The Spinning Cat Trick
► There was an incident this morning with the cat that scared the hell out of me. I was spending the morning in bed reading, when Stormy kept jumping up on my desk and repeatedly shredding at my bulletin board. He did this at least 5 or 6 times in a row, getting squirted with a water gun each time. My nerves haven't been very good this week, and I blew up and yelled at him.
Frustrated with how he's made the bulletin board look, I took everything off of it and started scraping all the turn, dangling bits of ruined cork and cardboard, and smoothed it out as best I could. While I was doing this he started to leap up onto the telephone stand next to the desk, stomping on the phone, and attempting the scratch at the board again. I'd give him a light swipe/push with my right hand and he'd jump and run off. The third time, however, he didn't jump forward, but jumped sideways, suddenly spinning like a barrel, bouncing off of the side of the bookcase a couple feet away, and landing with a thud on his back on the floor. I looked down in stunned horror as he laid on his back, legs all splayed, and his head flat and back. I thought he was dead. Before I could move, he raised his head, glared at me, and then suddenly sprung up and jetted off.
I kept checking on him through the morning and he shows no signs of injury, no limping or wincing. Doing a body check with my hands was difficult because for a couple of hours after the incident he acted skittish and would flee at my slightest movement, not that that kept him from creeping in the room and sitting 2 feet from me and staring. He's slowly gotten better since I played with him a couple of times.
Edit: A day later and he's begun shredding the board again. So much for smoothing it out and vacuuming and cleaning the debris and dust from the desk area. Ugh.
► Yesterday morning I had a very pleasant surprise when I found my Miss May 1979 Michele Drake custom door poster had been delivered. First I was stunned by how soon it arrived from Hong Kong (less than two weeks), but then I was amazed at how beautifully the poster turned out. I had expected it to be very pixelated and blurry but it's surprisingly sharp and detailed, especially surprising because it's on a cloth material and not paper. Unfortunately I have nowhere to display it (least of all anywhere out of reach of a shred-happy cat), so I might have to put it away for the time being. Love it though.
► From chat, regarding his visit to the comic book store:Matt: 60 did not go as far to cleaning out my comic box as I expected
Matt: I really screwed myself with new 52
Derek: screwed yourself how? bit off more than you could chew?
Matt: Yeah
Matt: I have so many series that are up to issue 12 that I never brought past issue 3
Matt: even some like Batgirl that I'm up to date buying but 6 months behind reading
Derek: I'm thinking of possibly dropping my comics down to just Superman, Action, Batgirl, and Aquaman
Derek: and I'm really iffy on Action and Superman now that Morrison confirmed he's leaving after issue 16
Matt: I hear that
Matt: I worked out dropping everything with my Comic Book Guy and keeping my discount for trades
Derek: given how erratic Superman has been with all the creative changes in 1 year, and the inconsistent issues, I'm expecting the same for Action when Morrison leaves
Matt: but I was planning on keeping Action, Aquaman, Batman, and Justice League
Matt: but yeah, post Morrison...
Derek: I thought Morrison was on for the long haul like Batman
Matt: Same goes for Batman Inc
Derek: that we'd have a strong writer shepherding the character for some time, but I'm guessing not now
Derek: if Scott Lobdell is the best they have, I'm not looking forward to the post-Morrison Superman titles
► CBR Spinoff Online: Captain America Sequel Will Be ‘Darker, Edgier,’ Co-Director Says - Ugh. Of course the Winter Soldier story would be darker than Cap's origin, but when will directors realize that terms like "darker and edgier" are anathema to comic book fans? Like "grim and gritty", it's just causes eye-rolling. I blame Hollywood's obsession with buzzwords.
► Change.org: Stop kitten experiments at Cardiff University - This sounds like the sort of thing where when the mad-scientist in the B movie is asked why he genetically engineered bats with super intelligence he says "Because I could!" What they're doing to this kittens sounds less like science and more like butchery.
► DenverPost: Batman actor Christian Bale visits victims, hospital personnel - That's really cool of Bale, although I would have been tempted to ask him if he could get me Superman's autograph. I kid.
► People: Nick Stahl Found Again: Report - This makes how many disappearances this year? Next they can try searching for his career (by now he's probably made himself uninsurable and unemployable in Hollywood). Drugs and booze destroy another promising career.
► 9gag: A Strange Laugh: "Best Friends" - Hey, you know what Scooby-Doo needs? I don't either, but I'm pretty sure it's not depressing melodrama.
► Kerry Callen's Blog!: Super Embarrassing - Hmm, personally I think the chest hair looks fine.
► HuffingtonPost: Nebraska Woman Has Anti-Gay Slurs Carved Into Her Skin In Alleged Hate Crime - So three men break into her house for the sole purpose of beating her, carving "dyke" and other anti-gay slurs in her flesh, pouring and lighting gasoline over her floors, and vandalizing the walls by spray painting more anti-gay slurs and the police insist it's "too early to determine whether or not the assault was a hate crime". Is Barney Fife handling the case?
see more Superheroes
Quote of the Moment
Tom: She took a giant shit on my face. Literally.
Alison: Literally?
Tom: Well, no, not literally. That's disgusting. What's wrong with you?
- 500 Days of Summer (2009)
Drinking: Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Last Read: Superman: The Coming of Atlas (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 1 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 2 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 3 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 4 (TPB); Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton, Vol 1 (TPB); Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton, Vol 2 (TPB); Superman: War of the Supermen (TPB);
Frustrated with how he's made the bulletin board look, I took everything off of it and started scraping all the turn, dangling bits of ruined cork and cardboard, and smoothed it out as best I could. While I was doing this he started to leap up onto the telephone stand next to the desk, stomping on the phone, and attempting the scratch at the board again. I'd give him a light swipe/push with my right hand and he'd jump and run off. The third time, however, he didn't jump forward, but jumped sideways, suddenly spinning like a barrel, bouncing off of the side of the bookcase a couple feet away, and landing with a thud on his back on the floor. I looked down in stunned horror as he laid on his back, legs all splayed, and his head flat and back. I thought he was dead. Before I could move, he raised his head, glared at me, and then suddenly sprung up and jetted off.
I kept checking on him through the morning and he shows no signs of injury, no limping or wincing. Doing a body check with my hands was difficult because for a couple of hours after the incident he acted skittish and would flee at my slightest movement, not that that kept him from creeping in the room and sitting 2 feet from me and staring. He's slowly gotten better since I played with him a couple of times.
Edit: A day later and he's begun shredding the board again. So much for smoothing it out and vacuuming and cleaning the debris and dust from the desk area. Ugh.
► Yesterday morning I had a very pleasant surprise when I found my Miss May 1979 Michele Drake custom door poster had been delivered. First I was stunned by how soon it arrived from Hong Kong (less than two weeks), but then I was amazed at how beautifully the poster turned out. I had expected it to be very pixelated and blurry but it's surprisingly sharp and detailed, especially surprising because it's on a cloth material and not paper. Unfortunately I have nowhere to display it (least of all anywhere out of reach of a shred-happy cat), so I might have to put it away for the time being. Love it though.
► From chat, regarding his visit to the comic book store:Matt: 60 did not go as far to cleaning out my comic box as I expected
Matt: I really screwed myself with new 52
Derek: screwed yourself how? bit off more than you could chew?
Matt: Yeah
Matt: I have so many series that are up to issue 12 that I never brought past issue 3
Matt: even some like Batgirl that I'm up to date buying but 6 months behind reading
Derek: I'm thinking of possibly dropping my comics down to just Superman, Action, Batgirl, and Aquaman
Derek: and I'm really iffy on Action and Superman now that Morrison confirmed he's leaving after issue 16
Matt: I hear that
Matt: I worked out dropping everything with my Comic Book Guy and keeping my discount for trades
Derek: given how erratic Superman has been with all the creative changes in 1 year, and the inconsistent issues, I'm expecting the same for Action when Morrison leaves
Matt: but I was planning on keeping Action, Aquaman, Batman, and Justice League
Matt: but yeah, post Morrison...
Derek: I thought Morrison was on for the long haul like Batman
Matt: Same goes for Batman Inc
Derek: that we'd have a strong writer shepherding the character for some time, but I'm guessing not now
Derek: if Scott Lobdell is the best they have, I'm not looking forward to the post-Morrison Superman titles
► CBR Spinoff Online: Captain America Sequel Will Be ‘Darker, Edgier,’ Co-Director Says - Ugh. Of course the Winter Soldier story would be darker than Cap's origin, but when will directors realize that terms like "darker and edgier" are anathema to comic book fans? Like "grim and gritty", it's just causes eye-rolling. I blame Hollywood's obsession with buzzwords.
► Change.org: Stop kitten experiments at Cardiff University - This sounds like the sort of thing where when the mad-scientist in the B movie is asked why he genetically engineered bats with super intelligence he says "Because I could!" What they're doing to this kittens sounds less like science and more like butchery.
► DenverPost: Batman actor Christian Bale visits victims, hospital personnel - That's really cool of Bale, although I would have been tempted to ask him if he could get me Superman's autograph. I kid.
► People: Nick Stahl Found Again: Report - This makes how many disappearances this year? Next they can try searching for his career (by now he's probably made himself uninsurable and unemployable in Hollywood). Drugs and booze destroy another promising career.
► 9gag: A Strange Laugh: "Best Friends" - Hey, you know what Scooby-Doo needs? I don't either, but I'm pretty sure it's not depressing melodrama.
► Kerry Callen's Blog!: Super Embarrassing - Hmm, personally I think the chest hair looks fine.
► HuffingtonPost: Nebraska Woman Has Anti-Gay Slurs Carved Into Her Skin In Alleged Hate Crime - So three men break into her house for the sole purpose of beating her, carving "dyke" and other anti-gay slurs in her flesh, pouring and lighting gasoline over her floors, and vandalizing the walls by spray painting more anti-gay slurs and the police insist it's "too early to determine whether or not the assault was a hate crime". Is Barney Fife handling the case?
see more Superheroes
Quote of the Moment
Tom: She took a giant shit on my face. Literally.
Alison: Literally?
Tom: Well, no, not literally. That's disgusting. What's wrong with you?
- 500 Days of Summer (2009)
Drinking: Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Last Read: Superman: The Coming of Atlas (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 1 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 2 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 3 (TPB); Superman: New Krypton, Vol 4 (TPB); Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton, Vol 1 (TPB); Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton, Vol 2 (TPB); Superman: War of the Supermen (TPB);