Your 2005 Song Is

Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz "Love forever love is free. Let's turn forever you and me." In 2005, you were loving life and feeling no pain.

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

New episodes of Battlestar Galactica begin airing in 2 weeks. This makes me very happy.

And I've finished another mix CD. This one is songs from anime & Japanese video game soundtracks (with one exception, and that's from an American cartoon with a strong anime influence & is by a Japanese duo).

Music for Otaku*

1. "Katamari March Damacy" from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
   
2. The Seatbelts - "Tank! (Live)" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
   
3. "Chocobo Jam" from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack
   
4. The Pillows - "Ride on Shooting Star" from the FLCL soundtrack
   
5. Puffy AmiYumi - "Teen Titans Theme" from Nice
   
6. "Everlasting Love" from the We {heart} Katamari soundtrack
   
7. "Katamari Stars" from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
   
8. "Katamari on the Swing" from the We {heart} Katamari soundtrack
   
9. "Lonely Rolling Star" from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
   
10. "Katamari Mambo~Katamari Syndrome Mix" from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
    
11. The Seatbelts - "What Planet Is This? (Live)" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
    
12. Susumu Hirasawa - "Dream Island Obsessional Park" from the Paranoia Agent soundtrack
    
13. Steve Conteh - "Call Me Call Me" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
    
14. Yoko Kanno - "Lithium Flower" from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtrack
    
15. The Pillows - "Little Busters" from the FLCL soundtrack
    
16. Yoko Kanno - "Inner Universe" from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtrack
    
17. Raju Ramayya - "Ask DNA" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
    
18. Susumu Hirasawa - "White Hill - Maromi's Theme" from the Paranoia Agent soundtrack

*Otaku is Japanese for nerd, particularly those focussing on anime & manga.

Happy Solstice, everybody!

Things may be dark right now, but the sun is returning. Things will get brighter. I need to keep reminding myself of this, because if I spend too much time thinking about politics, my head will explode.

Continuing to update:

401. Buddha, vol. 6: Ananda by Osamu Tezuka. I've said it before about this series, but it is a remarkable achievement. And I think I've also mentioned that a while back I saw a solicitation for the first volume in paperback. That was something like six months ago, and there's still no sign of it. It's very frustrating. I would love to own these books, but I just can't justify paying $25 a volume. (Library.)
     
402. The Losers, vol. 3: Trifecta by Andy Diggle & Jock. (Library.)
     
403. Adventures of the Rifle Brigade by Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra. (Library.)
     
404. Astro City: Local Heroes by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson. The latest collection in this remarkable series. Busiek tells some fantastic and emotionally-true stories using superheroes.
     
405. Ultimate Spider-Man, vol. 6 by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley. I question the wisdom of an "ultimate" version of Carnage, but I still enjoyed this & will continued to pick up these collections.
     
406. Heroes & Villains: The William Messner-Loebs Benefit Book by various. Messner-Loebs wrote some wonderful comics, including great runs on The Flash and Wonder Woman. Plus, he wrote & drew Journey, an amazing series about frontier life in the early 19th century. Unfortunately, he has not found work in several years. This benefit book is an attempt to help him out. I hope it worked. And I really hope more of his work is collected.
     
407. Doom Patrol, vol. 3: Down Paradise Way by Grant Morrison, Richard Case, & Kelley Jones. Yay! More of Morrison's run on Doom Patrol has been collected. This volume even features the introduction of Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery. It's a shame the Flex Mentallo mini-series stands virtually no chance of being collected, since Charles Atlas's estate doesn't care for certain aspects of the character.
     
408. OUtsiders, vol. 3: Wanted by Judd Winick, et al.
     
409. Usagi Yojimbo, vol. 19: Fathers & Sons by Stan Sakai. I'm not sure what to say about this series that I haven't already said. Great stuff.
     
410. Bite Club by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman, & David Hahn.
     
411. One Piece, vol. 8: I Won't Die by Eiichiro Oda. Recently Teena said she hoped there was less shouting in the manga version of One Piece than in the anime version. There isn't, but since I control the volume level in my head, it's tolerable.
     
412. Kwaidan by Jung & Jee-Yun. As I read this, I wondered if there were some problems with the translation. (Library.)
     
413. One, vol. 1 by Lee Vin. I think that's pronounced "Oh-nay", but I'm not sure. In any case, I picked up this book because I happened to spot volume 1 on the shelf at the library. I wasn't impressed & won't be picking up any further volumes. (Library.)
     
414. Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, vol. 2. I don't understand why comics publishers didn't hit on the idea of collecting certain creators' runs on comics long before they actually did. I guess too many people still follow titles or characters rather than creators.
     
415. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Twelfth: The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket. These books keep getting better & better. I'm eagerly awaiting the final volume in this series. (Library.)
     
416. The Shark Diaries by Jim Toomey. (Teena's book.)
     
417. The Goon, vol. 0: Rough Stuff by Eric Powell. Not too long ago, Dark Horse reprinted an early issue of The Goon for $.25. Well, I couldn't pass up that price, so I picked it up & really enjoyed it. Funny stuff. I'm afraid my budget doesn't allow me to buy the collections, but that's what libraries are for. (Library.)
     
418. The Curse of Dracula by Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan. More vampire stories from the team behind Tomb of Dracula? How could I pass that up? Obviously, I didn't.
     
419. Jack Kirby's Forth World, featuring Mister Miracle. Wonderful Kirby strangeness.
     
420. Spider-Man: Son of the Goblin by various. (Library.)
     
421. Rising Stars, vol. 3: Fire & Ash by J. Michael Straczynski & Brent Anderson.
     
422. Iron Wok Jan!, vol. 3 by Shinji Saijyo. (Library.)
     
423. Iron Wok Jan!, vol. 4 by Shinji Saijyo. (Library.)
     
424. Iron Wok Jan!, vol. 5 by Shinji Saijyo. (Library.)
     
425. Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, vol. 3.
     
426. Tuxedo Gin, vol. 5 by Tokihiko Matsuura. (Library.)
     
427. Man of Steel, vol. 4 by John Byrne, et al. More reprints from the 80's revamp of Superman.
     
428. The Bogie Man by John Wagner, Alan Grant, & Robin Smith. Stories about an escaped mental patient who thinks he's Humphry Bogart.
     
429. Bone Sharps, Cowboys & Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology by Jim Ottaviani & Big Time Attic. I always enjoy Ottaviani's comics about scientists, and when I was little, I wanted to become a paleontologist, so his latest book was a treat.
     
430. Keif Llama: Particle Dreams by Matt Howarth. I really enjoy Howarth's work; he's one of the few creators who does actual science fiction comics (as opposed to superheroes with a thin veneer of SF. The stories reprinted here aren't his best work, but I am extremely happy to see them in print and hope it's a sign that more collections will be forthcoming. (That reminds me, the latest issue of the new Keif Llama series was supposed to have come out a few weeks back. I'll need to check on that, since my comic book store didn't supply me with a copy.)
     
431. Jenny Finn: Messiah by Mike Mignola, Troy Nixey & Faral Dalrymple.
     
432. Batman: Under the Hood by Judd Winick, Dough Mahnke & Paul Lee.
     
433. Dorothy, vol. 1 by Mark Masterson, Greg Mannino, Catie Fisher, et al. Heavily photoshopped photo-comics retelling the story of The Wizard of Oz. Strange, but very cool.
     
434. Dr. Slump, vol. 4 by Akira Toriyama.
     
435. Dragon Ball Z, vol. 19 by Akira Toriyama.
     
436. Champs by Steven Weissman.
     
437. Mister X: The Definitive Collection, vol. 2 by Dean Motter, Seth, et al. This volume reprints the Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean story that has been reprinted many, many times.
     
438. Juicy Mother, vol. 1: Celebration by various. A collection of short comics stories by gay comics creators. (Library.)
     
439. The Ultimates, vol. 1 by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch. Millar's work has always been hit & miss for me, so I avoided this for a while, despite having read quite a few good reviews of it. I was afraid it'd be too cynical for my tastes, but I liked it a lot. Enough that I'm considering buying it at some point. (Library.)
     
440. A Child's Life and Other Stories by Pheobe Gloeckner. (Library.)
     
441. Hunter X Hunter, vol. 5 by Yoshihiro Togashi.
     
442. Black Jack: Two-Fisted Surgeon by Osamu Tezuka. (Library.)
     
443. Surfer Safari by Jim Toomey. (Teena's book.)
     
444. Superman For Tomorrow, vol. 1 by Brian Azzarello & Jim Lee. Azzarello's writing style just doesn't fit with Superman. (Library.)
     
445. The Bloodline Chronicles by Varanda & Ange. (Library.)
     
446. Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci by Pat McGreal, David Rawson, & Chaz Truog. Great historical fiction. The medium is capable of so much; it's too bad it's almost entirely taken up with superheroes. (Not that there's anything wrong with superheroes; I read plenty of them myself. It's just that there could be so much more.)
     
447. Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett & Melvyn Grant. This is a Discworld children's book; that is, not a children's book about the Discworld (although it is that), but a children's book that was published in the Discworld (sort of). (Teena's book.)
     
448. 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005 by various.
     
449. Vic & Blood: The Continuing Adventures of a Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison & Richard Corben.
     
450. Day of Vengeance by Bill Willingham, Judd Winick, Ian Churchill, & Justiniano.

Time for another break.

Here's an idea: How about I actually do what this blog is supposed to be about? It's been nearly 3 months since I last added to the book list. It's well past time I did something about that. Comments are likely to be sparse as I've got a lot of books to get through (I'm hoping to get caught up by the end of the year) and I may just not remember enough about the book to have something interesting to say.

369. Frumpy the Clown, vol. 2: The Fat Lady Sings by Judd Winick.
     
370. Dr. Slump, vol. 3 by Akira Toriyama.
     
371. Ursula by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. (Checked out of the library.)
     
372. The Avengers: The Serpent Crown by Steve Englehart & George Perez. I think I'd had my expecations built up too high after having heard about this storyline for years, because I was a little disappointed. Still, there's something about Marvel comics from the 70's.
     
373. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Wow, an actual novel. Set in the same world as Gaiman's previous novel, American Gods, this has a very different tone & feel. I like them both, but I can see where somebody might not.
     
374. Runaways, vol. 4: True Believers by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona. I'm still not buying individual issues, but I do really enjoy these cheap digest-sized collections.
     
375. Sleeper, vol. 1: Out in the Cold by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.
     
376. Sleeper, vol. 2: All False Moves by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.
     
377. Sleeper, vol. 3: A Crooked Line by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips.
     
378. Sleeper, vol. 4: The Long Way Home by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips. I know people complained that this excellent series came to an end, but it seems to me that the nature of the story (an agent deep undercover in a terrorist organization must decide where his loyalties really lie) has to have a conclusion. If this series had gone on much longer, I don't think it would have worked; the stories would have become repetitive or too implausible (of course, we're talking about people with superpowers, so credibility isn't a large factor to start with, but that's a reason not to stretch what you have any further).
     
379. Project: Superior by various. (Library.)
     
380. Jack Cole & Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits by Art Spiegelman & Chip Kidd. I didn't actually know much about Cole before reading this, so it was interesting. Plus, it was nice to actually read some of Cole's Plastic Man stories. Reprints are available in archive reprints, but at $50 a pop, that's out of my range.
     
381. Tuxedo Gin, vol. 3 by Tokihiko Matsuura. (Library.)
     
382. Tuxedo Gin, vol. 4 by Tokihiko Matsuura. (Library.)
     
383. Pet Shop of Horrors, vol. 4 by Maturi Akino. (Library.)
     
384. Tramps Like Us, vol. 1 by Yayoi Ogawa. Even manga without any elements of the fantastic are strange: The premise her is that a woman helps out a young homeless man, brings him into her apartment & essentially makes him her pet. There's no sex (at least, not in the volumes I read), but there are plenty of power games & control issues. Odd stuff. (Library.)
     
385. Tramps Like Us, vol. 2 by Yayoi Ogawa. Wow, it's been nearly 3 months since I've felt the need to complain about Amazon's search function & the difficulty of finding particular manga volumes. (Library.)
     
386. Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, vol. 2 by Peter David, Todd McFarlane, & Erik Larsen. I wonder how many more volumes before they get to a good artist. David wrote the Hulk for something like 10 years, and did some very interesting things with the character. Unfortunately, the early part of the run just doesn't look all that good.
     
387. InuYasha, vol. 22 by Rumiko Takahashi. Apparently this series is still ongoing in Japan, so no end in sight. Still, I really enjoy it. (Library.)
     
388. The Murder of Abraham Lincoln by Rick Geary. (Library.)
     
389. No Dead Time by Brian McLachlan & Tom Williams. I didn't remember anything about this book until I found it on Amazon. I still don't have anything to say about it. (Library.)
     
390. PS238, vol. 2: To the Cafeteria...For Justice! by Aaron Williams. This is a great little comic about a school that teaches the children of superheroes. There was a recent movie about the same topic. Unfortunately that film looked absolutely terrible. While I haven't seen the movie, I can virtually guarantee that this book is much better.
     
391. Hunter X Hunter, vol. 4 by Yoshiro Togashi.
     
392. Superman: Day of Doom by Dan Jurgens & Bill Sienkiewicz. Has Jurgens done anything in the past ten years that didn't somehow relate to the "Death of Superman" storyline? (Library.)
     
393. Secret of the Swamp Thing by Len Wein & Berni Wrightson. This is a nice (and cheap) little reprint of the original Swamp Thing stories.
     
394. B.P.R.D., vol. 4: The Dead by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, & Guy Davis. While I love Davis's artwork, and I like seeing the other characters, I miss Hellboy. Aren't there enough short pieces for another Hellboy collection yet?
     
395. Boneyard, vol. 4 by Richard Moore. (Library.)
     
396. Little Lulu: Sunday Afternoon. (Library.)
     
397. Showcase Presents: Superman, vol. 1 by various. Oh man. Where to begin on this wondrous collection of Superman stories from the 50's? It's great (although I had to take it in small doses); full of goofy stories, like the one where a pair of con artists make an educated guess at Superman's secret identity & do a damn good job of convincing Superman that they are his parents. My favorite part of the story is when they set off a smoke bomb to cover their tracks when hiding their "time machine" (since Ma & Pa Kent are dead). They're 10 feet away from Superman, the guy who can hear Jimmy Olsen's signal watch from the other side of the planet, rolling their hamster-ball-shaped time machine into some bushes, and he doesn't notice anything. And I really need to figure out Teena's scanner, because there is one panel in the book that needs to be shared with all the world.
     
398. Strangehaven, vol. 3: Conspiracies by Gary Spencer Millige. This quirky series about a small English village is great, and I don't begruge Millige the time it takes to produce it (18 issues in 10 years isn't a speedy track record), but I was annoyed that this book collecting issues 13-18 came out a week before issue 18 hit the stores.
     
399. 2020 Visions by Jamie Delano, et al.
     
400. From the Desk of Warren Ellis, vol. 1.

Okay, I'm getting nervous Blogger will crap out on me or something along those lines, so I'm going to stop for now. I'll try to post more later today.

You scored as Existentialist. Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility. Existentialist 75% Materialist 75% Postmodernist 63% Cultural Creative 56% Modernist 50% Romanticist 38% Idealist 38% Fundamentalist 6% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

I'm trying to figure out where that 6% Fundamentalist came from.

I've finally finished a mix I've been thinking about for a long time.

The Alchemical Marriage

1. Stephen Colbert - Ladies & Gentlemen
2. Hedwig & the Angry Inch soundtrack - Wig in a Box
3. The Kinks - Lola
4. Tim Curry - Sweet Transvestite
5. Lea DeLaria - Hot Patootie
6. Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side
7. Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
8. Tribe 8 - Tranny Chaser
9. Garbage - Androgyny
10. The Dambuilders - Boys Keep Swinging
11. David Bowie - Lady Stardust
12. The Beatles - Get Back
13. The Who - I’m a Boy
14. The Kinks - Out of the Wardrobe
15. Björk - Venus as a Boy
16. Suzanne Vega - As Girls Go
17. Phranc - The Handsome Cabin Boy
18. Richard Thompson - Woman or a Man?
19. Cowboy Junkies - If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man
20. Lizzie West - I’m Your Man

The theme this time is cross-dressing.

Parts of this essay about fandom and male privilege remind me of Bill O'Reilly's rants about the "war on Christmas." The essayist's comments about how male privilege is so pervasive as to be invisible is right on the money. She is also absolutely right when she says "a lack of male privilege is taken as active oppression, as male-bashing or bias towards women. It is not enough that the mere presence of something which actively aims at women and women's interests is taken as oppressing men; simply not catering to men's interests is perceived as oppression."

(On a side note, the more I learn about O'Reilly, the more convinced I am that the man is insane.)

>You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 75% Superman 70% Robin 50% Hulk 50% Supergirl 43% Iron Man 40% Catwoman 30% Batman 25% Green Lantern 25% The Flash 20% Wonder Woman 8%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...