January 2012
3 posts
2 tags
Goodbye, Whims
My sister (born Deborah, self-christened Whims) died this week, an event prompting condolences from well-meaning friends and acquaintances, but no condolences are needed. All her death really evokes in me is a sense that something bad and wrong has come to an end.
It quickly became clear that I should have kept the news to myself. Because while I am genuinely grateful for the support and comfort...
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page.
* Anyone who thinks Jesus cares who wins a football game doesn’t know much about Jesus.
* Plattsburgh, NY feels more like Canada than Los Estados Unidos. Signs in French. Currency exchange!
* In a...
Looking Back at 2011
As seen at Ramblin’ with Roger, like most of the memes I respond to. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I have ever made a New Year’s resolution in my life.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
One of my daughter’s best friends.
Did anyone close to you die?
No, but there was at least one close call.
What...
December 2011
6 posts
The Year 2011 ADD
Here’s a roundup of links to some of my favourite pieces I wrote in the last 12 months. Here’s hoping you and yours have a very happy new year. * The Best Comics of 2011 (Trouble With Comics) * Review of Box Brown’s The Survivalist (Flashmob Fridays) * Thought on the movie Dark City (Twitter) * Review of The KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler (The ADD Blog) *...
Abhay Does the Work So DC Doesn't Have To
twiststreet:
So, let me see if I can write the “official” announcement for Watchmen 2:
Read More
A Holiday Observance
35 years ago today, my mom got me Origins of Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others. A big part of a lifetime of joy. I read it under the tree, by the blazing lights on its branches, while the rest of the family slept. I hope you and yours are enjoying a peaceful and prosperous holiday season, and share at least a portion of that joy.
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page.
* Watching Wrath of Khan. So strange it’s almost 30 years old. In my mind’s eye, this is forever how the original Star Trek cast will be. LLAP
* Why is every spaceship in every TV show and...
3 tags
The 15 Movie Questions Meme
As seen on Ramblin’ with Roger!
1. Movie you love with a passion.
Dark City. Like two other favourites (Donnie Darko and Synecdoche, NY) it is concerned with memory, identity and loss, and speaks to me on a level so powerful and visceral that I have difficulty explaining it in words. As I said on Twitter this week after re-watching it on Blu-Ray, “The desire of John Murdock to find...
1 tag
Thoughts on the Year in TV
Top 5:
1. Homeland - From the first episode, no show had me more engaged and entertained this year. It’s not perfect, but it is compelling, and the acting by Lewis, Danes and Patinkin is the best on TV.
2. Boardwalk Empire - A close second. Early in the season I was pretty on the fence about the series and was considering dropping it, but it really rallied midway through, and the last four...
November 2011
2 posts
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page.
* It occurs to me that there’s something profoundly wrong with a culture that values a lush 864-page hardcover Asimov omnibus at $1.00.
* That’s how much I paid for it at...
2 tags
The KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard...
I am jealous of hell of author Duncan Crary. Might as well admit it right up front. In my 25 years in radio, I interviewed Jim Kunstler maybe a dozen times, usually short chats to get a sound bite for a news story about local development issues in the Albany/Saratoga Springs/Glens Falls, New York area that I spent my entire radio career broadcasting in and around. A couple of times I did longer...
October 2011
2 posts
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page. Watchmen 2 comics: Bad idea, and a shitty move, DC. I will lose respect for anyone involved. Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right. It’s funny how if my wife had a Twitter feed I...
1 tag
Roger Ebert's Life Itself: A Memoir
I’m a decade older than my wife, a diabetic of nearly 14 years with a family history of Alzheimer’s and two particularly nasty types of cancer. And yet, I’ve felt pretty well this year, while my wife has had Lyme disease and other medical problems necessitating multiple day surgeries and more trips to the hospital in less than a year than I want to make in my entire lifetime. As I finished the...
September 2011
7 posts
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page. Listening to a Stephen Hawking audiobook and making meatloaf. That’s just how I roll. Hey, rolls would be good with the meatloaf! Currently reading LIFE ITSELF: A MEMOIR by @ebertchicago. One chapter...
1 tag
Frances Bay
I’m very sorry to hear of the passing of Frances Bay, an actress who played key roles on two of my favourite 1990s television series, Seinfeld and Twin Peaks. You’ll remember Bay as Mabel Choate, a combative old lady who refuses to surrender the last marble rye to Jerry when they butt heads at a bakery. Her more memorable role to me — in fact, it’s a character I think of...
1 tag
Putting Your Future on Layaway
So Wal-Mart is bringing back layaways, a retail strategy originally introduced during the Depression of the 20th century (as opposed to the one we’re living in now) to allow retailers to claim money from people who are already financially depleted by taking advantage of the fact that at least some people still get a regular paycheck, however anemic that check might be. The advantage to...
2 tags
Ringer
I really wanted to like this new Sarah Michelle Gellar vehicle, but barely made it to the end of the first episode. Spoilers ahead, in case you plan to give it a go. Everything about this debut effort annoyed, from the splitscreen allowing SMG’s twin characters Bridget and Siobhan to interact, to the acting by almost every lead on the show. Gellar and Ioan “Mr. Fantastic”...
2 tags
ADD Reviews Star Trek #1
Click over to Trouble With Comics to read my review of the first issue of IDW’s new Star Trek comic book series, which takes place in the new Trek universe after the events of the 2009 movie.
1 tag
Happy 45th Birthday, Star Trek
I was born in 1966, and so was Star Trek. Both of us, of course, were conceived earlier — myself in 1965, and Star Trek in 1964 as Gene Roddenberry began formulating the mythology that he and many others would develop and transform into one of the grandest and most expansive science fiction ideas ever. I’ve always loved Star Trek. It was one of the first TV series I ever watched (my mother was a...
August 2011
8 posts
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page.
I question why any sane adult would want to be branded a “fan.” I’m a reader, myself. Fan implies a level of awe I don’t have.
Happy birthday to my wife, Lora, who doesn’t read...
1 tag
Waiting for Irene
As I write this, my neck of the woods (upstate New York, an hour north of Albany) has about 36 hours to go before Hurricane Irene arrives. The latest word from weather experts on the radio is that when she gets here, she’ll likely be a Category 2 storm carrying 80-100 mile an hour winds. I’ve told the kids to keep our outdoor cat indoors, because I would hate to see him carried to the...
1 tag
What You're Missing on My Twitter Feed
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page. * Owning digital media — music, comics, movies, all of it — will never feel permanent to me. I have to own a physical copy to feel I own it. Maybe I’ve experienced one too many hard-drive...
2 tags
NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction/Fantasy Books
NPR has posted its list of the Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books. Here’s the list, with the ones I’ve read preceded by an asterisk (*).
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
* 2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by...
1 tag
Spot: Before and After (1995)
Before
My cat, lying on the bed across the room from me, has 21 hours and 32 minutes of life left to him. It is my intention tomorrow to hold him as he dies, because he has been my best, and at times my only, friend for the past decade.
There would be no honour in handing him over for disposal without letting him be comforted by my presence one last time as he slips away. I owe him much, much...
1 tag
21 Great Episodes of Star Trek: The Next...
A discussion of whether there are enough ST: TNG episodes to populate a Top 10 list spurred me to look at the entire list of episodes…I came up with 21 I think are great, and enjoy watching again and again. As a result of this discussion, Mick Martin has now decided to watch and blog about these episodes. Can’t wait to read his comments. The Big Goodbye
Elementary, Dear Data
The...
1 tag
Five Favourite TV Episodes
“Where No Man Has Gone Before” - Star Trek. The essential introduction to James T. Kirk. So very different from everything that follows, and yet the very essence of Roddenberry’s Trek; thoughtful, exciting, out there.
“Many Happy Returns” - The Prisoner. Not the first or last mind-fuck of this series, but the best.
“Pilot” - Twin Peaks. A moment in...
2 tags
My Three Favourite Orson Welles Movies
There’s no film director I admire or enjoy more than Orson Welles. His ambition and talent were unmatched in their day, and he remains the most visionary and brilliant filmmaker in the history of the medium. No one understood better what movies were capable of, and when allowed to follow his muse, no one did it better. He wasn’t perfect, but he was Welles. At its worst, his work was...
2 tags
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon is one of the most poorly-written and badly-edited biographies it’s ever been my displeasure to read. The author’s obsessive accounting of every possible indication that Seinfeld is probably gay ultimately implies, quite strongly, that the comedian’s notorious public relationships (one with a 17-year-old girl when Seinfeld was 39, one...
July 2011
4 posts
2 tags
My Theory on the New Economy
Nothing you own is worth more than 33 percent of its 2005 value; everything you need costs 50 percent more. The first number will fall; the second will rise.
From here on out, anyone who doesn’t understand, accept and plan for this change will be extremely frustrated, unhappy and unable to function.
1 tag
Great Shatner Photos Promoting "The Captains."
The Captains is a new documentary hosted by William Shatner and featuring his interviews with people who’ve played starship captains on the various incarnations of Star Trek. Seen above are photos featuring Shatner with (1) Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation), (2) Chris Pine (James T. Kirk in 2009’s Star Trek feature film and its 2012 sequel) and...
Get Cheap Comics and GNs in ADD's Latest Auctions!
Happy Independence Day weekend to my U.S. readers. To celebrate the holiday (and to raise some much-needed cash!), I’m auctioning off some great comics and related items at deep discounts.
You can view all my auctions on one page by clicking here. Check out my feedback rating, and bid with confidence! Mention The ADD Blog at checkout and I’ll throw in some great bonus comics...
June 2011
2 posts
1 tag
My Seinfeld Stories (Updated 062111)
I recently followed @seinfeldstories on Twitter. Complete episodes of Seinfeld encapsulated in 140 characters or less. It may be the most brilliant Twitter feed ever. Yesterday on my Twitter feed, I kind of lost my mind and played along. Here are MY Seinfeld Stories: On the first day of summer, Jerry and Kramer argue over how to pronounce “solstice.” Elaine housesits for a man with...
2 tags
An Open Letter to New York State Senator Roy...
Dear Senator McDonald,
You may not remember me, but I remember you. I interviewed you twice in my radio career. In fact, you were the first newsmaker I ever interviewed, in the mid-1980s working at WKAJ in Saratoga Springs. Later, working at WABY in Albany, I interviewed you for the station’s half-hour public affairs show, and came away from that second interview greatly impressed with your...
April 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Getting Ready for the Albany Comic Con
Today’s the spring edition of the Albany Comic Con, a twice-annual gathering of readers, creators and dealers from around the northeast, held in Albany, New York. I’m going, as is my entire family (minus the cats). I think I missed the last show, last fall, much to my regret, but circumstances and finances worked against me. Today’s show will be a bit of a challenge since my...
Memeology: Television
Roger Green recently featured this meme on his blog, and it seemed like one that, despite my love/hate relationship with the medium, might be fun to attack.
1. What is your favorite “Classic” TV show?
Star Trek, followed closely by The Prisoner.
2. What character from a “Classic” TV show would you like to be?
Kirk or Spock, depending on the circumstances.
3. On which “Classic” TV Show would...
February 2011
4 posts
1 tag
What You Missed On My Twitter Feed This Week
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page. * Donald Westlake used “could of” instead of “could have” or “could’ve” as shorthand for the intelligence/personality of some of his characters. It’s not...
1 tag
What You Missed On My Twitter Feed This Week
Here’s a roundup of my recent tweets on Twitter (slightly edited and remixed for clarity here on my blog). I’d love it if you’d follow me on there; you can do so via my Twitter profile page. * Dreamed that Steve Carrell’s last episode of The Office is a time travel story a la Back To The Future II, revisiting old episodes. In the dream, Larry Wilmore guest-starred but was...
1 tag
The Day She Grew Up
My daughter got her first job a week ago, and her orientation began this afternoon. She’s 17, and I often find myself saying “she’s almost old enough for college and I’m still back in the delivery room.” This is how I really feel. If I think hard enough about it, it seems like she was born maybe a year ago. How 17 years can be compressed into such a short emotional...
1 tag
January 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Irony Is Dead: MLK Day Edition
Wrap your head around this one: MLK Day has been designated a “make-up day” in some schools in the southern United States, so instead of taking part in celebrations of Dr. King’s life and reflecting on his legacy and unfinished work, students will instead go to school, like any other school day. The reason? Excessive snow, almost certainly due to climate change. (I lived in the...
1 tag
Things I Should Have Taught My Children: Tea and...
* When buttering toast, the butter must go on the side with the maximum surface area. Every slice of bread has one if you look close enough. * When making tea from a teabag, the boiling water must be poured OVER THE BAG. DO NOT dunk the bag into the cooling water, diner waitresses. * How to know if you have had enough tea: Are you sloshing when you walk yet? * I used to have an iron-clad rule...
“Loughner actually did, in practice, what way too many members of the Tea Party...”
– Sean T Collins, writing the smartest comment yet on last Saturday’s mass-murder in Arizona.
1 tag
December 2010
5 posts
1 tag
The Boxing Day of Boxing Day
It’s snowing and cold here in upstate New York this morning, the day after Boxing Day. Kids are off from school, wife took the week off from work, and since I haven’t found a job yet, I’m home too. I am, however, the only conscious human in the house, so at least you can’t call me lazy. It was a pretty good weekend; on Boxing Day Eve almost nothing was open for some reason,...
1 tag
Happy Boxing Day
Twas the night before Boxing Day, and all through my home My wife and my children begged me to leave it alone. “Boxing Day is dumb,” Aaron said, with disgust It was something, I fear, that we’d often discussed. Kira and Lora had no interest at all Even though on Boxing Day you can go to the mall. On Christmas, On Thanksgiving, on Easter you can’t “But Boxing Day is...
“Hey, I was brave enough to shower with a homosexual this morning—surely the big,...”
– Dan Savage, reassuring terrified conservatives since Festivus 2010.
1 tag
Working For The Man
2002 seems a lot more than eight years ago to me, but the math (in this case) does not lie. At the time I was the morning news anchor (as well as a producer and assignment editor) on an NPR affiliate in Albany, New York, making more money than I ever thought possible and working with some of the most amazing broadcast journalists in the business. I was also maintaining Comic Book Galaxy and it...
1 tag
“Both [Republican and Democratic] parties are vying for a place in the graveyard...”
– James Howard Kunstler
November 2010
10 posts
2 tags
Five Favourite Albums
I couldn’t ever hope to match the output or quality of buddy Chris Allen’s recent record reviews, but I will say that I have enjoyed the hell out of watching him stretch his critical muscles in a way I never would have predicted, despite having been aware for years of his deep love for music. Thus inspired, I thought I’d run down a list of five of my favourite albums. Not my...