is a spy, and the Luthor duplicate is a hero. Superboy tries to alter history, but in each case he is thwarted by fate.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Democratic-Blue Republican Elephant With Racing Stripes!

As Kieth Olbermann asked tonight, does anyone get this logo? Democratic blue, with racing stripes! And elephants only get up on two legs when they are humping! Best of all, this is to happen just a few miles away from the Sen. Larry Craig Memorial Mens Room Stall; Republican humping at its best! Hot, sweaty Republican mansex!

The Daily Kos has this take:

And yes,this is real, not an extremely clever photoshop job, and truly encapsulates what the Republican Party is all about.

Wide stance? Check.

In Minneapolis? Check.

Prison stripe-wearing? Check.

Starry eyed? Check.

As for the elephant humping the "2008"...

Are they going for a "Still screwing the country in 2008" theme, or is it a reference to hypocritical adulterers like David Vitter and just about the entire Republican presidential field?

All of the above? Check!

Apparently they ran out of space for a collapsing bridge.

Pants Aflame!

Remember when president shit-for-brains stood in front of the American people in 2005 and 2006 and declared, "We do not torture terror suspects?" Funny story. Ends up he was, oh, what's that word? The one always associated with this shithead? Oh yeah, lying. The mother fucker was lying, and he knew it! So all you people out there who still support this dirtbag need to ask yourself "why do you support him?"

He has no morals, no scruples, can't run a war, can't manage an economy, runs up record deficits, makes bigger and bigger government that wants to watch every thing that you do, lies through his teeth and even with owning the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Justice Department and the Supreme Court he didn't even attempt to reverse "Roe vs. Wade." If your pet desire from government is not "make really rich people even richer" then he doesn't give a shit about you or your wants and neither does his party. They do hope you ignore the massive evidence to the contrary and hope you still continue to vote for them even though they will never do for you what they promise when running for office.

He is a fucking liar; you people who still foolishly support him are just pathetic.

Christmas Comes Early for Democrats!

Today Sen. Larry Craig defiantly vowed to serve out his term in office on Thursday despite losing a court attempt to rescind his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting. Can it get much better than this for Democrats? They get to blast the hypocritical Republic party and their not-so-closeted gay members all the way through the primaries! They're all about "family values" folks, oh, and lying to your face! From Larry Craig to David Drier just one gay hypocrite after another!

I believe the song goes...

Happy days are here again!

Self Portrait

One of the reasons I have been unable to post much lately is that I am taking a basic drawing class in college right now. I don't think I need it, but it is the only way to get into the good art classes, so take it I have. Actually, the instructor is very good, making what would be really boring, pretty interesting. Our latest homework is to do a self portrait in conte and mixed media. Mine is 2% conte and 98% pastels and pastel pencils.

I did my painting on butcher paper, using a mirror I moved into the bedroom to the right I get my visual. This would be so much easier if I could just take a picture and go from that, but part of the assignment is no photo reference.

Oh, did I forget to mention that the portrait had to be life-sized?

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Atom #34

Atom #34 (On Sale: October 3, 1967) has a cool cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. I loved those Gil Kane "big hand" covers!

Inside we have "Little Man -- You've Had a Big-Gang Day" by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Sid Greene. I'm not sure why the Atom never caught on as a character. Shrinking down to sub-atomic size seems like it would open up a whole world of interesting stories, but the Atom never seemed that exciting. I don't know if the problem was secret identity Ray Palmer or a reliance on "bug-based" villains, but something just never worked right here. Certainly, the problem was not the artwork; Gil Kane was a master comic book illustrator of great invention.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Strange Adventures #206

Strange Adventures #206 (On Sale: September 28, 1967) has a very nice Mike Sekowsky and George Roussos cover. You can use this as a trivia question to stump your friends, "Who besides Infantino and Adams drew Deadman in his first year?" Chances are Sekowsky is not going to be their first guess.

Inside we have "An Eye for an Eye" by Jack Miller, Neal Adams and George Roussos. Miller took over editing and kicked Arnold Drake out of his own series. This is the book most people think of when they think of Adams' first super-hero story even though his Elongated Man back-up story appeared in Detective Comics on the same day.

Boston Brand has been given a second life in spirit form as Deadman in order to find his own murderer. His search leads him away from the Hills Bros. circus, but before he leaves he stops to visit Lorna Hill, the owner. She is meeting with her brother Jeff, who claims to have taken out an insurance policy of Boston's life. Jeff is facing money problems, which leads Boston to suspect Jeff of his murder.

Deadman takes over Jeff's body as he meets with a motorcycle gang led by Morty. Morty is blackmailing Jeff, claiming that he has evidence that Jeff murdered Lenny Deane in Dayton. While this gives Jeff an alibi for Boston's murder, Deadman suspects that Jeff is innocent of Deane's murder too. He finds evidence that proves Morty was the real killer. After saving Jeff's life, Deadman forces Morty to confess. When Deadman leaves his body, Jeff has no memory of the adventure, but he is now cleared of the murder rap. Reprinted in World's Finest Comics #223 and Deadman #1.

The backup story is a reprint from Strange Adventures #64, "The Earth-Drowners" is by Joe Samachson, Jerry Grandenetti and Joe Giella.

Edited by Jack Miller.

A Rocky Ending

Over on the Tony Isabella board I have been playing Bob Ingersoll's weekly Movie Quiz. Each week Bob comes up with a theme and then finds five films that point to that theme, with the final Friday film usually being a titular slam-dunk, i.e., the theme is in the name of the film. Anyway, today's movie was Rocky III, Bob's clue being "1982 When 'The Italian Stallion' is defeated by a brutal challenger, his former nemesis offers to retrain him in order to regain his fighting spirit." This got me thinking about when I worked at a theater in the 1970s.

In my half year or so working at a discount twin-screen theater one of the films we showed was the original Rocky. The theater got films in a few weeks to a month after everyone else got them, but we only charged $.99 a seat and had the best seating-to-screen size ratio in town, which made for a pretty nice viewing experience. We played Rocky for over a month and one of my jobs was to make sure there were no problems when a film ended and that people did not go out the emergency exit, which also allowed kids to sneak in (even at a $.99 movie it happened all the time), so I was always in the theater for the end of the movie.

The thing I noticed about Rocky was that I would get lots of questions from people asking me what happened at the end of the film. They just could not believe that Rocky lost the fight; they wanted the pat Hollywood ending. I would explain that Rocky lost the fight, but won his life, that he knew he couldn't beat Apollo but that to prove to himself that he was not "a bum" he needed to go the distance and had. Some people were satisfied with this, but some were not. To those still in doubt I would say, "Look where he was and who he was at the beginning of the film and look at where he ended up" and that usually turned on the light-bulb for most. A few though just never got that Rocky had a happy ending. Me? The first few times I saw Rocky I was in tears, but I am such a baby.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #79

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #79 (On Sale: September 26, 1967) features Neal Adams' first super-hero cover. Soon Neal would be doing most of the Superman family covers. I always thought Neal drew a beautiful Lois Lane.

Inside we have "The Bride of Titanman" by Richard Hughes and Kurt Schaffenberger, When a member of the Anti-Superman Syndicate uses an experimental weapon on Superman, the blast is deflected off his body and strikes Lois. The ray transports Lois to a parallel dimension inhabited by girls resembling Twiggy. Lois is arrested by the midget police force and put in a jail cell (Is Richard Hughes a pseudonym for David Lynch?). She is rescued by Titanman, a hero visiting from another planet.

Titanman falls for Lois and despite her feelings for Superman, she agrees to marry him. At the wedding she learns that Titanman already has seven wives and polygamy is legal. Lois wants to back out, but Titanman's mental powers sap her will to resist. Superman then arrives, but instead of helping Lois, he encourages the marriage.

The backup story is "Checkmate for Lois" by E. Nelson Bridwell and Kurt Schaffenberger. Lois investigates a mysterious millionaire who has converted an aircraft carrier into a castle. Lois fails to get an interview, but Lana Lang succeeds. Then several people who share similarities with chess pieces disappear. Lois tracks them and Lana back to the aircraft carrier where she unmasks the millionaire as Professor Lang, Lana's father.

Lois is then taken prisoner, because Lana, her father, and the others have been taken over by a ancient sorceress, two kings, and their followers whose spirits had been trapped inside magical chess pieces. The sorceress Lediv, inhabiting Lana, then lures Superman to the castle and arranges for his mind to be taken over.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

More Homework

I had homework to pick an artist I was interested in and to copy a picture of their's in soft charcoal. I chose James Bama. I had to fix this once and then go over the blacks again to get the really dark tones in the hat, neck and deaper creases of the face but I think it turned out really well. I started out with a sort of blanket neutral tone on the face then darkened it where needed and erased it to lighten where needed. Bama painted this guy's face dark and then dabbed the lighter skin color over the top, creating the weather-beaten look of his skin. By daubing the eraser over the neutral tones I was able to simulate the effect.

My Still Life

I'm taking this basic drawing class in college (it's a long story) and our homework the second week was to "draw a still life with personal significance..." so I drew one that encompassed a few of the things that are important to me: A spring toy my son gave me one Father's Day, which signifies my family, a mask worn by Chris O'Donnell in the movie Batman and Robin, which signifies my love of film, my TiVo remote, which signifies my love of good television and techy gadgets, The Phantom #69, which signifes my love of comics and Don Newton's work, and my set of Unison pastels, which signify my love of artwork.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Plastic Man #7

Plastic Man #7 (On Sale: September 21, 1967) has a cover by Carmine Infantino and Mike Esposito.

Inside we have "Plastic Man's Fantastic Old Man" by Arnold Drake and Winslow Mortimer. Three costumed criminals attempt to rob an art gallery. Plastic Man and his assistant try to stop the robbery, but fail. News about the robbery reaches Gordon Trueblood, who questions his friend Plastic Man about the crime. Plas reveals that it was his father, the original Plastic Man, who tried to stop the crime. Plastic Man, Jr. and Gordy then visit a rest home owned by the senior Plastic Man. He explains that the criminal leader, the King of Spades, also owns the mortgage on the rest home and is trying to take it over. The elder Plas has been unable to prove that the King is a criminal.

The two Plastic Men team up to trap the King of Spades and his partners. Their plan almost succeeds, but Gordy loses the evidence against them. Then the King takes over the rest home.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

I'd Like to Secede Please

Well, it sure isn't Lord of the Flies, but it is slightly more entertaining than watching flies. Kid Nation, the new reality program on CBS is a hopeless bore-fest. What did you expect?

Forty kids ages 8 to 15 are secluded in an abandoned New Mexico ghost town (OK, really a movie set used for Legend of the Lone Ranger and Silverado) where they will spend 40 days creating a new community with their own little hands. There has been the pre-show hoopla regarding the possible skirting of child-labor laws and 14-hour shooting days. And yeah, it appears that four of the kids accidentally drank bleach during the filming of an episode (bet that doesn't make it on the air).

CBS pushed this show with "kids forming a better society" trappings, but what you really have is a Survivor clone for those dancing around puberty. And not a good Survivor clone either, more of a Pirate Master type of clone, with fake mythology "the adults couldn't make a go of this town and it died, maybe you kids can do better." Too bad it is really a movie set, which is built near the foundations of what was once Bonanza City.

As in all Survivor clones, the kids are divided up into teams and compete against one another. They don't vote anyone off, but at the end of each show, kids can request to go home to their Mommy. The smart ones, eight-year old Jimmie in the first episode, will do this quickly.

Like Survivor there are camera crews all over the place generating reel after reel of film. Unfortunately all of it is dull and insipid. What is scary about this show is that what they are showing you is the interesting part (and if you figure 10 film crews filming for 14 hours a day, that is 140 hours of film a day or 560 hours of film they had to work with for just the first episode)! That the show lay there like a turd slowly turning hard as the sun bakes it is a sure indication that there is something horribly wrong with this show.

I think the real problem here is that 1) the pre-show hype talked about "kids forming a better society," but in reality it's just a reality show using fake competition and reward and punishment to get the kids to do things 2) the kids are just not very interesting, and 3) they're kids. You know how on every season of Survivor there are one or two really whiny players that you can't wait for the others to vote off? Well, on Kid Nation there are 40 of them and after one episode I'm voting them off my TiVo.

I Finally Know What GOP Stands For!

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a plan to give our troops in Iraq more leave time and have repeatedly blocked any effort to bring the troops home. The GOP, the Ghouls Of Politics have once again spoken up for more death. Watch how they try to wriggle out of this come next year's elections. Ghouls, that's what they are.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Teen Titans #12

Teen Titans #12 (On Sale: September 19, 1967) has a nice Nick Cardy cover. Robin is once again returned to the spotlight role.

Inside we have "Large Trouble in Space-Ville" by Bob Haney, Irv Novick and Nick Cardy. D.J. Deejay becomes the world's first disc jockey to broadcast live from Earth-orbit, but the Titans detect a code in his snappy patter indicating that he had run into trouble in space. After foiling the efforts of the Deliverer, an international criminal, to levitate Earth's national monuments into orbit, they follow the disc jockey into space and find an alien being holding him captive. Reprinted in DC Showcase Presents:Teen Titans Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by George Kashdan.

Petraeus Magic A No Show

Republican pundants have been saying for weeks that Petraeus would turn the tide in public opinion about Iraq. As has been the case for a couple of years straight now, Republican pundants were dead wrong. A CBS News poll shows almost no movement at all with regards to public opinion on Iraq from the bogusly-named Petraeus Report. The country appears to be finally waking up to the reality of Bush's insanity.

In fact, the percentage of Americans who believe we should either maintain or increase our current troops levels in Iraq was higher before Petraeus (30%) than it is after Petraeus (27%). The percentage of Americans who want a troop reduction or complete withdrawal increased after the Petraeus week (from 65% to 68%), and only a small minority of Americans actually believe Gen. Petraeus' claims that "the surge has made things in Iraq better." I think we need to call these people what they are: the brainless Bushies.

MoveOn Bitch-Slaps Rudy!

This has gotta hurt!

Cheating Your Way to the Super Bowl

Over on the Tony Isabella board I have been involved in a heated discussion regarding this weeks revelation that the New England Patriots have been cheating for years by videotaping the opponents defensive coaches signals. The NFL fined Patriot head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and a draft pick. I contend that that is too lenient of a punishment. Others on the board disagreed with me. Pat O'Neil responded...

Maybe it's from not being a sports fan at heart, but I've never understood why trying your damnedest to get the other team's secrets is "cheating." It's not like they physically stole a copy of the playbook--that would be theft and it would be a crime. But using a camera or binoculars to read the other team's signals? Isn't that a bit like telling one side or other in a war that it's "cheating" to break the other guy's codes?

So if you don't agree with the rule it is OK to break it? The league rules are very, very specific about the use of video; you are strictly forbidden to aim a camera at the opponents sidelines. Period. As the LA Times asked today, how many other quarterbacks could have a league-leading 146.8 passing rating (like the Patriots' Tom Brady does) if they knew every defense they were facing on every play?

But addressing Pat's question in specific, it is not against the rules to read lips or to in any other way watch what the coaches on the other team are doing, with the sole exception that it is against the rules to video tape or otherwise record what they are doing so that you can replay it over and over at your leisure and know for certain what movement by a coach is a signal for what offensive or defensive play. To do so is to cheat; there is absolutely no "gray area" here. They cheated and they have been doing it for years and the result of their cheating is they won three Super Bowls in four years. Pat thought I missed his point...

I think you missed the essence of my question. I understand that it's a rule and breaking it should be punished. My question is more along the lines of "why does the rule exist in the first place"? Why did someone decide that using technology to better understand how your opponent is communicating is wrong? Binocs are OK but a camera isn't?

Why then do teams trade game film (I guess it's game tape these days)? Would it be OK for a team to tape the network coverage of an opponent and then use THAT in an attempt to break the signal code?

I think it is the difference between thinking you might have figured out some of the defensive plays and knowing that you know them all. The Patriots knew what defense they were facing on every play. In that, they had an unfair advantage that they came by illegally.

Now if they really want to fix this all they have to do is put a radio in the defensive captain's helmet and call the play in like they do for offense. It would require a defensive huddle every time if hand signals are not used, and the defensive coordinator would need to cover his mouth like the coach or offensive coordinator does today, but it would end the problem. But Pat thinks that the rule is irrational and that there is a simple solution.

But it's only "illegal" because of what I see as an irrational rule--you're not allowed to even TRY and see what signals precede what plays.

Why not go the way baseball does with batting and baserunning signals--simply make them so complicated that figuring them out is worthy of a CIA cryptographer. "The signal for steal is I run my left hand across my letters. But it's only the right signal if it comes after I've touched my cap twice. And if I then touch my cap again, it means the steal is off but it's a hit-and-run."

A baseball coach makes SO many gestures in the course of signalling his players that it's almost impossible for the opposing team to know which gesture is meaningless and which signals a play.

Yeah, but the signal in baseball is "steal or don't steal," not a very complex bit of information to pass along. There are dozens of defensive formations in football that could be called in and I don't see the baseball solution as viable. Here is a much simpler solution; don't cheat and if you do you're out of the game for good, your contract is immediately null and void and you must pay back any money you have been paid for the current season. If you cheat the league should tell you "Adios mother fucker! Hope you enjoyed your career" And how you feel about the rule it moot; it is illegal to video tape or otherwise record the defensive coaches on the sidelines. Period.

My good friend Tony Isabella also agreed with Pat.

I have to agree with Pat on this, Barry, but I'll add that I don't give a rat's ass about the NFL. I think professional football is a disgrace. I don't think it's sufficiently regulated, and I think it's an abomination how badly players are provided for when they suffer career-ending and life-threatening injuries. I think it's moronic how some fans act in so-called support of "their" teams.

Now if you put the fat-ass owners, coaches, and fans on the field...now that I would pay to see.

I of course disagreed with Tony on the major point, and on football being a disgrace, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Football is pretty much the only sport I can stomach to watch.

Tony's point about injuries did resonate with me though. Baseball and basketball players are paid way too much money for me to ever care about any of them. On the other hand, NFL players can make huge sums of money, but they will pay for it for the rest of their lives in physical problems. The league makes an obscene amount of money and a good portion of that should be spent of free long-term medical care for all who choose to sacrifice their bodies for the game. If you step out on that field, the league should guarantee your health care for the rest of your life.

3:10 To Yuma

Last month I told of how much I was anticipating James Mangold's remake of the classic 1957 western 3:10 To Yuma. Wow, was this film worth the wait.

This is a gorgeous piece of work, a classic western on its own, in the vein of The Unforgiven. Much more violent and dark than its 1957 predecessor, it is also more expansive in the story it tells, adding more action to the mix, yet retaining the core story of one desperate good man finding himself and one bad man finding his own good while waiting for the 3:10 train to Yuma.

Much of the story and some of dialog are exactly the same in both films. Legendary outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang have just robbed an armed stage coach killing everyone on board except Pinkerton guard, Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda), whom Wade's right hand man Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), shoots in the belly. Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) and his two sons find McElroy and take him to Bisbee, Arizona to find a doctor. Wade is alone in town and while Dan distracts him, the sheriff is able to capture Wade without a single shot being fired.

Railroad representative Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) asks for paid volunteers to join McElroy's posse to take Wade to the train station in the town of Contention three days away. They must put Wade on the 3:10 train's prison car bound for Yuma. Dan Evans, desperately needing money to save his farm, agrees to help transport Wade to Contention joining Tucker (Kevin Durand) and Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk), the town's veterinarian in the posse. The film is race to meet the 3:10 while avoiding Wades ultra-violent gang. But deceptions fail and the odds move in the gangs favor. Time seems to be passing far too slowly as Evans and Wade await the 3:10 to Yuma.

In Bale and Crowe we have two of the best actors working today and they both shine in this film. Christian Bale in particular just disappears in the role of Dan Evans, a good man who has just been beaten down by the bad breaks he has endured. In the end the journey to the 3:10 to Yuma is more about being seen as a man than saving his ranch and Bale is just pure perfection in the role. When his wife asks him not to go along on the posse Dan responds, "If I don't go, we gotta pack up and leave. Now I'm tired, Alice. I'm tired of watching my boys go hungry. I'm tired of the way that they look at me. I'm tired of the way that you don't. "

Yeow, is that great writing and Bale delivers it with a brutal honesty that defines the character.

This cast is packed with amazing talent. Ben Foster, who I first noticed in Six Feet Under and have since watched blossom as ah actor in Hostage, Alpha Dog and X-Men: The Last Stand, steals almost every scene he is in as Charlie Prince. Also, Alan Tudyk ("Wash" on Firefly and "Steve the Pirate" in Dodgeball) has a fine turn as Doc Potter. We also have very good performances from Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol as Evan's hard-working wife, Logan Leman as Evan's oldest son William and Dallas Roberts as Butterfield.

Violent and raw though it is, 3:10 to Yuma is also beautifully photographed by Phedon Papamichael and has a wonderful, stirring score by Marco Beltrami. You get a sense of this from the trailer. Take a look and then get your ass to the theaters and see 3:10 to Yuma.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Adventures of Jerry Lewis #103

This is one of those strange days when DC released only one new comic. If you ran to the store 40 years ago today, the only new DC comic on the stands was...

Adventures of Jerry Lewis #103 (On Sale: September 14, 1967) has another Neal Adams cover. Adams' inking style is very evident in the gorilla.

Inside we have "Somebody Stole Our School" written by Arnold Drake and drawn by Neal Adams. If I owned this one, I would tell you what it was about.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

Bush Lies Some More; Edwards Speaks the Truth

After George Bush looked you in the face and lied his ass off last night, John Edwards paid for a commercial to tell you the truth. I'm still leaning towards Edwards myself, with Obama as a second choice.

Huckabeen!

My wife has been very impressed with Mike Huckabee. That all ended tonight. His performance on MSNBC as you standard Bush-loving political hack ended any chance this guy had of getting my wife's vote. "The surge is working" the little turd said and with those words he sealed his fate and let us all see his true self.

Setting 71% of the World On Fire!

It's the future. You pull your new car into a filling station and load up, only you are not putting gasoline in your car. You are filling up with salt water. Salt water, the most abundant element in the world may just be the answer to our problems in the middle east. According to this AP article, a cancer researcher in Erie, Pennsylvania has found a way to make plain sea water burn at more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit by exposing the water to radio frequencies. The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen,

Way too soon to know if this will go anyplace, but it just might be the answer to a lot of problems. Now we just need it studied and developed so, should it turn out to be what some people seem to think it is, we can say a big hairy "F You" to the entire middle east and most of George Bush's friends in the oil business.

The People of Iraq Are Speaking With One Voice Too

On Monday the Daily Kos published an item from DemFromCT entitled Iraqis Say Surge Has Failed, which highlighted details from a new joint poll run by ABC News, the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK. Here are just a few observations from the poll, but check out the Daily Kos for the whole story:

• The number of Iraqis endorsing attacks on US troops has INCREASED since March (i.e. since the surge has taken effect): 57% as compared to 50% now endorse such attacks (93% of Sunnis, 50% of Shiites, 5% of Kurds). [Note those Sunni numbers!]
• The number of Iraqis saying security has WORSENED since the current US troop buildup (this is an answer to a specific question about the "Surge") is 70%. Only 12% think it has improved things in the country.
• The number of Iraqis in favor of an IMMEDIATE withdrawal of US troops is now 47%, up from 34% in March.
• The number of respondents expressing "a great deal of confidence" in Coalition forces is 4%. The number expressing "no confidence at all" in coalition forces is 58% (up from 52% in March). Overall 85% of Iraqis express little or no confidence in coalition forces (up from 82% this March).
• 53% of Iraqis strongly oppose the presence of coalition forces (the highest number ever, up from March of this year). Only 5% strongly approve their
  presence. In total 79% disapprove of their presence and 21% approve their presence. This is unchanged from earlier this year.
• On "Al Qaeda," 0% of respondents support attacks by AQ on Iraqis, 1% support AQ attempts to "take over communities," but 48% support AQ attacks on Americans.
• The Maliki government has an approval rating now of 33% (down from 41% in March)
  

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Justice League of America #57

Justice League of America #57 (On Sale: September 12, 1967) has another great cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson and showcasing someone other than the big three.

"Man, Thy Name is -- Brother" is a JLA classic issue by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Sid Greene. When Snapper Carr writes a term paper on Brotherhood Week, three JLA members volunteer to investigate bigotry-related news items for him. Flash aids a young black boy in search of acceptance for his talents, and in turn is helped against a gang of robbers. Green Arrow teams up with an Indian youth to clear the youngster's name after he is accused of involvement in a mail holdup. Snapper accompanies Hawkman to India to help a famous philanthropist settle differences between two warring tribes Reprinted in the Justice League of America Archives Vol. 7 HC and Best of DC #3.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

The Uber-C Strikes Again!

Right-wing uber-cunt Anne Coulter was at it again. This past Thursday on the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati Coulter gave another of her patented hate-filled speeches, but she needs to pick better topics. During her speech she said that Democrats, "believe public restrooms are only for snorting coke."

Unlike Republicans who believe that are for giving blow jobs. Tap! Tap! Tap!

Ya walked right into that one Anne, with the filthy mouth wide open as usual.

Opportunity to Finally Rove

As I told you more than two months ago, the Mars Rover Opportunity is finally going down into Victoria Crater today. The descent into the crater was postponed by stormy Mars weather I reported on in July. Once again the little "rovers that could," have survived to run another day. It will take NASA a few days to get Opportunity down into the 230 foot deep crater. Who knows what new mysteries the rover will find once it gets there.

Petraeus, SpinMeister General?

This is according to John Aravosis at AMERICAblog.com:

Petraeus yesterday before Congress:

When I testified in January, for example, no one would have dared to forecast that Anbar Province would have been transformed the way it has in the past 6 months.

What Petraeus said 6 months ago at his confirmation hearing (via CQ, subscription only link):

"You've seen it, I know, in Anbar province, where it has sort of gone back and forth. And right now, there appears to be a trend in the positive direction where sheiks are stepping up, and they do want to be affiliated with and supported by the U.S. Marines and Army forces who are in Anbar province. That was not the case as little as perhaps six months ago, or certainly before that."

Not an outright lie, but still he's twisting his own words. He spun Anbar positively in January, now he's trying to pretend like the positive developments in Anbar are some kind of huge surprise that we had no inkling of back in January. The man simply can't keep his stories straight because he's always spinning.

The People of America Are Speaking With One Voice

But are the Republicans listening?

From Daily Kos...

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday and Saturday finds that a White House push to spotlight progress in Iraq, including President Bush's surprise stop in Anbar province last week, hasn't fundamentally changed attitudes toward the war.

While a third of those surveyed say the "surge" of U.S. troops this year has made them more confident the United States will accomplish its goals, a majority calls the invasion a mistake and predicts the war will be lost.

A record 60% say the United States should set a timetable to withdraw forces "and stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq."

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Aquaman #36

Aquaman #36 (On Sale: September 7, 1967) has another nice cover by Nick Cardy and a blurb referencing the new Superman-Aquaman Hour which premiered on Saturday morning, September 2nd on CBS.

Inside we have "What Seeks the Awesome Threesome?" by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. Aquaman and his family build a replica of Atlantis as an exhibit for surface dwellers to visit. The pavilion is attacked and demolished by three robotic creatures known as the Awesome Threesome. After wrecking the exhibit the terrible trio known as the Torpedo Man, Magneto, and the Claw destroy a gyro-moleculizer which is being displayed in another exhibit.

Aquaman and Aqualad battle the robots to a standstill, but they are unable to beat them. Then a creature emerges from the ground beneath the destroyed pavilion. The alien makes his way to the real Atlantis followed by Aquaman. The Awesome Threesome delay the Sea King, allowing the alien to be picked up by a flying saucer.

Edited by George Kashdan.

A Matter of Interpretation

The AP Headline screams, "Bush calls video reminder of dangers." It is referring to the new video by Osama bin Laden. Well, that's one interpretation I guess and a really dishonest one at that, but don't we all expect that type of silly crap from President Shit-For-Brains? Here is my interpretation and that of a hell of a lot of people in America and around the world. This video is a reminder that it has been six fucking years since you said you were going to get bin Laden "dead or alive" and he is still free and you are still a joke of a leader; a real honest to god shit-for-brains.

Your failures make videos so the whole world can laugh at you. Boy, do I feel safer now.

40 Years Ago Today From DC Comics -- Flash #174

Flash #174 (On Sale: September 5, 1967) features another cool cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. Almost a little Eisnerish. This issue features a milestone in the story of the Flash, as you will see. It kind of surprises me that this story has not been reprinted.

"Stupendous Triumph of the Six Super-Villains" is by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene (Infantino's last Flash issue). Mirror Master escapes from prison after tuning in on a parallel dimension inside one of his special mirrors. The other Earth is inhabited by a crimefighting Mirror Master and a criminal Flash. Mirror Master observes his counterpart using a mirror weapon that defeats the evil Flash. Mirror Master constructs a duplicate of the weapon, then breaks five of his fellow rogues out of prison.

The Rogues set a trap for the Flash, but Mirror Master's new weapon fails. After they escape, Mirror Master visits the parallel world to learn more about the weapon. He double-crosses the evil Flash, then learns how to use the mirror weapon.

After Mirror Master returns to his own world, he sets another trap for the Flash with the other Rogues. However, as they spring the trap, the evil Flash from the parallel dimension switches places with his counterpart. The Rogues then defeat the evil Flash. The Earth-1 Flash returns home and surprises the Rogues.

Barry Allen tells his wife Iris that he is the Flash and is surprised to learn that Iris already knows his secret since he talks in his sleep.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

How Hot Is It?

I decided to add an AccuWeather link to the page since the temperature seems to be the main topic of discussion lately. It seems much cooler this morning though.

Hot Parents

It was 108F yesterday and 106F today, so I went and got my parents and brought them over to our house. My Dad had an air conditioner put in almost 40 years ago, but I would bet he hasn't had it turned on in 25 to 30 years. Don't ask me why; it makes no sense, but I was not about to have them sweltering in their house another day.

Some things my parents do just seem stupid to me.