Joy, Elation & Confusion

Joy:
My computer was fixed EXPERTLY by my old friend Ralph last weekend. Vista go bye-bye! He got it all set up with the current drivers and a handful of new programs I absolutely adore. I could drag my kudos to Ralph out for pages, but I have to be at work in 15 min. Suffice it to say, his awesome dial goes up to '11'!

Elation:
Greatest American Hero. Issue #1. Variant cover...
...AUTOGRAPHED BY WILLIAM KATT!!!!!
SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Been waiting on this one for about 4 months and it finally arrived yesterday!

Confusion:
We finally have our new bass housebroken, and our old bass comes, quite unexpectedly, back into town. Not quite sure how to handle this. Lots of issues surrounding Big Dave's personal life can make organizing the quartet stuff tricky. Not impossible, just tricky. On the other hand, he's a great bass, learns quickly, has our more exclusive songs under his belt already, and is generally an all-around great guy. New Dave won't be a poor sport if we have to let him go, I know. He's got another quartet already, and was basically doing us a favor by joining. This is a bit awkward, but will reduce New Dave's stress level a bit and it not like we're telling him "You suck" or anything.

Yes, a bit awkward, but I don't expect problems.

Okay...as the man says... "Time to make the doughnuts..."

Comics & More...

(Not-So-Subliminal plug for my buddy Chris's comic shop)

I am now a comic book geek, in addition to all my other geek cred. Yesterday, My buddy, Chris at Comic's & More (11 1/2 Mile Rd. & John R) had his 1-year anniversary celebration for his loyal club members, which I am proudly a part of. One full year of owning the store and he's starting to make some good headway. He opened for 5 hours with some special deals for club members only to make some room for new inventory.

Unfortunately, this didn't benefit me much. The good deals were for folks who had cleaned out their "box". He will gladly set aside issues for folks who can't afford (or carry) the mountain of material they find while they browse his tiny shop, and my box is fairly packed. I did get a nice chance to chat with him and check out his new ride (a classic mustard brown '74 GM Pimpmobile with under 40K miles he found for about $700 - score).

I started out with a modest box of early Bronze Age Action Comics I got for a quarter a piece at Dave's Comics back in the early 90's. A couple have appreciated in value (I have a Supergirl #1 I'm secretly proud of), but most are in mediocre shape and more for nostalgia purposes. Now, however, thanks largely to Chris, I have 2 medium archival boxes filled to capacity of Batman, Captain America, Star Treks of all kinds, Astoniching X-Men, Ambush Bug, Booster Gold, Earth X and even a mid-70's Spiderman featuring the cast of Saturday Night Live. I've even gone so far as to special order a copy of the new Greatest American hero comic, autographed by William Katt.

God help me, I'm hooked.

I spend most of my lunch break in the break room, thumbing through my newest acquisitions over a sandwich and cheese curls (being careful not to smudge the pages, of course). Today, I have a pile of vintage Star Trek, a brand new Star Trek: Mirror Image, and the newest Batman & Captain Americas to get through. I'd wish for more money to buy out my box, but that wouldn't help. I'd simply fill it again, spending within my limits and dreaming beyond them. My eyes are bigger than my storage boxes.

Sonya finally got her car back from Canada, after dropping the kids with their grandparents for the weekend and heading out with her brother. 2 days and a plethora of amusing anecdotes and frustrating tales later, we're finally a 2-car family again...thank God. While she was gone, I managed to spend the afternoon cleaning the house a bit and re-recording a learning track for my Nevada quartet that was about 3 weeks overdue. Productivity - score.

Yesterday was supposed to be Courtney's 5th birthday party for her friends. 7-9 kids were invited, but no one RSVPed. I ran to the Meijer at Great Lakes Crossing for some last-minute needs and to to pick up mom-in-law and the kids. We got there at 2pm, the supposed start time. By 2:10 (10 past the start time) we started to worry. By 3pm all that had come by were 2 of Courtney's friends from around the block, and they were only able to stay for about 20 minutes. We may attempt this agin, giving a bit more notice and calling for confirmations. Courtney took it well, having fun on the new swingset anyway and decorating her own tiara.

After returning from my run to the comic store, we gave up on the party and went for lunch with Leigh, mom-in-law, Sonya, and the kids at a local family diner. We had a fun afternoon, despite the bomb of a party.

That's about it for now.

Coming up next: Barbershop Convention Blues and Tina Fey-7 Weeks ain't enough, and yet it is.

BackBlogged...Again.

Forgive me, bloggers, for I have sinned. It's been over 4 weeks since my last blog.

And a whirlwind four weeks it's been too! An extremely fun and understated birthday, full-on geek immersion, successful adjustment to the new job, a couple days of semi-bachelorhood, and the resurrection of my beloved laptop (hence my return to blogging).

My birthday party on the 10th went very well. Maybe a dozen or so folks came by to help me celebrate. We sat around the fire bowl in the back yard, sang some songs, drank some beer, had cake, and caught each other up on life in general. It was a nice, relaxed, understated evening with friends. I like a big party, but given the late announcement and other peoples' prior commitments, this was just right. Not too big, not too small. I'd like to thank everyone who came by and made my birthday fun: Paulie, Sarah, Nyma, Todd, Jenn, Kirk, Leigh, Lou, Linda, and of course, my lovely wife Sonya. I know I'm forgetting one or two people. Forgive me. The last hour or two are a bit of a blur 3 weeks after the fact.

On the 17th, I went to my first Motor City ComiCon. I have never felt SOOOOO in my element...sadly, pathetically, embarrassingly in my element. I decided to go in my Greatest American Hero t-shirt rather than the full costume (first ComiCon and all, I wanted to tone down the geektitude a bit), figuring that was the ONE place it would be appreciated more than anywhere else (and it was). I ran into several friends I expected to see, and a few that surprised me. I was on the lookout for my friend Chris Brown, knowing he was closing his comic store to attend ("All my customers will be there anyway"). After maybe a half hour there, I spotted him. He was kinda hard to miss, being a 6'2" beanpole of a guy with a Mohawk and what can only be described as an entourage. I followed him for a while, and then got bored with the pace as he stopped to talk to virtually EVERBODY there like they're long lost cousins at a family reunion.

Later I spotted a former co-worker of mine, Jamin Fite, who runs a website, www.LeiasMetalBikini.com. After seeing the large representation of "Warsies" there, my surprise faded a bit, but as I walked up to say hi, I noticed he had his own entourage...of Slave Girl Leias. Resisting the urge to get my picture taken with hot girls in bikinis who will likely have to spend the day surrounded by enough overweight geeks as it is, I wandered off to check out the celebs. Not many of note, but I did manage to shake hands with Mickey Dolenz, Walter Koenig, and Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather on Enterprise), as well as stand close enough to breath the same air as Chase Masterson (Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Erik Estrada, Avery Brooks, and the ever-cool Billy Dee Williams. I also sat in on a talk with Anthony Montgomery later with several folks in Star Trek regalia, a Klingon or two and several others who looked like they haven't seen the sun since the Reagan administration.

Last Thursday was Courtney’s pre-school graduation. I took my lunch a bit late that day so I could attend. While I think the idea of a graduation ceremony for pre-school a bit much, it was nice to see my somewhat shy baby girl get up and perform some songs with her class so enthusiastically. They’re growing up so fast.

The past 2 weekends, I’ve had a brief taste of the bachelor life. On Memorial Day weekend, I stopped by Valerie’s place to borrow her mower again, and paid my usual price: free mowing for her double lot. It was nice, though, getting a bit of exercise on a nice day and being able to chat with my little sis. Memorial Day, Sonya, Courtney and I accompanied Liam and his Cub Scout troop in the parade, picking up Valerie and Rufus along the route. Liam decorated his bike and rode it along the route, Courtney had a ball being pulled in the wagon and throwing mini Tootsie Rolls at the kids, and we all enjoyed a nice 2-mile walk on a gorgeous day. Later, Sonya and the kids headed to the family cottage in Canada and I had the run of the house…to wash dishes, fold laundry, vacuum, mow the lawn… Not exactly exciting, but I was able to take some pride in my productivity and managed to spare a few moments to sit, relax, and enjoy the wonderful weather. After being productive, I decided to call up Paulie B., and he and Sarah Bradley came over to watch the Pistons game. A good time was had by all.

Last weekend, Sonya & Liam went to a Cub Scout “Mom & Me” campout, while Courtney went with grandma so I could do my shifts at Blockbuster. Once again, I did a few chores in my all-too-brief free time before work, fix a bug in the desktop computer, and tidied up the place. I did manage to fit in hitting the comic store and have my annual Monte Cristo sandwich at Bennigan’s. I usually have one of these heart-attack-on-a-plate sandwiches a year, usually around my birthday. Turkey & ham with Swiss and American cheeses, battered, deep-fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a side of raspberry preserves to dip it in. Sarah Bradley calls ‘em “Turkey Paczkis” - an apt moniker. I called up my best friend, Lou, and he and his girlfriend Linda joined me for some company at Bennigan’s. After my shift at Blockbuster that night, I stopped by my friend Bob Perye’s place for his weekly IPM (In Perpetual Motion – www.IPMradio.com) internet radio program/party and had a lot of fun chatting, playing Wii bowling, and trying pizza-flavored beer (I know, sounds gross, but it’s actually pretty damned good).

The new job is going VERY well. I had been a bit nervous about fitting in and “clicking” with the folks at my new place of business, but a couple weeks ago, one of the other salesmen actually made a point of stopping in my office to mention how well I had acclimated myself to the flow of the place. That really meant a lot to me, as I had still felt a bit awkward around everyone, being the new guy and having brought a plague of some upper respiratory infection to the entire staff my first week. The job has its periods of dull, slow times, filled with motivating myself to make cold calls to prospects and clients who haven’t heard from us in up to a year, but there are also days where I can’t seem to detach the phone from my ear as I’m punching in order after order. It makes me a bit nervous to work on commission and have my paychecks ebb and flow with the sales trends and economy, but on the whole (with some tenacity in sales and financial planning and budgeting), I know I’ll do better here than my former job.

We have a new guy starting today to take over the extra territory I had been covering in the interim. He has tons of experience in the field and I know he’ll do well. While I’m a bit sorry to see some of the clients I’ve been serving for the past month go to someone else, I knew it was coming. It’ll be nice not to be the “new guy” for a while and I look forward to meeting him. He’s stepping into a good territory and I’ve tried to “warm it up” a bit for him.

My laptop: I dropped it with my computer guru and old friend, Chris DeLaney on Thursday. It seemed to have a relapse of the problem I had before: staring up, quick flash of BlueScreen, citing a problem with the last shutdown, prompting for safe mode, lather, rinse, repeat. I feared another wipedown was in order – ugh. After not hearing anything over the weekend, I feared the worst, then Monday, Chris called me. Apparently, it was just a static shock to the computer initiated a restore to the default BIOS settings. As my computer doesn’t seem to like the default settings to read my hard drive, it was just a matter of disabling the SATA driver. VIOLA! Back to work!

He offered to refund me the cash I offered him, saying it was a simple fix and was probably the original problem when he re-installed Windows last time, but I made him keep half, if for nothing g else, being willing to deal with my needy self whilst I suffer laptop DTs.

Last night Sonya and I, through the gracious babysitting abilities of our good friend Leigh, were able to take a night to go on an anniversary date. We went to Bahama Breeze for a wonderful dinner and caught the new Indiana Jones flick. Star has apparently started a great weekday deal with $4.75 tickets and $5 pop/popcorn combos, so we even managed to save some money. We had a GREAT time and both loved the movie. Go see it!

That’s all I can recall for now. God willing, I’ll have the time to do a bit more blogging, now that my laptop is back. TTFN!

Geektitude is a Family Affair…

Geektitude is a family affair…

Despite spending the better part of the week in absolute misery with some sort of cold/flu/bronchitis/malaria/bubonic plague-type thing, I was not about to let it ruin my weekend. This past Saturday was “Free Comic Book Day” the nation over. I had been looking forward to this for months – any good excuse to head to the comic shop. I popped a couple hundred milligrams of vitamin C, a shot of NyQuil, got the kids up and dressed, and headed first to Chris’s store, Comics & More.

Liam & Courtney had a ball getting their picture taken with Supergirl, grabbing their 3 free comics, playing the mandatory round of Arch Rivals and soaking up the festive atmosphere. Chris’s small store was packed, but not uncomfortable. There was a decent selection of freebies: Hellboy, Simpsons, X-Men, and a couple good kids’ titles for Liam & Courtney. I bought a few Batman comics I’ve been wanting and bid Chris farewell, leaving him to the ambush of customers that would likely drain him for a good week.

After we left, we decided to try out Detroit Comics to see if they had any superheroes there. I’d been meaning to stop in there to check out Chris’s ‘competition’ and see what the buzz was about. Nice store. Bigger. Cool retro décor. Not much substance to it, though. It’s kind of a cross between a comic store and a Hot Topic, with not enough of either to be worthwhile. Neat kitsch and a few new collectible figurines, but their comic selection left a lot to be desired. Comics & More has about 3 times the comics in 1/3 the space.

Still, their set-up for Free Comic Book Day was fun and festive, with balloons, some free candy for the kids, and a few artists to do free sketches and sign stuff. One of the artists on the free Hellboy comic was there, so I got a sketch & autograph on my copy from him. After Liam got a sketch of Superman and Courtney a sketch of a unicorn, we headed home to count our ‘loot’. Later, I headed to work at the video store, the kids’ grandma picked them up for a visit, and that pretty much ended the day.

Sunday was GORGEOUS. I woke up and headed to Val’s to borrow her lawn mower. Our backyard doesn’t grow very fast, especially since the visits from Jeremy’s dogs have ripped up so much of it, but our front yard was an absolute jungle. I had a great visit with my baby sister for the better part of an hour, then I decided to cut her grass before taking the mower. I’ve pretty much become her groundskeeper, as anytime I need a favor, that’s become by bartering tool.

After finishing her lawn, I loaded up and went to tame my own horticultural wilderness. Aside from having to empty the collection bag every 10 feet or so, it went rather quickly. Being the first real mow of the year, I did my usual once with the mower, edge and trim with the weed-whacker, then again with the mower until it was to my standards. I’m very picky about how my front lawn is maintained. Weeds and crabgrass abound, yes, but when I cut it, I SCULPT it. 4 hours of that and several other yard-related chores went by in a flash.

So, though there was little to really report on my weekend, it was exactly what I needed after being sick as a dog for the better part of last week: filled with geekly hobbies, bonding with my kids, hanging with family, productive housework and sunshine.

A well-balanced, full-course weekend.

Geekdom Indoctrination: the Next Generation…

I’ve been reading my friend, Chuck’s, blogs for a while now. They recount the goings on of a great dad who is basically the balder, more athletic, more professionally successful clone of me. He’s a goatee-clad, barbershoppin’, sci-fi watchin’, music edcuatin’ ubergeek, like myself. The biggest difference between us is that he’s (currently) a stay-at-home dad. As such, he gets more opportunity to pursue and share his geekly obsessions with his 7-month-old son more than I. I have recently been taking every opportunity to share my slightly off-center hobbies and interests with my boy, in hopes that I raise a well-rounded 3^rd generation geek. (Sorry, dad, but Ham radio, barbershop, Star Trek, and computers before they were in vogue? You’re a geek, too. You know I use that term with the utmost respect and love.)

Liam has had behavior issues, in school particularly, for much of his scholastic career. Usually involving a temper tantrum following some minor incident he blows out of proportion, he gets pretty regular reports and disciplinary action sent home from his teacher. They ebb and flow throughout the year, ranging from weeks of being the ideal student to suspensions for his fits. He’s never directly violent toward people, and his grades are astounding, but he can be disruptive to the extreme on occasion. This week, he’s been very well behaved, receiving 3 stars (perfect day) and one name on the board (1 minor offence). If he comes home with another star today, as a reward, I decided to indoctrinate him into one of the holiest realms of Geekdom, by giving him his first, REAL comic book.

There are a few realms of Geekdom I haven’t delved into much myself, mostly due to time and/or financial restrictions: Dungeons & Dragons, card-based role-playing games, modern video games (by that, I mean post-NES), to name a few, but most notably, comics. I have a meager collection of some late 70’s “Action” & “Superman” comics I picked up for a quarter a piece in the early 90’s, an early “X-men” comic I’m fairly proud of, a smattering of dated, kitschy titles like “Sledge Hammer” and “California Raisins in 3D” comics, and I once owned a 1^st printing of “Batman: the Killing Joke” (sad story behind that one), but nothing I followed regularly or got really into. With all of my busy goings-on, I had to balance my mild-mannered life as a husband, father, student, etc., with my dark alter-ego of UberGeek.

Recently, however, a number of my friends have been talking about comics more and more. Between Chuck and his regular outings to the comic store with his boy, my co-worker, James, regaling me with updates on major title storylines and his weekly trek to spend $60+ on comics, and such, I figured it was at least worth dipping my toe in the water and see how deep I could afford to venture. A former schoolmate of mine recently took over ownership of a comic store nearby, so rather than head out to one of the local comic MegaStores, I figured I trusted my friend Chris to steer me in the right direction of a comic to start with.

I was torn as to where to start. Some collect comics to read, following stories and biting their nails at each cliffhanger. Some buy them to collect, purchasing each one like coin-collectors, hoping their investment will mature greatly and quickly. I’m a little of both. As much as I love the major titles like Spiderman, Superman, Batman, X-men and the like (I’m a newbie, so I haven’t developed a preference for DC vs. Marvel yet), there was a bit too much history in those storylines to jump right into. It’d be like starting to watch a long-running soap opera like Days of Our Lives, with references and characters popping up now and again I’d have no frame of reference to. Too frustrating. I wanted to start with something kind of classic, but at a major turning point where I could start relatively fresh. Then I caught something on a feature story on the news.

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, was being killed off and passing his legendary shield to a new hero. This was perfect. A new pivotal point in the Captain America saga, destined to appreciate in value, AND a fresh, new character and storyline. Yes, there will obviously be references to previous Captains, but I could research them or ask any of my well-versed fellow geeks. Off I go to Comics & More.

I arrive at the store and am greeted by my friend, Chris, behind the counter with a warm smile. He’s more than willing to share his vast knowledge of comics and guides me to the genres I’d enjoy. I am absolutely overwhelmed. As I peruse the shelves I find MOUNTAINS of titles I simply MUST read: Star Trek, Transformers, Evil Dead, Darkman (my nickname in high school, due to my perpetual wardrobe of trenchcoat and fedora), and crossovers in seemingly innumerable combinations. I’m a kid in a candy store. They will, unfortunately, have to wait. I have Chris put the 2 most recent Captain Americas on hold for me until my paycheck is deposited, and walk out with a huge grin. I have a new obsession.

Since then, I have popped in to say hi to Chris a few times, most recently, to pick up my Captain Americas, drop him a bootleg of the complete series of Automan. Suddenly, a brilliant thought occurs to me. I’m always on the lookout for inexpensive incentives and rewards for Liam when he’s behaving well. His last one was getting a role in my barbershop chorus’s annual show, "What's Up, DOC?", as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He’ll be up on stage, strutting his stuff next weekend with us, and he's REALLY looking forward to it, as am I.

Lately, when his attitude has been improving, he has been allowed to get into a plethora of other great geek hobbies: magic tricks, unicycling, etc., and indoctrinating him into the Cult of Comics would be a perfect prize. Since he saw the Transformers movie, he’s been hooked on them. He got a few for Christmas and they’re his favorite toys. I grabbed a Transformers comic featuring Blaster (an Autobot who transforms to a boombox), with no particular ongoing storyline to it and added it to my small pile.

Today, after waking Liam up and getting him ready for school, I showed it to him, explained the proper care and treatment of comics (akin to the lecture Sonya got from her father regarding vinyl records) explaining the importance plastic sleeves, careful handling, and proper storage, and told him that if he gets just one more star today, he gets it. If not, I’ll hold onto it for him until he gets an appropriate amount of well-behaved days. He was absolutely thrilled.

I plan on trying to take him to my friend’s comic store this weekend to see the full spectrum of what this world has to offer. This will be great fun for the both of us, starting a journey into a new geek realm with my son as we both discover the joys of comics. I can’t wait!

Quick Plug: If you ever want to get out of the stranglehold of the local comic megastores like Warp 9 and Time Travelers, go check out Chris Brown’s store, Comics & More on John R. Road, at 11 ½ Mile in Madison Heights. So far, he mostly deals in new stuff as opposed to collectibles and vintage titles (though he does have a few). It’s a great (if a bit small for now) store, Chris has a GREAT knowledge of the genre, and is just a fun place to hang out and talk GeekSpeak. I can’t recommend the place enough. Check out his MySpace for more info.

A TV addict in relapse...

I SWORE I wouldn't get sucked in!

I am insanely busy most of the time. You all know that. I don't have much time to waste in front of the TV. I barely have time to keep my own thoughts straight and fit in all of my obligations, let alone set aside an hour every week to catch a favorite show. The only time I usually have is whatever time I'm willing to sacrifice from sleep late at night. I have no magic genie like Tivo and the clock on my VCR still blinks 12:00, so prime time shows are usually out.

I try to stick with non-serial shows like Family Guy, Simpsons, MadTV, the occasional Boston Legal (hey, 4 Star Trek alums in regular roles) and other largely episode-by-episode shows that don't require continuity to understand. I watch stuff I can catch in re-runs and enjoy without disrupting the Cathode Time Continuum. Thus, I make it a point not to get sucked into serial shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives (though I did for a brief time – I'm recovering from that addiction), Gray's Anatomy and the like. I haven't had cable for well over a year, so Sopranos, Entourage, etc. are thankfully a moot point.

Then came Heroes…dammit.

A sci-fi show. Perfect. I saw the first episode and figured that is was going to be a great, but short-lived show. Sci-fi shows tend not to last (unless you have a huge franchise name like Star Trek) due to either poor writing or bad time slots. I knew I'd never have time to watch it, so I let further episodes slip by without a second thought and cut off my supply before I got addicted.

Then last week it arrived at Blockbuster. I had been slightly curious about how it was doing, so I rented a couple discs, figuring, like so many of the videos I bring home, Sonya may get a chance to see it, but I wouldn't have time.

We have been up until 4am for the past 3 days watching it now, with 2 more discs to go.

Super powers, well developed characters, Star Trek references, intrigue, morality in varying shades of gray, time paradoxes, developed back stories. It's everything I want in a show. This show has all the best aspects of my favorite shows from days past: M*A*S*H, X-Files, Twin Peaks, X-Men, Star Trek. Hell, it even has a prominent role for George Takei!

The best part of the show is the attention to detail. Sci-fi fans are no dummies. We're obsessive, nit-picky motherfuckers. We'll catch inconsistencies and cheer out loud for subtle salutes to other genres and mediums (if done well). Heroes's character interrelationships are well planned, timelines are meticulously mapped, and cameos are tasteful and don't hit you upside the head like a bag of rocks. I about fell off my chair when George Takei's character stepped into a limo with the license plate "NCC1701"discreetly shown. That's the kind of shit that hooks the masses of sci-fi geeks.

I have been a TV addict most of my life. For the past decade or so, I have been able to avoid temptation and not feel the compulsion to be on the couch, remote glued to my hand, at specific times of the week for a show that will send me into DTs if I miss. This show has destroyed my resolve. I am officially in relapse.

All I can say is, thank God for fairly speedy DVD releases, webcasts, and peer-to-peer downloads. Hopefully with these aids, I can keep my new addiction from impacting my life too much.

Hello, my name's Paul, and I'm a Tvaholic. It's been 9 hours since my last episode.