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, so we had lunch at Chinatown in Queensbury, New York (the best Chinese sit-down place for at least 60 miles) and then went to see the Coen brothers version of True Grit, which was just a great piece of film-making. The Coens definitely toned down their usual wont for the wacky, although there is a lot of humour in the movie, but at its core the story focused on the relationship between Mattie, a young girl out for justice, and Rooster Cogburn, a crusty ol’ marshal and another absolute acting triumph for Jeff Bridges, who just a few years ago I could not have cared less about. But Crazy Heart and True Grit have really shown me what a great and humanistic actor he is, and I can’t recommend those two movies enough. See ‘em, already.

On actual Boxing Day, we visited Earthworld in Albany (still the best comic book store in upstate New York; its only competition for hundreds and hundreds of miles is Modern Myths in Northampton, Mass). I picked up Marvels: Eye of the Camera and started reading it this morning. It lacks the immediate punch of its predecessor, but its nice to have something readable set in the Marvel Universe, as the past five years the only comics that have fit that bill for me consistently were Fraction’s Iron Man and Ennis’s Punisher Max, which probably doesn’t count. I’ve been reading Brubaker’s Captain America on and off and on again, but the drab and dreary look of the art, which probably suited to the story, just doesn’t engage me, much as I wish it did.

After Earthworld, we bolted back north to Saratoga and I stopped in at Comic Depot in the Wilton Mall (current home of my pull list) and picked up the new Neonomicon, which is the best comic Alan Moore has thrown down in years, and Supergod’s final issue. That one never really came together for me like I wish it had, but Ellis kept everything at a remove (intentionally, I am pretty sure), and so the end result felt more clinical than impactful. Following a bit of shopping on the part of my daughter, mad to spend her holiday cash, we had a quick dinner at Subway and then home to watch some of the new season of Futurama (how anyone can like The Simpsons more than Futurama is absolutely beyond me) and then bed. It was a nice weekend and a rare one in that the entire family was together for most of it, which I guess is what the Boxing Day season is all about, right?

Hope you and yours had a nice weekend and that you all enjoy a peaceful and prosperous 2011.