CALLING MR. PEABODY AND THE WAYBACK MACHINE

I've been thinking about how to put some of the feelings I've had about this past weekend into words. I was unsure how to start this mainly because i was trying to avoid coming across as a total, weepy sap.

This past weekend was my and Chrissy's 20 Year High School Reunion. Yes, for those few of you who actually read this rambling mess of disjointed musings I call a blog and who do NOT know... my wife Chrissy and I were high school sweet-hearts. We both went to Levittown Division High School. We started dating in 1987, went to the Senior Prom together and have been a staple in each others lives since. Through thick and thin she's been my guiding light.

Jeez... see what I mean about sappy?

ANYway... as I was saying... this past weekend was our 20 yr reunion. We had gone to our 10 year reunion, and while it was nice... it was not exactly a barn-buster. Wasn't much to write home about. I had my reservations about going to this one.

First off, the money situation (being so close to Tyler's Birthday and Christmas) was a factor, and second... I wasn't totally sure I was in the proper mind-set to revisit the past. Not that I had horrible memories of high school.. I don't at all. I have many great memories... but I also have a tendency to get very melancholy about such things and sometimes it's hard for me to shake it... so I was leaning towards not attending.

Chrissy wanted to go. She said a number times that she was hoping we'd be attending, and I hate not giving the lovely lady what she wishes, so the odds shifted.

Then came Lisa Fischer Macon.

Lisa and I have been friends for about... ten thousand years. We go back to third grade at Northside Elementary and were constants in each other's lives throughout graduating high school. Lisa was basically there for almost every major point in my life (sometimes in a major role, other times as a bit player) and there are few people who really KNEW me at almost every aspect of my life while I was growing up.

However, as much of us do, after graduation Lisa and I moved on in life and went in different directions. We lost touch and hadn't spoken in roughly 17 years or so. Time waits for no man (or woman) and life went on.

Fast forward to sometime in 2007. Thanks to the internet wonders of MySpace and Facebook, Lisa and I reconnected.

Along with Lisa, other people started popping out of the woodwork. Great names like Debbie Grossman, Tracy Fitzpatrick, John Castrogiovanni, Diane Ceccarelli... they sprung out at me. Ghosts of the past are not always scary things.

As time went by, the reunion loomed and at some point either Chrissy or I mentioned that we might not be going to the reunion.

Lisa pounced.

She would not take "no" for an answer. There was no way we were missing it, she said. I think she was prepared to show up at our door in full body armor, sword in hand, and ready to drag us there.

And as time continued, many of us old freinds began reconnecting in such a building mass that missing the reunion became an unheard of notion.

So, much to Chrissy's (and Lisa's) delight, we purchased our tickets and were a lock to go. As the countdown clicked away to the reunion's date, many of us made plans to after-reunion parties and hangouts and the such. We started stepping beyond the Facebook connection... Chrissy and I started hanging out with Tracy again. I talked to John, Diane and Lisa on the phone. We became parts of each other's daily lives again.

We built it up so much that it could not possibilly stand up to the hype.

So much for THAT theory.

This past weekend was beyond anything I really imagined. I'm not sure WHAT the heck I was expecting anymore. Everyone was excited for it, and we spent so much time talking about it that we were bound to have a let down.

But we not only avoided that let-down... things actually exceeded our expecations.

this was a whirlwind week for Chrissy and I. We had a wedding on November 23rd of two excellent friends that we met only last year. Two great people (Jason and Christine) who we love and cherish. Then came Thanksgiving. Then... the reunion.

Needless to say there was a lot going on.

I'm all over the place with this... just trying to get the emotion of the week out.

But from the moment we packed a crap load of alcohol into the van... to picking up Tracy... to knocking on the hotel door of a girl who is like a sister to me (Lisa) in so many ways and seeing her beaming smile in person for the first time in what seems like forever... to hearing the door knock of Debbie and seeing HER for the first time in forever... to picking up John at the train station and seeing the guy who was just about the best friend I had while growing into puberty for the first time in forever... the night started to morph into a barrage of feelings and emotions that I wasn't sure I was ready to handle. I held onto Chrissy tight that night... I needed her close to me... to be the beacon she's always been. To support the overload that my brain and heart was dealing with.

Then it got even more intense. Michelle Seigal, Tom Vesque, Steve Coffey, Lisa Elliot, Steve Fisher, Pat Bouton, Shaun Walters, Dominick Tinelli... the hits just kept on coming. Seeing everyone and talking about the past mingled with the present and... surreal and heartening. Seeing everyone and seeing the social cliques melted away and nothing but a bare desire to reconnect with our past was intense. Watching people slide easily into their old personalities, yet without any walls built up between each other was wonderful. The raw, honest joy we all took with seeing each other and catching up was pure. There was nothing phoney in it. The room dripped with sincerity. It was actually inspiring.

I looked at some of the people in that room... and I wondered.. how in the HELL did I let them slip away?

I have some amazing friends I have made over the years. After high school... in college... at work... I cherish them all.

There's room for everyone though. I'm not letting the old friends slip away ever again.

And on top of everything... we had new, wonderful people introduced into our lives. Lisa's husband, Brian... who Lisa was sure I would get along with... was like a brother I was seperated from at birth. After about 35 seconds, you would have thought we had known each other for 30 years. Lisa's cousin Fran, who I actually had met on a few occasions when we were kids fit in like she was just one of us (and she was), Debbie's husband, Dan, who was at a total disadvantage not having ANY contact with any of us was a great guy. Michelle husband, Mike, (whom we had actually met at the 10 year reunion) also was just one of the group.

There were people who did not make it. Jenni Sureda, Frank Harris, Mary McCabe... to name a few. They were missed. We'll make sure to give them other oppertunities to get together.

But... this weekend... putting it simply... this weekend was a mind blower.

The pictures only tell a small story... and it's a story that has no ending. At no point did anyone want the weekend to end. And for a lot of us... it won't end.

Hell, if it wasn't for the fact they'd miss their kids, we would have locked Lisa and Brian up and kept them in NY.

So, here's to our trip... from the past, back to the future and everywhere in between.

Miguel de Cervantes once said "Tell me what company thou keepst, and I'll tell thee what thou art."... well, I know what I am. I'm blessed. In love and in life.

Thanks all. Now... what the hell do we do for an encore?

31 DAYS OF HORROR: STEPHEN KING'S THE MIST

31 DAYS OF HORROR continues. I am still listing my 31 favorite horror films of all time and enlightening the masses of what to watch for this month of ghosts and goblins leading up to that darkest of days... no, not the Presidential Election... I mean Halloween!

Remember, I don't claim these to be the BEST horror films of all time... these are just the ones I enjoyed and remember the most. I recommend each one of these films (although some are not quite what you might expect) as great viewing leading up to and for Halloween. Some of these films will not be familar to the average movie-goer... but ALL of them (with the exception of one I think) is available on DVD. These are in no particular order, so take 'em as they come. Got it? Badges? We don't need no stinkin Badges!

NOTE: See postings below for previous "31 Days of Horror" installments:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
EVENT HORIZON

Stephen King's The Mist (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont.
With Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher and William Sadler.

Ok, let's start of by me saying that I love Stephen King. LOVE. An embarrasing type of a love I would normally reserve for my wife, my children, or David Wright.

His writing is always amazing. A chunk of my overall favorite books of all time are King's (The Stand and The Dark Tower Series, especially, The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, and Wizards and Glass) . Even when he's off his game a little (The Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher) I still very much enjoy the read.

However, I have not always loved movie adaptions of Stephen King movies. This is not King's fault however, but the fault of the directors and producers of films based on his work (well, unless you count Maximum Overdrive which King wrote and directed, but as bad as it was, I still liked it in the same way you like bad movies like Flash Gordon and have seen it at least four times... go figure) .

There have been some really bad adaptions of King stories, like The Running Man, Graveyard Shift, The Mangler, Dreamcatcher and Riding the Bullet). Oh, There have been good ones too... don't get me wrong... films like Misery, Stand By Me, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Dead Zone, Carrie to name a few.

However, only two made my list. The first is the single best short story King has ever written. Actually, The Mist is longer than the average short story.. it's basically a novella, but hey... that's just semantics.

Basically my point is, that some people get Stephen King... and some don't. Director Frank Daraboont? He gets King. Before taking on The Mist, Darabont directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, both critical and commercial hits and oscar worthy films. So when I heard Darabont was going to be helming the Mist, I had a massive geekasm. Seriously... it was messy.

When it came time for the film to open, I had built it up in my head that it was going to be an amazing and chilling film. I hate it when I do that because when I build something up so much, I totally wind up being disapointed. Rarely do films stand up to my internal build up.

So, when I sat in my seat on opening night with my friends Tom, Dave and Shawn (my wife wouldn't see it... she usually HATES horror movies) my expectations were high.

And boy was I satisfied.

The plot is a fairly simple one. The day after a violent thunderstorm, artist David Drayton (Jane) and his wife Stephanie (Kelly Collins Lintz) witness a thick and strange looking mist advancing across the lake bordering their property. Deciding to run into town to get some supplies, David and his neighbor Brent Norton (Braugher), along with David's five-year-old son Billy (Nathan Gamble), go to the local grocery store which, like the rest of the community, was left without power. While inside the store the mist spreads all over the town and soon it's impossible to see more than a foot or two in front of you.

An increasing amount of police activity in the streets draws the attention of the patrons, culminating with a man running into the store with blood on his face and shirt warning of something dangerous in the oncoming mist. Unable to see into the parking lot and hearing the screams of a man who ventures outside, the store patrons heed the man's advice and seal themselves within the store, which is soon shaken by a violently as if by an earthquake.

With the visibility reduced to near-zero outside and uncertainty surrounding the fate of the man heard screaming before, a siege mentality takes hold of the patrons and staff inside the store.

As time goes on, a small group winds up in the storeroom and while attempting to clear a blocked vent to allow the generator to run a stockboy is grabbed and dragged, bloody and screaming into the Mist. The realization that there are lovecraftian-like creatures outside in the Mist spurs Drayton to try and convince the patrons that no one should go outside for any reason. A small group of patrons (including Norton) does not believe Drayton and despite his begging, go outside to leave. What happens next starts a series of events that become more and more terrifying as time passes.

However, Drayton and a chunk of the partons have more than the horrible creatures outside to deal with. Inside, a deeply religious Mrs. Carmody (Gay Harden) suspects the onset of Armageddon and while at first her ranting and preaching to the scared people in the store got her nothing but jeers and shouting for her to shut up, as time goes on and things get worse and worse, she begins to convert a large stringent of people who start hanging on her every word in the belief that the world is ending and a human sacrifice is needed to save them from the wrath of God.

Between the monsters outside and the all-too human monsters forming inside in the increasing mob-mentallity that is forming, Drayton, his son and the small group of friends he's gathered are in danger from all sides.

This film is not just a horrifying film when it comes to the creatures that comes out of the Mist... and trust me... they are like nothing you have ever seen before and are beyond description... but also it's a facinating study of what happens to people when faced with terror beyond their comprehension and how it turns normally good people into a raving mob who will embrace any possible solution that could save them.

Darabont puts it perfectly himself: "The story is less about the monsters outside than about the monsters inside, the people you're stuck with, your friends and neighbors breaking under the strain."

He's right. However, trust me, the monsters outside are pretty fricking terrifying.

As things sprial out of control Drayton and his band are faced with a horrible and terrible decision in an ending that was absolutely gut-wrenching. Seriously... the ending is a mixture of horrible, ironic and mind blowing. If you see this film and are not affected by it's ending... then... well... you scare me as much as this movie should scare you. For those of you who have read the story... it is NOT the same ending... Darabont changed it much to the delight of King who thought the new ending was very chiling and unsettling. King said, "The ending is such a jolt... wham! It's frightening. But people who go to see a horror movie don't necessarily want to be sent out with a Pollyanna ending."

This is one the best horror movies I've ever seen. Think Lord of the Flies with horrifying monsters.

The Mist appeared in King's short story collection Night Shift.

31 DAYS OF HORROR: EVENT HORIZON

As was explained in the first "31 Days of Horror", I am spewing forth my 31 favorite horror films of all time. I don't claim these to be the BEST of all time... just my favorite. I recommend each one of these films (although some are not quite what you might expect) as great viewing leading up to and for Halloween. Some of these films will not be familar to the average movie-goer... but ALL of them (with the exception of one I think) is available on DVD. These are in no particular order, so take 'em as they come. The Captain has turned off the no smoking sign and you are now free to roam about the cabin.

NOTE: See postings below for previous "31 Days of Horror" installments:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Event Horizon (1997)
Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. With Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburn, Kathleen Quinlan and Joley Richardson.

At first sight, Event Horizon seems to be a regular Science Fiction film. The year is 2047, and Earth's space command has just received a signal from the starship Event Horizion from the outskirts of the planet Neptune. The kicker? The Event Horizion vanished without a trace on it's first mission seven years before, in 2040.

A rescue mission is dispatched and the starship Lewis and Clark heads towards Neptune with Captain Miller (Fishburne), Dr. William Weir (Neill) who was the Event Horizon's designer, and a full crew. While traveling, Weir tells the crew that the Event Horizon's actual mission back in 2040 was to test a secret, experimental stardrive that would create an artificial black hole to bridge two points in space to significantly reduce travel time. While on this mission, it vansished without a trace. Since it's reappearance, just one single garbled transmission was received , which is a series of confusing screams and shouts, followed by the Latin phrase liberate me (which means "save me" for those of you not versed in Latin... I wasn't).

Once they arrive to the rediscovered starships decaying orbit, the Lewis and Clark can find no definitive trace of human life forms. With inconclusive sensor readings, the Lewis and Clark's crew decide to enter the Event Horizon to search for survivors. Inside, with the crew splitting up, Medical Technician Peters (Quinlan) discovers a frozen human corpse floating on the bridge, with both eyes gouged out. Engineer Justin (Jack Noseworthy) finds a blackish, liquid-like mirror within its core drive and stupidly reaches out to touch it. Obviously he had no idea he was in a horror film, or he might have thought twice about doing that. When he does, it sucks him inside and emits a large shock wave that damages the Lewis and Clark. Another crew member manages to pull Justin out of the core by his tether, but when he comes out he is catatonic.

Due to the damage to the Lewis and Clark, the remaining crew transfer to the Event Horizon, which only has a remaining 20 hours of air left on it. From there, things go from bad to worse. Justin emerges from his catatonia and attempts to commit suicide in an attempt to escape the memory of what he saw inside the black mirror. The crew begin to experience hallucinations of their personal fears and regrets and it becomes obvious that something horrible is on board the ship.

The knowledge that the crew is trapped and really has nowhere to run, or are even sure what they are running from is the real kick to this film. Despite the sci-fi setting, the film is an excellent horror story that mixes in both psychological and physical terrors. Once the Lewis and Clark discovers the fate of the Event Horizon's crew, things step up a notch. The scenes of what happened following the Event Horizon's testing of the new star drive is a mash of chaos and evil.

The movie follows a forbidding feeling throughout and there are some excellent twists and surprises as things go along. The ending is a little un-nerving as just when you think you have a grasp on the resolution, the film throws another quick and effective shock your way.

Highly recommended. The end will get ya, I guarantee it.

31 DAYS OF HORROR: INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Here at Rocket Ramblings we try to cater to our readership (all six of you) in new and exciting ways. First there was the "Did You Know?" feature which ran a whole total of one time (with more coming soon though!) and now we present you with "31 Days of Horror" which is basically a guide to the author's (that would be me) favorite horror movies of all time... all for you, the readers (all five of you, cause I think I lost one during this long winded intro) to use as a guide to picking some fine viewing for Halloween. Each day (actually more than once per day since I'm seven days behind on the list... today being the 7th of October) you will see a new movie listed throughout the month of October. I do not claim these are the BEST horror films ever made... just my favorite (in fact I will not even cover some of the more standard stuff people would think of like Friday The 13th, The first Halloween, Dracula, etc). There is no particular order to this list. Please fell free to comment and agree or disagree in the comments section, because the author (again, me) is a total comment whore and craves feedback like a junkie needs his "H"...' kay? Kay.

Now, without further adu...

Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1956 AND 1978 versions)
1956 Version: Directed by Don Siegel. With Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and Larry Gates.
1978 Version: Directed by Philip Kaufman. With Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy.

Ok, this is one of the VERY rare instances that I love both the original AND the remake. Both follow the same basic storyline: A group of people discover that the population of their community is being replaced by seemingly emotionless exact duplicates. Both have an everyman main protaganist who tries in growing desperation to alert people to what is going on. In each case it is discovered that plant-like pods actually can grow exact replicas that look and sound like the original people and as time goes by, no one seems to 100% be sure just who is human and who is not.

Both have rather dark endings (I am TOTALLY discounting the lame 'tacked on' happy ending the original used briefly but thankfully rejected and returned to the original ending) and both do a fantastic job creating a mood of deep paranoia.

I don't really consider the 1978 version to be a 'remake' as much as it is a continuation. It's not an exact sequel per say... but it has a very distinct connection to the 1956 version by basically inserting the ending of the original as a scene early in the remake and using the same actor (Kevin McCarthy). While the 1978 version never actually give you the characters name, it's fairly obvious (to me at least) he's playing the same character.

The theme for both films is a chilling "Whom do you trust?" done in a very effective way. The feeling that no one you see is what they seem is an effective way to elicit a feeling of dread from the viewer and the somber mood the comes from the two films is much more of a horrific feeling than most slasher and monster movies manged to project to their audiences.

Not surprisingly, the popularity of both films sparked enough interest over the years to spir two addtional "remakes": Body Snatchers - Directed by Abel Ferrara and Starring Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Wirth, Forrest Whitaker and R. Lee Ermey came out in 1993 and The Invasion - Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig came out in 2007. Both were fairly well done movies using the same ideas in totally different settings.

All of the movies were based upon the sci-fi novel The Body Snatchers, by Jack Finney.

RED VS. BLUE AND THE HYPOCRISY OF A NATION (Part One)

Let me start this off by saying I have a lot of intelligent friends who are not on the same page as I am politically.

This is NOT aimed at them.

Some of my friends and I get into political conversations on a regular basis. My buddy Tom and I do it all the time.

Tom is as intelligent of a guy that I know. I respect him greatly. We also agree on a lot of polictical topics.

But sometimes the obvious differences in our political allegances is so extreme it's a wonder we don't draw swords and go at it.

We're like brothers though... so we'll never let that sort of thing come between us.

I'm a Republican. I'm a McCain fan and have been a supporter of his for a LONG time. Anyone who knows me well knows that I voluteered for McCain back during his last two election runs and have been pushing him for the Presidency since 1999. EDIT: As was pointed out to me by a close friend, despite the fact I am a Republican, I fit more into the "Maverick" camp due to the fact I hate all big business and rich people and am much more in support of programs that take care of the homeless and elderly than seems to be done by the GOP. That's another reason I love McCain. he's as close to a Democratic Republican as you will ever see. He seriously skirts both parties.

There's a lot I like about McCain. I like the fact that he's a true patriot. I like the fact that when he was told he was going to be released as a P.O.W. because he was the son of a High Ranked Admiral he refused to go because he could not abandon his fellow Prisoners of War and would only go if they released all of their prisoners. I like the fact that he takes pride in challenging party leadership and establishment forces. I like the fact he goes after corrupting influence of large political contributions and is a propent of campaign finance reform. I like the fact he took on the tobacco companies and went after them big time. I like the fact he was a leader in HMO reform. I like the fact he co-sponsored the Climate Stewardship Act (something that Barak Obama supported also). I like the fact he defended John Kerry's war record and refused to dismiss his military career during the 2004 campaign. I like the fact he is opposed to high salaries and lucrative severance deals for corporate CEOs and is in favor of 'Say on pay' laws that give stockholders a vote on executive compensation.

Do I dislike Barack Obama? No. Not at all.

He comes across as sincere and I agree with some of his views. I do believe he wants to take away the fat cat mentality from Washington.

His inexperiance does worry me. His wife's views do scare me.

But I'm not about to run screaming into the night if he's elected.

Ok, now that you have some insight to my political views... let's get to it.

Now... I've heard it all. All of the spouting and screaming and pointing fingers.

And I'm getting mighty sick of it.

Listen, I know this election is just variations on the same theme we've been seeing for the last Thirty-odd years. I get that.

I understand the way politics work. I really do. I'm a student of politics. I pay close attention and keep myself informed as much as possible. I do not rely on any one news source for my info since a majority of it is biased (Fox News anyone?) I get a large amount of my actual news from CNN and 1010wins. I don't feel pressured by either to form an immediate opinion. Both give me more actual facts and less propaganda.

Let's start with the recent bailout situation.

Why did it fail? Well.. it failed for two simple reasons.

The Republicans and the Democrats.

Listen, do I relish the thought of bailing out the Wall Street Fat Cats who live free and loose with other people's money?

No I do not... but this bailout is NOT a bailout of them.

It's a bailout of the American Economy.

Without this bailout, things will get worse and worse to the loint that no one will be able to get a loan. No mortages. No car loans. No credit cards. Nothing. Nadda. Nilch.

So... as much as it bothers me... I know we have to do it.

So... the GOP felt it had the proper number of votes to get the job done. In the end, they did not as 12 Republicans changed their minds at the last second.

They changed their minds thanks to Nancy Pelosi.

Now, it's it all her fault? No.

But did she do what she did on purpose to elicit the response from GOP members in order to help the vote fail? Yes, I believe she did.

So the charge is that a bunch of GOP members let their feelings get hurt and changed their vote becuase of it. Not quite the correct fact, but it's close enough to the fact that it's not a totally unfair accusation.

However, do you really believe that Pelosi didn't know that was EXACTLY what was going to happen... well... I'd have to disagree.

My point is that Pelosi gets up RIGHT BEFORE the vote and goes off sounding a HELL of a lot more like the ninty-five Dems who ended up voting against the bill than someone who was in support of it and was looking for it to go through. She goes off referring to the bailout as 'alarming,' and "is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush Administration’s failed economic policies — policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision, and no discipline in the system." Whether she is correct or PARTLY correct or wrong or whatever (she IS correct about the '"alarming" and "staggering" parts for sure) that's NOT how you go into the vote when you SUPPORT the frigging thing.

She predictably lays all blame for the crisis at the feet of Republicana and their "anything goes economic policy," and goes off on a bizarre wondering on how the crisis was able to "sneak up on us so silently, almost on little cat's feet."

Not quite the call of duty and rally for support some House Democrats might have liked to hear from their leader as they prepared to vote on an extremely sensitive situation.

Hey, I'm not on the GOP side on this. I'm appalled at the freaking Republicans that changed their votes. They are weak kneed assholes who care only about themselves. This stupid situation was created by greed and it's going to have to be solved by this bailout because it's really the only way to stablize the economy.... and without a stable ecomony the rest of us are SCREWED.

However, do not think for ONE SECOND that Pelosi's speech wasn't well thought out and made for one reason and one reason only... to help facilitate the failure of the bailout. There was NO REASON for her comments at that point. She could have made all of those comments AFTER THE the vote and still got her points across. She KNEW there were members of congress who were reluctant to vote yes but were doing so. I believe she also KNEW she'd push them over the edge. Shame on HER. Shame on THEM. Shame on BOTH parties. I'm totally disgusted.

However, all I hear from most Dem supporters is how the GOP killed the vote. Not one person seems to acknowledge the fact that Pelosi and the Dems helped sabatoge the frigging thing... all so they could point their fingers once again and say "See? They suck."

The fact that Pelosi did nothing in her press conference afterwards but trash the GOP and praise about 42 Democratic members for their "non-partisanship" was quite ironic since her actions were NOT "non-partisan".

See? Hypocrisy. Just one example.

Then Eric Cantor gets up and completely blames Pelosi for the failure of the vote. While he does admit that some of his own party members changed at the last second, he does NOT take them to task on it or call them out on the carpet. He instead kills Pelosi on her "partisan speech".

See? More Hypocrisy. Why didn't you just call out your own party members who nixed the deal cause they were scared out of their bipartisan clothing by a floor speech?

But hey... the Republicans got to the microphones first which I'm sure is viewed as a tactical victory for them. Yay.

Next up... the supporters and their insanity.

DECONSTRUCTING CREATION?

I've heard a lot of screaming about George Lucas and the handling of the Star Wars Universe other the years. Even more so due to the dismal reviews being handed out for the new Clone Wars CGI Cartoon released this week.

A question was raised by someone (Ok, Valerie D'Orazio on her Occasional Superheroine blog) wondering if Lucas actually OWES us (the fans) anything when it comes to concessions on how the Star Wars Universe is handled.

This is quite a dilemma... choosing between the obvious freedom a creator really MUST have with the worlds and characters he creates and the crowd demands that the path he/she leads those worlds down be what the crowd wants and expects.

I think ANY good creator needs to reconize how important fans are to ongoing success of a franchise and be willing to alter or adjust to keep those fans somewhat happy, but I also believe that the creator's own insistance that the worlds follow his/her desinated path no matter how anyone else feels about is a creator's right and even obligation.

When it comes to Star Wars, I'm not nearly as outraged as many other about how things have been handled over the years. It's been obvious to me that Lucas did NOT had as much planned out as we were led to believe back in the 1980s. Besides contridictions and seemingly changes in facts, timelines and events, things just feel different than we were led to beleive in the 80s when we heard about all the backstory.

The problem is, that we... as fans... feel that we OWN the aforementioned worlds and characters because of how much they touched us and meant to us as we were growing up. However, we tend to forget that the person who actually gave those worlds and characters life really should know their own creations better than us.

I remember when Thomas Harris' fourth novel HANNIBAL came out and there was an outrage about the ending (the novel, not the hollywood ending the movie put on it) and what happened with Clarise Starling. Peopole screamed about how Starling would never have acted a certain way or made the decisions she did or allow her to be lead in the direction that Lector led her in.
I remember thinking to myself "So after just one novel and perhaps spending a couple of hours with a character, the readers feel they know her better than the man who spent YEARS with her in writing and creating her?"

That's the problem... we all think we know better than the person who was the creator.
Lucas did a lousy job with a lot of the Star Wars mythos. I totally agree.

However, if HE is satisfied with how things turned out... maybe we should be willing to accept the fact that things went in the direction that was meant to be... in the creator's mind.

Not an easy thing to do, that's for sure.

OH, THANK GOD

I almost died twice this weekend.

Why? Ask Billy Wagner.

Sunday night's blown save was unreal. At the time I was sitting in a Luxery Box in Citibank Park (the stadium for the Long Island Ducks) thanks to a set of tickets won by my son Tyler. We had the sliding doors open and the Ducks game in front of us, with SNY on the tv inside next to us.

Needless to say, about 12 minutes after the Ducks took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Mets blew their 2-0 lead in the 9th.

Thankfully, Joe Smith was great and Fernando Tatis came through again to propel them to a 12 inning win.

Then last night... what should have been a laugher turned into a heart attack waiting to happen.

When the score was 10-2, I made the mistake of joking to a friend "Only an eight run lead? probabally not enough."

Imagine my horror that I was almost right.

Couple of things about last night's game:

1 - Ryan Howard's hit was NOT a home run. The fam CLEARLY interfered with the ball and reached into the realm of play. The original call was correct... and why it was overturned made NO sense.

That's THREE blown calls on Home Runs that have gone against the Mets. Unreal.

2 - Betran's throw to 3rd was ill-advised, but I'm not too pissed he tried it. He has a great arm and it wasn't a horrible play (although his attidute after the game was a little annoying).

In the end, the Mets won 3 out of 4 (and almost swept the series losing a heart-breaker on Friday night) and are only 2 games back in the loss column.

My gut says they will go into the all-star break one game out of first.

In any case, good job winning those games guys... even though you almost killed me doing it.

GOING OUT ON A LIMB

Yep, that's what I'm going to do.

After sixty-four games, the Mets stand at a record of 31-33. They are in tied for third place with the Braves and are six and a half games out of first (behind the Phillies).

They are actually worse off in the wild card standings. They are seven and a half games behind the wild card leading Cardinals (who just lost Albert Pujlos for three plus weeks). There are
four teams ahead of them in the Wild card standing and two other teams tied with them.

To be fair, however, four of those teams (The Astros, Marlins, Pirates and The Cards) are not going to be around all season and another (the Braves) lost their best overall pitcher for the season and lost another starter (Tom Glavine) for a few weeks.

In any case, I'm going to make a baseless prediction.

The Mets are making the Playoffs.

The Mets themselves have no shown me really anything to give me this feeling... it's just a feeling.

I think this team has a huge hot streak in them. I won;t claim to know when... but this prediction comes with the feeling that they will rip off a streak in which they will win something along the lines of 21 of 30 games.

A team with Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Santana, Maine and Pedro is not an under .500 team.

Despite the fact I honestly do not think Willie Randolph is the right man for the Mets manager's job, I think this team will put in together enough to make a run and make the post season.

Mark your books. You get to come back here in October and make fun of me if I'm wrong, but somehow... for some bizarre reason... I don't think I am.

I DON'T GET IT

...I really don't. a 5 -1 lead over the Diamondbacks turns into a 9 - 5 loss. The Mets looked in total control over the first 4 innings or so. Yet Willie did it again and pulled Maine after the 5th instead of just letting the guy throw more than 100 pitches. The friggin guy is young and strong. I understand his pitch counts have been kind of high lately, but the guy can survive the occasional 125 pitch game.

Maine was a little wild, but looked solid enough that he should have still pitched the 6th. Vargas didn't look terrible, but wasn't on his game and gave up a big two-out hit to tie the game.

And the Mets, who were hitting the cover off the ball in the first three innings just plain stopped hitting after Owens left the game.

This team is bizarre. I do not know how to classify them. They should be like... eight games over .500. Instead they are three games under and in another tail-spin.

At this point, with all of the under-achieving, the team needs a change.

Something... the manager, the coaches or onoe of the higher profile players needs to be sent packing.

Something needs to shick this team in. It's become late. Time to act before it's TOO late.

STRANGE DAYS

The Mets are a weird team. It's hard to really define them so far this year... but despite all of their flaws (Delgado, Hielman, Perez, injuries, Willie, etc) they are only 3.5 games out of first and actually are looking pretty decent the last week.

There are a lot of things that look positive for them... Beltran starting to turn it on, the team's record in games started by Santana and Maine, the hitting and play of Reyes, Wright and Church, The continued success of Wagner, Sanchez and Shoenwiez... plus the fact that they had a stretch of 5-12 (with only the Yankee series being a good one) and are no more than 3.5 games out. Their run scored/runs given up diffiental is actually that of a much better team than their record shows and that is a good sign because it means that odds are thier record will adjust to those numbers and winning streaks are coming.

I think this team has under-achieved BIG time. I also think they have a big time hot streak in them.

I have my doubts about Willie Randolph. I think I prefer the (almost frienzied) antics of a Bobby V type manager. I'm NOT saying I want Booby V back. I liked him a lot, but I also reconize that he was always looking to put his stamp on a game and that bit the Mets at times. I'm NOT blaming the issues this year (and last) all on Willie.. but... I have my doubts about him.

I'm actually more concerned about the Braves than I am about the Phillies or Marlins. The Marlins are NOT for real. Sorry... but I do NOT believe it. Remember the Nationals' first year in Washington? Remember they were in 1st place going into the weekend of the All-Star break? Remember they finished FOURTH that year? That's the Marlins this year. The Phillies have an EXCELLENT offense... Utley is a total stud and Burrell looks very good this year so far. Howard and Rollins, while I do not think they will equal their massive numbers of last year, are at the tops of their positions hitting wise and with some decent personel surrounding them, I doubt the Phillies will have any major scoring droughts this year. However, their pitching is... well... it's bad. Simpley put... right now that really only have one guy in their starting five that is really a guy to worry about (Cole Hamels) and he's not only an injury risk.... he's also having a tad of an uneven stretch. However he's a gamer and as long as he's on the mound, he'll give the Phils a chance to win... but he's it. Their other "big" pitcher is Brett Myers who has NOT been very good at all this year. In fact, he seems to be having a simular problem that Oliver Perez is having, although Perez seems to be a little bit of a better big-game pitcher being able to beat the Phillies, Braves and Yankees. The bullpen HAS been good (Lidge looks reborn so far) but I don't know how long that will last with the derth of quailty starters.

The Braves scare me. Mostly if Smoltz can be healthy enough to be the close the rest of the year. If Soriano and Gonzoles come back healthy and can be what they were before their injuries then their bullpen looks very solid. Hudson has pitched like an ace and Jurgins he looked quite good. I DO think that Glavine's decent start will NOT continue in the 2nd half of the season, but I CAN see the Braves going out and getting another starter (Joe Blanton maybe?) and with the hitting the team has (Larry Jones, Texeria, Escobar, Francoeur, and McCann) they can score runs (although I expect a DL stint for Larry Jones any week now). However, if Smoltz CAN'T be healthy to close, and just ONE of Gonzo or Soriano cannot return to form, then my fears abide a little. We'll see.

With Pedro coming back today, and Alou back on Thursday, the Mets have two guys that can be BIG assets. If (and it is a big IF) these two guys can stay basically healthy the rest of the year (say only one more 15-day DL stint for each one) I think the Mets are ok and will win enough to make the playoffs. I would feel better if Delgado could have a second half of about .265 18 hr and 50 RBI, but I don't know if that's happening (prob not).

Even with that, the Mets have the tools to win the NL East (or at least the Wild card) and I think a playoff series starting three of Santana, Pedro and Maine is as good as just about ANYONE else.

They just have to GET there first.

WHAT I'M READING (COMICS)

So what are you lot reading these days?I'm still looking to cut down on my pull list... but I've been spending a lot of moolah on comis... despite not really being able to afford to do so. Thank God I don't smoke, drink or gamble (too much).

My pull list:

DC (every month)
Booster Gold
Justice League of America
JSA
The Flash
Teen Titans
Nightwing
Green Lantern
Blue Beetle
The New Atom
Checkmate
Batman and the Outsiders

Booster Gold, JSA and Green Lantern have been excellent. JLA and been hot and cold. The Flash and Nightwing have been very uneven. Blue Beetle has been very good, but the Atom is losing steam for me. Checkmate is good more often than it's not. Outsiders is a strange book.. I WANT to like it... and it's not bad... but the jury is still out on it.

DC (Event Books and Tie Ins)
Final Crisis and it's various tie ins
DC Universe #0

Yeah I plan on getting them all (for the most part). Hard to say how this will be. DC Universe was very good. reminded me of a set of trailers before movies. Very interesting. And the "return" of a particular character is kind of huge.

DC (on occasion, depending on the storyline or just started and I'm giving it a try)
Action Comics
Batman
The Titans
Rann/Thangar: Holy War
Supergirl
Brave and Bold
Death of the New Gods

The Whole Legion storyline in Action has been excellent. I've been picking up some of Morrision's Batman... but plan on getting the whole BATMAN: R.I.P. storyline. Issue #1 of The Titans was VERY uneven... I like the idea of the book, but it needs to be better for me to continue with it. I was surprised to find out in 52 that I seriously liked the dynamic with Adam Strange/Animal Man/Starfire so I wound up trying (and getting all issues of) Countdown to Adventure. I'm normally not into the space epic books, but I'm giving this one a shot and the first issue was pretty good. Supergirl is a book I WANT to buy. I LOVE the character.. however, DC STILL has no idea how to handle her. It's been VERY hit and miss with more misses than hits. Brave and Bold should be a book I'm buying. the art is great and the story is fairly fun... but it just hasn't been grabbing me enough to keep buying it. Death of the New Gods... was ... well... HORRIBLE. Gave up on it fairly early. LOUSY concept. LOUSY execution (no pun intended). LOUSY everything. Big Barda and Scott Free deserved better than this.

DC (Mini-Series I WAS buying until they ended)
Countdown
Suicide Squad
Salvation Run
Countdown to Adventure
Black Adam: The Dark Age

Countdown was, for the most part, not that great. Very uneven... spirialed into too many directions like it didn't know what it wanted to be. It had some excellent issues (especially the two issue "Great Disaster from Buddy Blank's point of view" arc) but was more miss than hit. It WANTED to be 52... but was not. Suicide Squad was pretty decent... not great... but an enjoyable read. Salvation Run was a disapointment, but wasn't too bad either. I expected a little more from it. Countdown to Advanture was a huge surpirse. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, although the Forerunner backup story just left me cold. Black Adam was EXCELLENT. I hear it may become an ongoing. If it does I am there.

Marvel (Every Month)
Ultimate Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man
Thunderbolts
Iron Fist
New Avengers
Mighty Avengers
Capt America
The Hulk
The Twelve
Dark Tower: The Long Road Home

Ultimate Spider-Man, Iron Fist and The Twelve are solid as they come. Capt America has been very good also. I'm enjoying the two Avengers books for the most part. I'm reading the Hulk until the reveal just who he is (I have my suspicions) and most likely will drop it after that. Thunderbolts has been hit and miss lately. Spider-Man... well... I don;t know how to classify it. It hasn't been HORRIBLE... but the last two storylines were pretty weak... and I'm still having an issue with the whole "One More Day" thing. I have NEVER stopped buying Spider-Man in the last 30 years as long as I was buying comics overall... I'm not ready to stop yet... but it MUST get better. Teh Dark Tower has been decnet... but as a huge fan of the books this particular storyline seems... well... wrong to me.

Marvel (Event Books and Tie ins)
Secret Invasion
Spider-Man: Secret Invasion

I loved the idea behind this event.. but the 2nd issue was not overly good. I hope it picks up. I plan to avoid a majority of the tie ins here. Frontline is just a rehash (in my opinion) of the actual event itself with Ben Urich thrown in running around in danger. I'll pass.

Marvel (on occasion, depending on the storyline, just started and I'm giving it a try, or once tried it and I'm done)
Avengers: The Inititive
The Last Defenders
Marvel: 1985
Astonishing X-Men
Exiles
Kick-Ass

The Inititive has been ok... not bad... not great. But I think I'm done with it. Same with Last Defenders. I'm giving 1985 a shot... but a short leash. Astonishing was very good at one point but the current world breaker plot has toiled WAY too long. I'm done at the end of this arc. As for Exiles... I bought this book for years. I LOVED the concept. However..it's so conviluted and soap operaish now it's a shell of it's former self... plus the fact that almost every new character in the book is boring as hell. The fun has seeped out of this title. I gave up on it a while ago. Kick Ass has been decent so far... but not world breaking like Miller wants everone to think.

Image (Every Month)
Invincible
Walking Dead

Two great books (both by Kirkman). Invincible is just about the best book out in comics today.

Dynamite (Every Month)
The Boys

I can't help it. This book is too wild not to enjoy. Crazy stuff.

Overall the BEST books out there right now are Booster Gold, Ultimate Spider-Man and Invincible.

How about you?

BAD JOB

I'm a big proponent of a baseball team being responsable for a game. When a Major League team loses, it's mostly (if not all) on the shoulders of the guys on the field. For example... Carlos Delgado's bad throw that hit Chase Utley in the back and allowed two runs to score, not to mention Jose Reyes lining up the throw in direct line with the runner instead of moving further out.

However, there are times I feel that a manager puts his stamp on a game in a way that just basically puts his team in the position to lose.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Willie Randolph made two major mistakes yesterday... and I honestly feel that in the end, the Mets lost the game as a result.

1 - He took Perez out too early. I know Perez had thrown 94 pitches and he was a little shakey walking two in the 6th... but come on... the guy has been dominate all season so far and he needs to be able to work through his "off" innings. He should have been still in there to finish the 6th and maybe even start the 7th. His ceiling should NOT be 95 pitches. He should be able to go at 110/112 at his age.

2 - In the bottom of the 7th, down 3-2, Brian Schnieder leads off with a single. Pinch hitting for Schoenwise, Edny Chavez came up. Now Endy is the best bunter on the team. In fact, I'll go as far to say he just about the best bunter in the NL. The Mets are down a run. The NEEDED to score a run there. So what does Willie have him do? Swing away. The result? A double play. Then on the NEXT PITCH Jose Reyes hits a single... which would have scored the tying run had Chavez bunted the runner over. At home, in the late innings... you ALWAYS play for the tie.

So... while the team spit the bit and lost... the manager's decisions were a direct influence on the final score. Bad job Willie.

WELL... CRAP.

Not exactly what I (or many Mets fans) was expecting.

Rough start for Pedro and now... after leaving with a hamsting injury in the 4th... we might not have him from anywhere from two to four weeks.

Ouch.

Kind of a sloppy game hitting wise... Mets really let the Marlins off the hook a few times.

Delgado isn't looking too good at the plate.

Some nice at bats for Pegota and Schineder. church needs to tone it down a little... be more patient.

Not a terrible loss... but a game they should have won.

Here's hoping Pedro isn't TOO bad off... and that they come back and win tomorrow.

AND SO IT BEGINS...

So the 2008 Major League Baseball season has begun and so far things are rosey.

The Mets win today... besting the Marlins 7-2. Johan Santana looked great. Davod Wright blew the game open with a two out, bases loaded double. The Bullpen looked good. The Phillies lost. The Braves lost last night.

All is well with the universe.

Very nice game. The umpiring actually cost Santana a perfect game with calling two start balls on what should have been called three strikes to Hanley Ramirez... the umpire wasn't overly good. Also Reyes was WAY safe on his stolen base attempt. Ah well... either way the game was tight and the team looked good.

I was glad to see some VERY good at bats from Ryan Church... especially with Lastings Milledge hitting a home run and scoring the go-ahead run i the 9th for Washington today (Nats are in first place by the way with a 2-0 record!). Church hit the ball hard.. had an RBI single and was robbed of another one later in the game by a great play by Ramirez.

I liked the hustle and head's up defense that Schneider showed today. His bat is going to be a rough one to swallow at times (I'd be ESTATIC if he hit .265, but .240 is more likely) but his defense is going to be a huge plus. I'll feel better when Castro is off the DL to provide occasion pop and some solid hitting from the catcher position though.

The only one that really concerned me was Delgado. I couldn't really tell if he looked decent at the plate or not... was hard to tell. I'm hoping he gets things in line though.

I would have left Sosa in to pitch the ninth, but it looks like Willy is trying to establish definite roles for the bullpen. I guess I shouldn't be second guessing his moves one game into the season.

So Pedro goes tommorrow! Looking forward to seeing him. I expect good things from Pedro this year. I don't see why 27-29 starts should be out of the question. I expect him to hit a lull at some point where he might need extra rest... but overall I have a good feeling about his health and his role this year.

My predictions for the Mets and everyone else should be posted tonight or tommorrow. Look for it!

DID YOU KNOW?: KISS- THE ELDER

Following the footsteps of other bloggers, I've decided to try to introduce a few ongoing features here at Rocket Ramblings. The first of these is going to be "DID YOU KNOW?"

DID YOU KNOW? is going to be little tib-bits in Pop Culture that you may never have heard about.

So, I'm sure everyone has heard of KISS.

If you haven't... well... move on. You won't care about this.

The rest of you... I'm sure you know all about KISS' original days in make-up and their hard rock roots.

And you most likely know they delved into an attempt at some more exposure (and money) with a "disco" track (I Was Made For Loving You) on their 1979 album 'Dynasty'.

What you may NOT know, is that in 1981, the band released a concept album looking to expand their fan base and raise the sagging sales from their 1980 Album 'Unmasked'.

KISS was going through some transition in 1981. Their original drummer, Peter Criss, was no longer in the group, having been either booted out or had left on his own accord (depending on who is telling the story) due to some serious substance abuse problems (Criss had barely played on 1979's 'Dynasty' and not at all on 1980's 'Unmasked'). While the group was doing well overseas, their popularity in America was waining. Sales on 'Unmasked' were low and the tour didn't do as well as past tours. While the band debated internally about returning to a more heavier sound like their original albums (ie: Dressed to Kill) ... it was decided that a broader, and more artsist statement was needed to refresh the KISS ARMY (the name for the bands rabid fans) and lure in some new fans. Despite a loud protest by lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who hated the notion, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons (along with creative manager Bill Aucion) went ahead with a plan for a concept album in the vein of Pink Floyd's 'THE WALL'.

Having worked with Bob Ezrin (co-producer of 'THE WALL') before, the Band went into the studio with him... looking to create something that would renew America's interest in KISS.

What came from those sessions was 'MUSIC FROM THE ELDER'.

MUSIC FROM THE ELDER was a concept album that wrapped songs around a storyline that tells of a young boy who is recruited and trained by The Council of Elders (of the Order of the Rose), a mysterious group who is dedicated to combating evil in all forms. The Boy is trained and cared for by an elderly caretaker who goes by the name of Morpheus (sounds a little like the Matrix now that I think of it). The album's lyrics describe the journey, training, and mindset of the Boy as he travels and eventually arrives at the temple of the Elders, undergoings his training and prepares for whatever quest he'll be placed into.

When KISS played 'THE ELDER' for their management and record company, the reaction was fairly negative. No one could understand why the band would take such a dramatic step away from their normal sound and musical direction. Business manager Howard Marks refused to allow his company's name to even appear in the liner notes of the album. If KISS thought the record company's reaction was bad, they were totaly unprepared for their fan's reaction. They seemed to hate it. The backlash was loud and harsh. The ironic thing was that the music critics, who had been KILLING KISS for years, loved it. KISS got more positive reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and other magazines/critics than they ever had before. However, the good reviews of the critics weren't enough. The album made only a brief appearance on the charts. After being released in November 1981, it peaked at #75 and was off the charts completely by February 1982.

The planned tour for the album went south too. The negitive reaction was so strong that plans for the tour were completely scrapped. The only real promotion for the album at all was an appearance on the tv show "Fridays" where they played three of the songs and one appearance at Studio 54 that Frehley refused to even participate in.

Frehley, who had disagreed with the concept in the first place, left the group over THE ELDER.

Rumors have flown for years stating that the original plan was that THE ELDER was actually to be a movie and that the album was only what it said it was: the music for the film. Whether or not this is true I really don't know. The album was also supposed to have dialouge (lines from the film's script?) weaved throughout the songs, but none of it made it to the final product. Only one song (the song "I") had any spoken words at all (at the end of the song, Morphus proclaims to the Elders that The Boy is ready for his mission).

Now for the ironic part. The die-hard KISS fans who lambasted the album and refused to buy it, killing the sales and the tour?

Well, they freaking LOVE it now.

Ask any hard KISS ARMY fanatic what his three favorite KISS albums are... and odds are, one of them will be THE ELDER.

The legend of the album grew and spread over the years following the 1981 release. At one point it was difficult to get a copy. Rumors about a film popped up as early as 1982 and lasted as long as the early 90s. The idea that there was a story behind the music eventually drew in fans of concept albums and Sword and Sorcery fans who were not normally familar with KISS' music.

I, myself, was introduced to THE ELDER by a friend in High School, Chris Sauer. Chris was (and still is) a HUGE KISS fanatic. He played the album for me back in 1986... and I loved it. It was dark and moody and very, very compelling. Like a lot of others, I was facinated by the idea that there was this huge saga-like storyline behind the music that had yet to see daylight.

Today, THE ELDER is fondly revered by KISS fans and requests for an "Elder-centric" tour have been constantly voiced over the last ten years. Despite the fact it caused a rift between the band (one that lasted for years) and was even denouced by all involved (Stanley, Simmons and Ezrin all admitted that idea was a HUGE mistake and all went on to blast the album years later) THE ELDER is a facinating page in the history on a group not known for their high concepts at the time.

Recommended tracks: Odyssey, The Oath, and A World without Heroes.

ROCKETING TO HEAVEN




Fuck.

Yeah, I said fuck.

Today I found out (on comicbookresources.com) that Rocketeer creator/artist/writer Dave Stevens passed away after a long battle with Luekemia. Dave was 53.

Obviously, I was a HUGE Dave Stevens fan. The Rocketeer is not only a great comic and fun movie for me. It's a part of my identity... something that I identified with strongly. There are an entre mess of people who know me as "Rocky" or "Rocket". It's been my nickname (and my email address) for over fifteen years.

Dave Stevens is actually more known for his modern renditions of Betty Page then he is The Rocketeer. It was due to Dave's love of Betty and amazing artwork of her (and her use in the pages of the Rocketeer as Cliff Secord's girlfriend) that brought Betty out of seclusion and back into the public eye.

Dave's unreal talent was unmistakenable. His comic book covers and lithograhps are the stuff of dreams. His ttention to detail and the beauty he brought out in his artwork is instantly reconizable.

I got the chance to meet Dave at the 1998 DragonCon in Atlanta. Dave was there doing signings but NOT doing sketches. After talking with him for a while, Dave pulled me aside and told me (hushed) that if I left one of the white boards I was using for sketches with him, he might have a present for me by the end of the con... but it had to be a secret, because he did NOT want to get into doing a mound of sketches.

The next day, I was walking in Artists Alley when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Dave. He motioned with his head for me to follow him. We went to his table and he handed me a brown paper bag.

"Our secret right?" he said.

"Absoultely." I responded. "What do I o-"

"Get the hell out of here, you don't owe me anything." he cut me off. "The least I can do for a guy walking around with a name tag that says 'RocketeerZ' huh?"

I chatted with Dave a little more and even got to sit behind the table with him for a few minutes. The friends I was with at the Con have teased me ever since that dave must have needed to take out a restraining order on me to get me away from there.

The sketch he did was a simple Rocketeer helmet. He had personalized it for me and signed it. I freaking love it.

It most likely only took him a couple of minutes... but the fact he took the time to do it meant the world to me.

I've heard a lot of things about Dave over the years, (especially from his ex-wife horror scream queen Brooke Stevens) but I will always rememeber him as a great and personable guy who created something that touched me and a guy that gave me the single greatest comic-book related item I own.

Rest In Peace Dave. The world is a little darker without you.

THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Well, I've made it no secret over the last eight years that I am a huge supporter of John McCain. I wanted him to win the nomination back in 2000 and was highly disappointed that he did not.

I'm not looking to go into a long post of why I support McCain (although I plan on doing so soon). I just wanted to express my contentment that he won the Republican nomination. For the first time in a long time I'm comfortable with the Republican nominee.

I know his age is a factor to consider, but I really think McCain is the man for this job. I'll list why soon.

Conratulations to him for his victory. Already I have much better feelings about the future of this country.

I hope those positive feelings remain.

As for Obama and Clintoover the democratic way... I have to wonder if many democrats were hoping for an Obama sweep... if only to allow the dems to focus on the fight against McCain instead of at each other. Clinton's strong showing in Ohio was huge though... it showed that the dems aren't quite ready to name Obama their top dog... and if memory serves me right... no candidate has ever won the election who didn't also win Ohio.

Let the games begin.

FIGHTING THE INJURY BUG

First, Carlos Delgado goes back to New York for an MRI on his hip.

Then Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson collide in the field and both need to be helped off.

Looks like Church has a concussion and will be out about two weeks.

That's just... great. Four games into the preseason and the walking wounded are already piling up.

I hope everyone is ok. We cannot afford long term injuries here.

I wonder if the Nationals would consider trading (oft-injured) Nick Johnson since Dimetri Young was given a multi-year contract to play first base last year? How about Nomar from the Dodgers, seeing that he's not assured a starting job at all? We could use some serious help here if Delgado is on the shelf for more than like a week or two.

TOP TEN GREATEST DRUMMERS

Ok, thanks to my friend Lisa and her post about the latest Van Halen concert she went to and a list of her Top Ten Guitarists, a conversation/debate on said list of guitarists caused Lisa to ask me "and when will I see your top ten Drummers list?"

That sounded like a hell of an idea for a post, so Lisa... here it is. (Oh, and by the way... Lisa's blog can be found at: http://lisamaconfamily.blogspot.com/. Check it out.)

Now... the main thing I had to think about was this: Do I stick to ROCK drummers or try and go out and out for drummers PERIOD?

This was hard. Lisa's guitarist list was limited to guitar players that SHE has personally heard (which is why B.B. King was on MY list, but not HERS, since she had never really listened to King play).

That made sense, so I'm going to follow the same critera, although I will add one other faction: how much of am influence on me a particular drummer had (being that I've been a drummer for the last thirty-two years). If you disagree with my choices and feel I left someone out, it COULD BE because a drummer you'd put on the list is someone I haven't really heard a lot.

I'm thirty-seven and started playing the drums back when I was five. No, I wasn't just mindlessly banging sticks over my head or what-not. I honestly can say I played the drums back when I was five. True Story: My Dad was a one-hit wonder back in the 60s with a band called THE SAND PEPPLES (not to be confused with the R & B trio with the same name). Don't ask me what the song was, I have no idea. It didn't go very high on the top 100 and got them just enough fame to get regular gigs in Manhattan and New Jersey night clubs in the late 60s/very-early 70s. In any case, my father had a drum set set up in our attic along with his trumpet, trombone and other music stuff. My sister and I were constantly told "DO NOT TOUCH MY INSTRUMENTS." The attic was OFF LIMITS and WOE to those of use who disobayed.

The following is a story my father used to delight in telling. I, myself, have VERY LITTLE MEMORY of it. Anyway, at five years old, I was constantly dying to get my hands on that drum set and bang around. One particular spring day, my father was out washing the car in the drive way. For one reason or another, I thought it was the perfect oppertunity to get into the attic and play the drums. You see, at five years old I just did not grasp the concept that SOUND TRAVELS. Dad was outside, and I (and the drum set) was inside, THUS he wouldn't know. Right? Wrong.

So I crept up the stairs, pushed open the door. Sat at the drum set, picked up the sticks and started gleefully banging away.

It didn't take very long for my father to realize someone was inside and touching his precious musical instruments. He threw down the hose and stormed inside. My older sister Anne-Marie, who was most likely heading for the front door to rat me out and score some points with the old man, was standing in the kitchen. That meant my father knew it was me upstairs in direct violation of NESTOR HOUSE RULE #1 ("Thou shalt not touch thine musical instruments upon pain of death and spankings galore").

My father rushed up the stairs, most likely flexing his hands in preperation of a master spanking when halfway up he realized something.

I was keeping a perfect 4/4 time.

He stopped at the top of the stairs (I had no idea he was there because, in accordance of my blantant misunderstanding of the rules of sound, I couldn't hear his stair pounding above the banging of the drums). He stood there and listened. I kept keeping perfect time. I tossed in drum rolls and cymbal crashes and other fills... yet my timing didn't falter.

My father suddenly realized. I had learned to play just by watching him. He had a 5-year old drum-prodigy on his hands.

He slowly opened the door. Who knows how long it took me to relaize he was there. I stopped and froze. I was nailed and my five year old mind was most likely racing to come up with a possible way to blame the entire thing on my sister.

"From now on..." my father said to me. "You are allowed to come up here and play as often as you like." He then closed the door and went back downstairs.

That Christmas, I got my very own Drum Set. I've been playing ever since pretty much.

ANYWAY, I thought my background was important so you can see I have a vested part in this list.

SO... without futher adeu...

1. STEWART COPELAND: Yeah.. like ANYONE is surprised by this. There's a few reasons why I LOVE THE POLICE so much... and Stewart is a huge one. He's crisp, clean and on the money every time. His focusing on cymbal/hi-hat/bass drum style is without a doubt the smoothest I've ever heard (with the number two drummer on my list being the only one to come close). His reggae, jazz, funk, rock and african styles all combine into an unmistakenable sound. He also has a"snap" style (rimshotting focus) that I love. People who I've never met and hear me play have said to me "Your style reminds me of Stewart Copeland." They're right. He's the largest influence on my style as a drummer. There's a reason Stewart is known as "the Rythymist". He's the BEST. EVER.

2. BILL BRUFORD: Bill was the original drummer for YES. Bill combines Jazz technique with rudimentary rock. His ability to take simple parts and rudiments and put them all together into complex pieces is amazing. Bill once said that he "never acquired a drum technique for the sake of acquiring it, but as a solution to a particular problem." and that if he ever heard something that he couldn't do, he would learn how to do it. Anyone questioning how high on this list he should be needs to sit and listen to the Yes album FRAGILE. Amazing stuff.

3. BUDDY RICH: Buddy is has often been called "The World's Greatest Drummer". His talent for rhythm was first noticed by his father (hey! Like me!), who realized thatBuddy was able to keep a steady beat with spoons as a toddler. He began playing drums in vaudeville when he was around two years old as "Traps the Drum Wonder". By the time Buddy was eleven years old he was performing as a bandleader. Buddy supposedly never had a single drum lesson, andhe claimed that any actual drum instruction "would only degrade his musical talent." He also never admitted to practicing, claiming to play the drums only during his live performances. In any case, Buddy was unreal. His speed and ability to do numberous complex rudiments AT THE SAME TIME was unheard of. You name the style... he mastered it.

4. TONY THOMPSON: First off, let's all bow our heads for a drummer that we lost WAY too early, since Tony passed away in 2003 of Kidney Cancer. Tony was in a number of bands (including R&B/dance/disco band CHIC) and did a BUSLOAD of session work on albums by the likes of Madonna (on her 1984 album "Like A Virgin"), Rod Stewart, Robert Palmer, Mick Jagger, and David Bowie (on the "Let's Dance" album and Tony toured with David through-out the "Serious Moonlight Tour" for Let's Dance). Tony was BEST known, however, as the drummer for POWER STATION who had some big hits in 1985 with "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" and "Some Like It Hot". Tony played in a style that combined Fuse, Funk and Rock. His heavy off-tempo tom-tom/snare/bass drum fills were fantastic.

5. NEIL PERT: Neil's work for RUSH is the stuff of legend. He's often been number one on many lists of the greatest drummers and that's fair since the guy is flat out incredible. His style is that of Hard Rock, meshed with Big Band and Jazz. His long and exteme live drum solos at RUSH shows in the mid 80s were stuff that set many a a young fan insane. Over the years, Neil has received a TON of awards for his performances and is highly regarded for his technical proficiency and stamina. Little fun bit of trivia: Neil actually writes most of the lyrics for RUSH's songs. Betcha didn't know that!

6. GINGER BAKER: Ok, here's the part where many of you say "Who?" but Ginger was a pioneer who was probablly the first drummer to use a double bass drum set up instead of a single kick. Ginger played with many groups but is best known as the drummer for CREAM and BLIND FAITH and is one of the greatest fusion drummers ever. He's known for using a variety of other percussion instruments and for his application of African rhythms to much of his drumming. Ginger also HATES being called a 'rock drummer." He prefers to be known as a Jazz drummer.

7. CARL PALMER: Carl, the drummer for EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER and ASIA is one of the most respected and influential Rock drummers of all time. Carl is a master of drumming proficiency and unique showmanship. His live drum solos over the years have included his famous use of both gongs and tambourines, as well as his unique ability to extract himself from his t-shirt while playing complex double bass drum patterns.

8. & 9. JOHN BONHAM/KEITH MOON: These two made this list mainly because I cannot ignore the influence they both had upon the modern drummer. I'd be shocked if anyone didn't know who they are since John (LED ZEPPLIN) and KEITH (THE WHO) prett y much seem to bridge over generations. The reason I'm listing them together is that they share the unique contention of being two of the most revered and martyer'd drummers in history. These two were kicking down the barriers of restraint for years and turned the drums into lead intruments when they played. Very few drummers are as widely praised and beloved as these two are. Both passed in their prime and are considered the cream of the crop. Die-hard fans of each of them are prepared to fight to the death that their favorite is the best drummer ever. They'd be WRONG, but they are close to the top. :)

10. STEVE GADD: Steve is a lifetime session/studio drummer who has worked on a TON of albums with the likes of Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Jim Croce, The Manhattan Transfer, and many, many, MANY others. Steve is arguably the most recorded drummer in history, as he has been featured on over 600 plus albums. He is widely regarded for his incredible ability to play "in the pocket,"and to groove especially well with the music, and other instruments/musicians he is playing with. In the end, what pushed him onto this list above the Honorable Mentions was that he wrote and performed the incredible drum licks for the Paul Simon song "Fifty-Ways to Leave your Lover" which is one of the coolest drum rythyms EVER.

HONORABLE MENTION: Alan White (YES), Larry Mullen Jr. (U2), Matt Pelissier (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE), Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE), Steve Smith (JOURNEY), Max Weinberg (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND), Carter Beauford (DAVE MATTHEWS BAND), Mike Cosgrove (ALIEN ANT FARM), Bun E. Carlos (CHEAP TRICK).

So there you go. Ok, go ahead. Argue with me :)

STARTED UP A 'BRAND NEW DAY'

I've pretty much stayed away from many chances to comment on the whole Spider-Man ONE MORE DAY/BRAND NEW DAY controversy. However, after reading so much about it I decided to take a little stab at some of the issues I have with the direction Marvel (and mainly Joe Quesada) has decided to take the character in.

I promise this is NOT a mindless rant. There are no barbs, insults, nasty things or comments tossed at anyone. No quarter is taken with anyone in a not-nice manner. Really.

No... really. I swear.

So, one of the things I have heard (read) pounded in at everyone was that the main thing about the series direction is that (and I quote Tom Brevoort here, but I've heard Joe Q and other's say it also) "Spider-Man is about Peter Parker"

Ok, I'm 37, and was a big Spidey fan back in the 70s and 80s before his wedding to Mary-Jane, so it's not like an unmarried Peter is totally foreign to me.

In his "manifesto" in the back of SWING SHIFT: DIRECTORS CUT, Tom presents an arguement that Spider-Man is not the main character here, that Peter Parker is, and that being Spider-Man is just one aspect of the ongoing soap opera of his life. I recently read a well written post on http://www.comicboards.com/smb/ by a guy named JC (No other info on his name was available) that "Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 both get this mix right, with money worries, girl troubles and the pressures of Spidey intruding on Peter’s life." JC went on to say that he "absolutely agree(s) with Tom and think this is something which sets Peter Parker apart from Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Batman and loads of other super-heroes. Peter is genuinely Peter Parker, with Spider-Man as a mask he puts on – both a release and a burden at the same time. Recent Spidey comics have neglected Peter Parker and his life, instead focusing on Spider-Man (joining the New Avengers and living in the Avengers tower was the most obvious example of this)."

I won't disagree that Peter Parker should be the "main identity" and Spider-Man should come second. However, I has to disagree with any notion that states that is what is happening here.

With the reversal of Peter's marriage Marvel is looking to return the status of Spider-Man to a 'younger" and "more accesable" version.

"Wait!" you say. "Spider-man isn't married anymore? He got divorced?"

No, he did not. Spider-man was never married now.

"Hold it!" you shout. "I saw the 'wedding' at Shea Stadium back in the 80s! I read the issue! He's been married for over twenty-years!"

Uh... well.. yeah, you're right... but...

"But WHAT?" You ask.

OK, side bar... Here's a quick summary for those of you not in the know:

Peter Parker revealed to the whole world that he was Spider-Man as part of his support of a new Super-Hero Registration Act passed by the U.S. Government. Peter later regretted it his support of this bill and decided to ally himself with the band of Super-Hero "rebels" who were against and fighting the Registration Act. Since the world now knew Peter was Spider-Man, one of his older Villains (The Kingpin) hired a hitman to assinate Peter (or anyone close to him if he couldn't get Peter himself). The hitman shot at Peter , but instead the rifle shot hit Peter's Aunt May. May was on life-support and her body could not handle the trauma on her body caused by the shot. Peter tried getting help from everyone he could think of, but had no luck. She was going to die no matter what Peter or anyone else did for her. So, along comes Satan. Yes, Satan. Why did the devil come a'callin? Why, not? So Satan (called Mephisto in the Marvel Universe) approachd Peter and Mary-Jane and told them that he would save May's life, if they would give up their marriage as if it never happened. Sound weird? Yeah to a lot of us too. Bizarrely though, in a four-part story titled ONE MORE DAY, they agree to the devil's terms and a good chunk of their lives are erased from memory, including their marriage, the entire world's knowledge of Spider-Man's secret ID (including even his friends) and his 'organic web-shooters' being gone and him going back to his old mechinical ones. No one will remember that Peter and Mary-Jane were ever married and other parts of their lives will not be remembered... as if it never happened. The change also brought back to life a previous dead character in Peter's best friend Harry Osborn, who died as the 2nd Green Goblin. Why? Who knows. The Devil works in mysterous ways. Oh wait... that's The Lord actually. Well... I don't know then. Don't look at me, it wasn't MY idea. In any case, are we caught up? Yeah? Good. Let's move on.

Peter is also removed from being a teacher (which is what he was doing before he gave up his secret ID to the world but that wouldn't have matter now that his ID WAS a secret again thanks to to the Devil's actions). It seems that as part of this 'revamp" Peter canned be married, or hold a regular job and is basically universally 25 years old.

He's also living in his Aunt's house again cause he has no money and no job. Thus starts BRAND NEW DAY, which is the introduction of the new Status quo for Spider-Man. This storyline is running through the only Spider-Man title left: Amazing Spider-Man which now is published three times a month and is the only ongoing Spider-Man title (if you don't count Ultimate Spider-Man but that's a whole different Universe) left.

So, back to the revelations about Spider-Man... the BIG one, remember is that (and again I quote): "Spider-Man is about Peter Parker."

The problem is this: Tom Brevoort, Joe Quesada, Marvel and just about everyone else completely contridicts themselves here.

Spider-Man is about Peter Parker right? Well, if so, then why does Peter's life basically have to shoe-horn into a very restricting status-quo?

So I'm supposed to believe that a guy could overcome just about every single adversary in his superhero career, including ones that he was so far over his head that he really had no business succeeding in, but he can't figure out how to keep a job?I'm suppossed to accept the fact that despite the fact that Military Personel, Policemen and Women, Firefighters, Public Figures such as politicians, professional athletes and movie/music/TV stars all are able to have and develop serious ongoing relationships that result in marriage, that Peter cannot?

I'm supposed to believe that the guy can't learn from his mistakes? Cause he's making the same ones he was making over and over again. Basically, what Joe Q (and Tom B to an extention) is saying is... Peter is a loser, even though Spider-Man wins most of his battles.

Now before anyone says "No one has said that!"... think about it...

What would you call a guy who cannot keep a job, never has any money, keeps making the same mistakes over and over again, and cannot take a relationship past a particular level? Most people would pretty much call that person a loser... which is pretty much what Joe Q has stated he feels Peter should be .

I have an issue with this. We're suppossed to be able to identify with Peter. He has money issues, and relationship woes, and job issues and all that. Well, hey... I have a full time job (and have never really had a problem holding onto one). I have a wife (and kids) and a great relationship. However, I have have money issues, and relationship woes and job issues.

The age thing? I have no problem with Peter being universally "25" (although I think 27 is a better age seeing how much he's supposed to have been through). The age issue isn't a big deal. However I get the feeling the ONLY reason to have him as 25 is to use the "I'm too young to get married!" excuse.

You can argue all you want that keeping Spider-Man young is the way to get young readers. However, I hate to break this to the powers that be, but most of the YOUNGER (ie: seven years old through say... sixteen years old) couldn't care LESS about Peter being 25 or 27 or 42... and they couldn't care LESS about him being single or holding a job or whatever. They read Spider-Man for the scenes of SPIDER-MAN. Hech, my oldest son, Patrick, is 13. His favorite comic book are Ultimate Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man. HE'S pissed that the marriage has been undone. Heck, as a thirteen year old, he's never known Spidey to NOT be married. He knows that even the progression of the (VERY popular and successful) movies makes sure that Peter and Mary Jane's relationship is just about he most important aspect of Peter.

Now most of the OLDER readers (ie: say Eighteen though... say.... Eighty-Five and beyond)... THEY care about Peter's personal life as much as Spider-Man's exploits. However, just how many of them want to see Peter taking that backwards step that he's taken... I don't know there are many.

Another thing I have heard is that the last twenty years of marriage and status quo should not be held onto just for the sake of keeping continuity. I get a kick out of every time I hear something like "continuity is less important than good stories". Everyone loves to kill continuity when they don't like the direction, but hell... without continuity (and new writers STICKING to previously based continuity) things become mash-mashed and hard to follow. Continuity is only as good as the editors and editorial mandates that protect it. Most of the time it's the LACK of good editing that leads to broken continuity and someone having to then go and "fix" problems that usually cause MORE problems than is fixed.

So, yeah it's obvious that I'm on the outs with the direction that Spider-Man has headed into. The road to get here was so "un-Spiderman like" that I still have issues accepting it. The entire thing reeks of Joe Q's insistance that HIS Spider-Man be the only Spider-Man out there, despite the fact we already HAD that Spider-Man in the Ultimate line. Yes, I'm jumping all over JoeQ for this, he has been very vocal over the years that he hated the fact Spider-Man was married. The funny thing is, that much of the things that were undone with this new Status quo is stuff that all happened upder Joe Q's watch! And his pointless and INCORRECT assertation that if we want to see a married Spider-Man we should be reading Spider-Girl would only make sense if Peter was the MAIN CHARACTER of that title... which he is NOT.

I'm giving BRAND NEW DAY a chance. I like Dan Slott as a writer. I like Steve McNiven's and Phil Jiminez's art a lot. I think the '3 times a month' format and the 'only one Spider-Man title' ideas are great. So far, I have not disliked the stories (Five issues have come out so far as of the writing of this blog)... but I will admit there are some big distractions with the 'Harry alive' situation and the reversal of everything I've known about Peter for the last twenty years.

I also wonder, has anyone (characters in the comics I mean) even realized that they suddenly don't know Spider-Man's secret ID but they once did? Wolverine, Norman Osborn and Daredevil just to name a few? How about the New Avengers? Spidey is on a team with them... they knew who he was.

The feel of these issues so far has been that of the older PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN issues from the early 1980s. The stories haven't been bad at all (and the art has been good) but things feel over done to me. They keep pushing the fact Peter has no money and the old "Parker luck" (ie: REALLY BAD LUCK) is referenced way too much. Plus, once again Aunt May has managed to get herself involved (unknowingly of course) with a Super villian. What a shock. It's a wonder she's survived all of these years.

Wait... maybe she hasn't. Maybe May has died a NUMBER of times.

Maybe the devil has done this before and we all just forgot it.

Oh God.

In the end though... don't tell me Spider-Man is ALL ABOUT Peter Parker if you are THEN going to tell me that Peter will NEVER CHANGE OR GROW. That means that Peter Parker is just an aspect of Spider-Man... like a web-shooter... that is there cause it's expected, but will not really hold any effect on the series, since we know he cannot become anything more than he already is.

WHAT I'M WATCHING

Since the writer's strike is just about done, I thought I'd take a quick look at what I have been (and will be) watching once everything is back to normal. In many cases I caught this stuff on DVD after the fact.

This is in no particular order... I'm just pretty much covering them as they occur to me. In the past I ahev HATED television. I watched one, maybe TWO shows a year (if that). These days? I'm a junkie. God I need help.

JERICHO: I had every intention of trying out this show last year but missed the first two episodes and I decided to wait. I'm only glad I wanted for one reason: watching this on DVD meant I didn't have to wait weeks to know what happened. What a great show. The writing and acting is top notch. Tonight is the season 2 premere and I now have the most prized possession we currently own: a DVR recorder. Last season ended on quite the cliffhanger. Just simple words defined the end of last season. Those words were "Nuts" and "NOW!". We have to see how Jake is going to handle becoming the main man here, although I suspect he'll have some detracters to deal with in the town.

LOST: Anyone who knows me knows that this sort of show is perfect for me. Mystery, a million questions, virial marketing, endless speculation, a tie to the occult, a secret organization... all stuff that fuels my twisted obession-filled nature. So far only two episodes into this season and this are hopping already. I like the direction things are going in and the flash forwards (although there weren't any in the 2nd episode) look to be quite effective. People want their answers but I'm still not pushing for everything to be revealed just yet. I'm enjoying the mystery.

DAMAGES: This looked mildly interesting to me when the promos for it came out, but I didn;t have the time to catch it while the first season was runnning. I recently came out on DVD and decided to check it out (thank GOD for Netflix). Well... this show just blew me away. Glen Close plays a lead character that sits right up there with Vic Mackey as a lead with... shall we say... 'flexable' morals who will do anything... ANYTHING... to achieve their means. Close plays Patti Hughes in a way that makes you think you understand her and even manage to root for her in ways when she shows she is human... but still managed to shock us all in the season finale. I also have neverseen a drama about a law firm where we never (NEVER) see the inside of a court room. This one is hard to classify. Just... check it out if you haven't done so. Powerful stuff and more twists and turns and hidden reveals than an M. Night Shyamalan flick. This show clinched one thing for me: F/X has the BEST shows on TV.

PRISON BREAK: I had finally caught up with Prison Break (a show I fell behind on with only a few episodes left in season 1) just as this season started. As improbable as the premise is, and as much as everyone around me tells me the acting is terrible I cannot get enough of this show. It's fun and crazy and just impossible to predict. The situations and the solutions are sometimes so preposterious that saying it's a stretch is being kind but I don't care. While this doesn't live up to the mystery of LOST, the acting of JERICHO or the power of DAMAGES, it's still a plain cool ride.

NIP/TUCK: Ok... this one is a bit of a cheat because I have only seen the first episode of this season. The rest are all saved on the DVR for when I have some time to catch up. This is always been a show I catch up to after the season is over and this season will be no exception. Like Prison Break, this show is just... well... UP THERE. It's crazy and soap opera-ish and at times you want to shout "Oh, C'mon!" at the screeen, but it's fun and mindless and is eye candy that also delivers some nice twists. The tale of these two best friends (who should have killed each other years ago in my opinion) and partners in a plastic surgery practice is impossible to look away from. Even as you are admiring the view, you're almost embrassed for the characters and the situations they find themselves in, but as with Prison Break.. I don't care.

GREY'S ANATOMY: Now this is the first of my two dirty little guilty pleasures. Even more soap-opera-ish than NIP/TUCK is, this show just screams "EMO!" and "DRAMA!" The fact that everyone in this hospital seems to sleep with someone else from the hospital is actually probablly more realistic than people think. The bad decisions in their personal lives being made on a daily basis by people who make the decisions and actions that save lives everyday is quite an ironic contrast. I was dragged into watching this show... kicking and screaming in fact... it was ALL my wife's fault. She watched it and I would catch a few minutes of it here and there and one night I saw some of the "Bomb" episode from season Two and DAMN I was curious in what happened. So Chrissy talked me into renting the first disk of season one on DVD and I hate to admit it but I was hooked. Oh who am I kidding? It's not her... it's ME! This is just a plain, out and out fun show that I cannot help but enjoy. God, I hate to admit that. And what the HELL is up with Meredith? McDreamy is the PERFECT man! Handsome, smart, funny, honorable, caring, in touch with his emotions... god DAMN I'm not into men and *I'D* marry him! SIGH. See? See what this show does? Argh.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: The other dirty little guilty pleasure. This show is just... mindless. The situations are insane. The storylines are inane. The characters all need a good beating. But jeez... I'm hooked! I think I need to see a Doctor. Hey, do you think Dr. McDreamy sould tream ... errr... forget that.

24: Yeah, I know it's not going to come back until 2009 due to the strike (and it's a victim of it's own format as much as it is a victim of the strike) and I know last season just got... preposterous. But.. it's JACK FREAKING BAUER DAMMIT! God I have enjoyed this show from day one (heh... day... heh) and I'm not about to stop anytime soon. I thought I might lose interest then they killed just about EVERYONE but Jack and Chole a few seasons back... but I didn't. Fun stuff to the end and never... NEVER... discount the POWER OF JACK!

THE SHIELD: Vic Mackey. Is he a realistic character or an over-the-top twisted version? I think he's a bit of both. Vic is a guy who will do anything... ANYTHING... to protect his family and team... but he also has an actual set of morals to him. He's the perfect anti-hero who we cannot help but root for, but we also have to be reminded that he KILLED A FREAKING COP. I have to tell you... this show is as powerful and well acted as anything I have ever seen on TV. I actually missed the last three episodes of last season (and that was the final straw that lead me to get a DVR) so I have to catch up before next season (which is the final season for the show).

RESCUE ME: I'm an extire season behind (and WILL YOU GUYS HURRY UP WITH THE DVD ALREADY!) but this is another show that is brutal and honest and impossible to look away from. Denis Leary's Tommy is a guy that you want to kill one second and then slap on the back and buy a drink for the next. What this character has gone through on this show is rough... and you'd think it was too over the top to be realistic, but it's not. It always seems... right. As WRONG as it gets, it's still 'right'? Know what I mean?

HEROES: Hey, I'm a comic geek. Is ANYONE surprised I love this show? Yeah it stumbled a little with keeping Hiro in the past too long and the annoying Maya and Alejandro plot seemed like it was never going to end but this season finished with a solid BANG and the revelation that a certain someone has his powers back (along with the death of another certain someone) has setup next season quite nicely. Yeah, like 24 we won't see this until next fasll due to the high production on each episode would make it very hard to get more than like three or four episodes done before the summer, but I wouldn't mind a very short set-up to next year.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Another show I am an entire season behind and waiting for the DVD of Season three has been KILLING ME. Jeez... the frigging DVD for RAZOR (the one shot movie for BG) came out a lousy TWO WEEKS after the movie was on the Sci Fi Network, but it took almost 19 months for the season 3 DVD to come out? In any case, this has been quite the show about how people react to being in a situation where all they do is run, fight and live in tin cans in space with a TON of parinoia. The Cylons aren't just bucket's of bolts here... they can look just like humans and no one knows for certain if the guy or gal next to them is actually an enemy. makes for some very interesting situations. I'm glad this season is about to start in March, but I have to scamble to see season 3 in time since it's being released only a few days before the season 4 premere. Nice.

JOURNEYMAN: God I love time travel. I'm facinated by it. And this show handled it very well. This was a cool show that played the QUANTUM LEAP card quite well, only the whole reasoning behind the main character as a time traveler was still unknown. It looks like this show got the axe, which sucks. Chrissy and I really enjoyed this one. Figures. Hopefully this can get a last second repreave, but I doubt it will.

THE BLACK DONNELLYS: Another show that I had to catch up on with DVD and another show that was excellent but was canned. This was pretty much a cross between STATE OF GRACE (the Sean Penn flick) , THE GODFATHER and THE SOPRANOS. Excellent acting and a fairly riveting storyline drove this show but I can tell you the two reasons it eventually failed. 1 - The title. I understand totally why they called it like they did, but the average person with no knowledge of Irish History would not. It's not really a name that grabs you. 2 - No 'name' actor. They needed someone... someone that the general public would say "wow! I know that guy! He was in that flick... or show... or whatever!" James Caan or Ed Harris would have been perfect. The final episode ended on quite a shocking note and you just know the dial was getting turned up in season 2 had there BEEN a season 2. What a shame. If you missed it, check it out on DVD.

So... what does every show I listed have in common? Think about it for a second.

Give up? NO SITCOMS.

I HATE sitcoms. I can stand to watch an episode of one once and while, but overall? I cannot get into them. The last 'SITCOM' I watched every episode of was POLICE SQUAD back in like 1983.

Which brings me to the comedy section of this. NONE of these are something I would consider a sitcom.

FAMILY GUY: Yeah, I don't really care about the cracks that this show is a formulaic mess. All I know is that I laugh every time I watch it. And over-used or not, Stewie is still hysterical.

SOUTH PARK: Matt Stone and Trey Parker are fearless. The show isn't always a gut-buster, but it's always relevant and funny enough that I come back for more.

ROBOT CHICKEN: Talking toys and fucked up sexual-ladden humor. What more can you ask for? Seth Green is a genius.