If Only Real Housework Were This Fun

On the video-game front, we still haven't found a Wii. However, we haven't been looking all that hard. They just don't seem to be available yet, and it's too stressful to try to track one down. I want one, but not enough to camp out for one, even if it were summer.

Instead, I've been playing Chibi-Robo!, an extremely cute game where the player is a tiny robot who helps out a family with housework and domestic troubles. I never thought I'd enjoy picking up garbage and scrubbing footprints. Not everybody would enjoy this, but I like it a lot.

Books

72. Dramacon, vol. 2 by Svetlana Chmakova. (Checked out of the library.)
    
73. Mister I by Lewis Trondheim. Wordless comics about a guy trying to get something to eat and failing miserably. (Library.)
    
74. Penny Arcade, vol. 2: Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings by Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik. More gaming comics collected from the web. (Library.)
    
75. Super Power Blues by Dave Morello. (Library.)
    
76. Captain America: Red Menace, vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting. I really should be buying these CA collections. Brubaker is handling the character well, and I enjoy these comics a lot. (Library.)
    
77. East Coast Rising, vol. 1 by Becky Cloonan. Pirate adventures set after global warming has raised the sea levels enough to flood coastal cities.
    
78. Captain America & the Falcon: Secret Empire by Steve Englehart, & Sal Buscema, with Mike Friedrich. For years I had heard about this storyline that ends with Cap unmasking the leader of a secret society bent on controlling the US, only to discover that the leader (who had just committed suicide) was Richard Nixon. It was entertaining, but I think it works better as a legendary story than an actual one.
    
79. Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry. When I first heard about this adaptation of Gaiman's novel/tv series, I thought that Fabry did not seem like a good fit for this story. And my judgment has been verified. He's a good artist, but his style just doesn't work here. I hated the character designs for Door & the Marquis de Carabas. In fact, the only character designs I liked were for Croup & Vandemar.
    
80. Claymore, vol. 3: Teresa of the Faint Smile by Norihiro Yagi. (Library.)
    
81. Dragon Head, vol. 5 by Minetaro Mochizuki. A character named "Dragon Head" is introduced in this volume, the fifth of ten. And U.S. fans complain about "decompression" in comics. (Library.)
    
82. Monster, vol. 1 by Naoki Urasawa. Medical thriller/horror manga. Quite good. I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes. (Library.)
    
83. Rex Mundi, vol. 2: The River Underground by Arvid Nelson & Eric J. (Library.)
    
84. X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David, vol. 2 by Peter David, et al. This volume reprints comics from the 90s and features a cross-over with the Hulk (also written at that time by David).
    
85. Bleach, vol. 17: Rosa Rubicundior, Lilio Candidior by Tite Kubo. The storyline that has been running for many volumes seems to be working its way to a close.
    
86. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., vol. 1: This Is What They Want by Warren Ellis & Stuart Immonen. Completely over-the-top superhero shenanigans. Funny & fun. Too bad sales weren't better. But I guess comics fans want serious, important, mature comics. And that's why the pretentious, poorly-written, and ill-conceived "Civil War" did so well, and this comic was canceled.

Movies & TV on DVD

• Samurai Jack, Season 2. Damn good show.
  
• Children of Men. This was the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. Absolutely excellent. Highly recommended, and I wish it had been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
  
• Little Shop of Horrors. Such a fun movie, considering that one of the characters is a human-eating plant from outer space. Great songs.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Swamp Diamonds. From a movie inspired by a Roger Corman movie to one directed by him. This thing is a mess and doesn't really make any sense. But you do get to see lots of stock footage of New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
  
• MST3K: The Giant Spider Invasion. This movie may be a low point in Alan Hale, Jr's career, and that's saying something.
  
• The Godfather. Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie until now. I hadn't been avoiding it, but there just never was a chance. Now, I've got to see Part 2 sometime.
  
• Nashville. Teen absolutely hated this, and I'm sorry I dragged her to it. And I have to say that of the Altman films I've seen, I like this one the least.
  
• The Producers. A movie musical based on a stage musical based on a non-musical movie. I haven't seen the stage version (although I have and love the cast recording), but this is the least of all three versions.
  
• House of Flying Daggers. An absolutely beautiful movie, with some exquisitely choreographed fights.