Happy Labor Day!
Unfortunately, Teena is unable to completely take this day off. She's got to prepare for class to begin tomorrow. However, I'm at home today, and I'm using the time to update.

353. Fallen Angel, vol. 3: Back in Noire. By Peter David, J.K. Woodward, & Kristian Donaldson. I would say that this is the best comic David is currently writing. Possibly the best comic he has ever written.
     
354. Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim & Jesse Hamm. When I saw that this book was written by the same person who wrote Same Difference & Other Stories, I knew it'd be good. I wasn't disappointed.
     
355. Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, vol. 1: Family of Heroes by various. Some of the most entertaining comics Marvel is currently publishing are coming from the Marvel Adventures line of comics for younger readers.
     
356. In Search of the Far Side by Gary Larson. Comics for the geek in all of us.
     
357. The Ultimates 2, vol. 2: Grand Theft America by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch. Big, loud, enjoyable super-hero comics. Much better than Civil War. (Checked out of the library.)
     
358. Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, vol. 3: World's Greatest by Jeff Parker, et al. These comics are just fun.
     
359. Yotsuba &!, vol. 2 by Kiyohiko Azuma. More cute comics about an enthusiastic little girl. (Library.)
     
360. Hound of the Far Side by Gary Larson.
     
361. Essential Silver Surfer, vol. 2 by Steve Engelhart, Marshall Rogers, et al. Big, cosmic comics, with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. Fun stuff. And Rogers' art is fantastic.
     
362. Anne Freaks, vol. 1 by Yua Kotegawa. I picked this up on a whim when I spotted it at the library. But the story didn't grab me, so I don't think I'll be picking up any further volumes. (Library.)
     
363. The Incredible Hulk: Prelude to Planet Hulk by David Way, Keu Cha, & Juan Santacruz. (Library.)
     
364. The Punisher, vol. 7: Man of Stone by Garth Ennis & Leandro Fernandez. (Library.)
     
365. Legion of Super-Heroes, vol. 2: Death of a Dream by Mark Waid & Barry Kitson. I've lost track of how many times the Legion of Super-Heroes has been rebooted since Crisis on Infinite Earths, but I'm enjoying this version of the characters while they last. (Library.)
     
366. Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, vol. 6: Monsters & Mysteries by Fred Van Lente & Clay Mann. Kids' comics don't have to justify themselves to the readers by pretending to be "mature". Of course, mainstream comics don't have to do so either, but a lot of the creators apparently think they do; hence grim, dark comics that have all the fun stripped out of them.
     
367. Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, vol. 6: The Black Costume by Fred Van Lente, Cory Hamscher, & Michael O'Hare.
     
368. BomBaby: The Screen Goddess by Antony Mazzotta. An attempt to translate a Bollywood film to comics. I'm not sure it works without music. But I still liked it.
     
369. Goodnight, Irene: The Collected Stories of Irene Van de Kamp by Carol Lay. This parody of romance comics is pretty strange (the title character is a Caucasian woman raised in Africa & who has a plate lip), but I like it as much as when I read some of these stories back in the early 90's.
     
370. Alan Moore: Wild Worlds by Alan Moore, et al. These comics Moore wrote for Image back in the 90's aren't his strongest work, but it's nice to have them collected.
     
371. Skinwalker by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, & Brian Hurtt. I liked this X-Files-ish story when I checked it out of the library, so I snapped it up when I found a copy on sale at 50% at a local comic store.

And now for movies & DVDs I've seen lately:

• Penn & Teller: Bullshit! The First Season. This is a great TV series in which Penn & Teller explore a variety of topics, from alternative medicine to UFO abduction, and explain how it's all bullshit. I don't always agree with them, but they're always funny.
  
• Samurai Jack, Season 3.
  
• Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. I know a lot of people don't like this book, but I quite enjoyed it, and I think the movie adaptation worked well (assuming you know that back story).
  
• The Simpsons Movie. We haven't watched the show in years, but Teena & I had to go see the movie. We liked it. And it was helped by the movie-going experience. We saw this at Cinetopia, a fantastic local theater. It's pricey, but not all that much more than Regal, and you get some nice perks for the extra money. The seats are extremely comfortable, there is plenty of leg-room, there are even ottomans so you can put your feet up. In some of the auditoria, they serve food & wine, which we didn't try. But the bar-service means that no-one under 21 is allowed in those theaters. No crying babys! No texting teenagers! All in all, it was a great experience, and we'll be going back there every now & again.
  
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Lost Continent. This film contains more footage of rock climbing than any other movie ever made. No, I'm not making an exception for documentaries about rock climbing.
  
• Paprika. Anime film from the director of Paranoia Agent about dreams & some machines that allow people to share them.
  
• Man on the Moon. Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman.
  
• MST3K: Wild Rebels.
  
• MST3K: Shorts, vol. 2.
  
• MST3K: The Indestructible Man. As you may have noticed, I've been watching a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Basically, Teena & I realized that some of the DVD sets have gone out of print, and to make sure that we didn't miss any, we ordered a bunch of the sets we didn't have. And we've been watching them.
  
• The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark. Three MST3K alumni (Michael Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett) are continuing the tradition. No silhouettes, this time around, but the jokes are a little racier. This movie stars Rue McClanahan as a would-be actress who falls on hard times and ends up working as a stripper. Wait, before you run away, it's from 30 years before Golden Girls. I'm looking forward to future discs in this series.
  
• Stardust. Different from the book, but that's to be expected in any adaptation from one medium to another. We liked this and have only minor quibbles.
  
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit! The Complete Second Season. More skepticism from Penn & Teller.
  
• Young Frankenstein. Mel Brooks' humor may not be sophisticated or subtle, but it is funny. (Or it was, when he made this. His recent track record isn't too hot.)
  
• Labyrinth. Cheesy, but I like it. However, when we saw this last night, we were unfortunate enough to be sitting next to a group of people who clearly have seen the movie way too many times. They recited every single line of the entire movie, including the songs. Teena shushed them a few times (she was the unlucky one sitting right next to them), as did other people around them. It didn't do any good. This isn't The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it's not your living room. Shut the hell up.