Tuesday, March 04, 2008
MYSPACE BLOGGING...
Hey folks, if you hadn't guessed, I haven't updated this blog in some time, and its for no other reason than pure laziness. For this fact, I ask that everyone join me over at http://www.myspace.com/potsandpansink to check out my latest rants, art, and all around pure goodness. Thanks!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
12/4/07 - 477 - J Michael Strazcinski agrees...
JMS as he's referred to in all media outlets, has been a writer for Amazing Spider-Man for wow... the last six plus years it seems, and while his final story is ONE MORE DAY, the story that is toying with twenty (thanks Eric) years of continuity and getting rid of the Peter/Mary Jane marriage that in Marvel's eyes 'should have never been,' it has now come out that JMS doesn't agree with the story either...in fact here's an excerpt...
Comic By Comic links to a post from Straczynski on JMSNews in which the writer admits, “there’s a lot that I don’t agree with, and I made this very clear to everybody within shouting distance at Marvel, especially Joe”:
"I’ll be honest: there was a point where I made the decision, and told Joe, that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the OMD arc. Eventually Joe talked me out of that decision because at the end of the day, I don’t want to sabotage Joe or Marvel, and I have a lot of respect for both of those. As an executive producer as well as a writer, I’ve sometimes had to insist that my writers make changes that they did not want to make, often loudly so. They were sure I was wrong. Mostly I was right. Sometimes I was wrong. But whoever sits in the editor’s chair, or the executive producer’s chair, wears the pointy hat of authority, and as Dave Sim once noted, you can’t argue with a pointy hat.
So at the end of the day, all one can do is try to do the best one can with the notes one is given, and try to execute them in a professional way…because who knows, the other guy may be right. The only thing I *can* tell you, with absolute certainty, is that what Joe does with Spidey and all the rest of the Marvel characters, he does out of a genuine love of the character. He’s not looking to sabotage anything, he’s not looking to piss off the fans, he genuinely believes in the rightness of his views not out of a sense of “I’m the boss” but because he loves these characters and the Marvel universe.
And right or wrong, you have to respect that."
Unfortunately, you do NOT have to respect it. I love Joe Quesada and what he's done in his time as the leader of Marvel Comics...but here's the problem...we're getting rid of 20 years of Continuity that then makes the reason for the Ultimate Marvel Universe's existense not necessary, yet they'll continue to publish it.
Here's the problem we run into...
The Ultimate Universe was created to get rid of convoluted continuity while returning Peter Parker to his highschool roots, albeit in a more modernized setting.
What's the point in this universe's existence if we get rid of Peter Parker's livelihood of the last twenty years, to remove convolution from continuity and place him in a more modern setting? Wait...that's what they're doing. The only thing they are getting rid of is the teenage angst. They're giving Peter life in the real world without the life of a married man.
I don't get it. Why?
Does anyone else see this as the CLONE SAGA that eats Joe Q's job away from him, much as Bob Harras had happen before him? And I'd think that Bob was more profitable in his time with Marvel.
Man, the more I write about this...the more I know my chances of EVER writing for Marvel are dwindling...
Comic By Comic links to a post from Straczynski on JMSNews in which the writer admits, “there’s a lot that I don’t agree with, and I made this very clear to everybody within shouting distance at Marvel, especially Joe”:
"I’ll be honest: there was a point where I made the decision, and told Joe, that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the OMD arc. Eventually Joe talked me out of that decision because at the end of the day, I don’t want to sabotage Joe or Marvel, and I have a lot of respect for both of those. As an executive producer as well as a writer, I’ve sometimes had to insist that my writers make changes that they did not want to make, often loudly so. They were sure I was wrong. Mostly I was right. Sometimes I was wrong. But whoever sits in the editor’s chair, or the executive producer’s chair, wears the pointy hat of authority, and as Dave Sim once noted, you can’t argue with a pointy hat.
So at the end of the day, all one can do is try to do the best one can with the notes one is given, and try to execute them in a professional way…because who knows, the other guy may be right. The only thing I *can* tell you, with absolute certainty, is that what Joe does with Spidey and all the rest of the Marvel characters, he does out of a genuine love of the character. He’s not looking to sabotage anything, he’s not looking to piss off the fans, he genuinely believes in the rightness of his views not out of a sense of “I’m the boss” but because he loves these characters and the Marvel universe.
And right or wrong, you have to respect that."
Unfortunately, you do NOT have to respect it. I love Joe Quesada and what he's done in his time as the leader of Marvel Comics...but here's the problem...we're getting rid of 20 years of Continuity that then makes the reason for the Ultimate Marvel Universe's existense not necessary, yet they'll continue to publish it.
Here's the problem we run into...
The Ultimate Universe was created to get rid of convoluted continuity while returning Peter Parker to his highschool roots, albeit in a more modernized setting.
What's the point in this universe's existence if we get rid of Peter Parker's livelihood of the last twenty years, to remove convolution from continuity and place him in a more modern setting? Wait...that's what they're doing. The only thing they are getting rid of is the teenage angst. They're giving Peter life in the real world without the life of a married man.
I don't get it. Why?
Does anyone else see this as the CLONE SAGA that eats Joe Q's job away from him, much as Bob Harras had happen before him? And I'd think that Bob was more profitable in his time with Marvel.
Man, the more I write about this...the more I know my chances of EVER writing for Marvel are dwindling...
12/4/07 - Post 476 - Just random shit tonight...
So I'll start by saying that I've updated The Ardy Vanstarr Adventures homepage with a new "Re-Coming Soon..." piece. I know JB has been real busy with his day job, much like myself, but I hope he gets the time to stay on the project for the long haul this time. Right Now I'd love to RESTART it by February, but we're going to do it on the timeframe that meets both of our needs. Its just a page now that will be visible at ardyvanstarr.com until the time to update gets placed on this site.
I think I'm going to start playing with website design, too. I know I'm not going to find a lot of time before Christmas, but at this point, I'd love after the holidays to jump onto ardyvanstarr.com and give it a facelift...however, what this means is actually LEARNING how. This is a goal, so it doesn't necessarily mean it'll happen, but here's hoping. The other thing I'd like to do is actually give robpotchak.com a facelift and go with that, but I may have to re-buy the site, since I think its expired.
My dog Landis is limping pretty bad for the last three or four days recently, and its very depressing. My wife and I are about as broke as we've ever been, and we are going to need to find a way to pay for our dog's vet bill, which is going to be pretty outrageous (since I know their shots are outdated...bit quite a bit)...honestly, though, it was either buy a new AC unit to prevent the dogs from dying of heat exhaustion, or get them to the vet...now, I'll make sure they get to the vet by the time our tax check comes in....I love my pets, and need to get them taken care of, but just like now going to the dentist, if it doesn't hurt, it can wait a little longer (I hope).
Anyone looking for a WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BURNING CRUSADE Limited Edition? I still have one, and am willing to part with it, as it is still unopened, and I just noticed it in the computer room. I thought my cousin played, but it turns out he didn't.
I've had a lot of people talking nicely about my Killzone Rifle picture (on my deviantart page...rpotchak.deviantart.com), so I wanted to take this moment to say thanks. No, I'm not parting with this thing, yet, but the gestures people have made asking about it are pretty funny.
I haven't been drawing lately because my scanner is busted. Its disappointing knowing that you can't put the art up after you do it. I completed a piece of Wolverine on cardstock, and can't do anything with it because the scanner is crapped.
Finally, I'd also like to say that I believe that Christy and I are also about 60-75% done with Christmas shopping, which is a good thing. Still looking for my mom, her parents, my sister Michelle, Brother David and Brother-in-law Andy...if you aren't on this list, your done. So far, I've also got to say we're about as creative as we've ever been with gifts, except maybe her brother, but we got him something we know he'll enjoy. We're going for a common theme on gifts this year...simple but awesome. Its tough, but the wife and I are pretty smart.
I think I'm going to start playing with website design, too. I know I'm not going to find a lot of time before Christmas, but at this point, I'd love after the holidays to jump onto ardyvanstarr.com and give it a facelift...however, what this means is actually LEARNING how. This is a goal, so it doesn't necessarily mean it'll happen, but here's hoping. The other thing I'd like to do is actually give robpotchak.com a facelift and go with that, but I may have to re-buy the site, since I think its expired.
My dog Landis is limping pretty bad for the last three or four days recently, and its very depressing. My wife and I are about as broke as we've ever been, and we are going to need to find a way to pay for our dog's vet bill, which is going to be pretty outrageous (since I know their shots are outdated...bit quite a bit)...honestly, though, it was either buy a new AC unit to prevent the dogs from dying of heat exhaustion, or get them to the vet...now, I'll make sure they get to the vet by the time our tax check comes in....I love my pets, and need to get them taken care of, but just like now going to the dentist, if it doesn't hurt, it can wait a little longer (I hope).
Anyone looking for a WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BURNING CRUSADE Limited Edition? I still have one, and am willing to part with it, as it is still unopened, and I just noticed it in the computer room. I thought my cousin played, but it turns out he didn't.
I've had a lot of people talking nicely about my Killzone Rifle picture (on my deviantart page...rpotchak.deviantart.com), so I wanted to take this moment to say thanks. No, I'm not parting with this thing, yet, but the gestures people have made asking about it are pretty funny.
I haven't been drawing lately because my scanner is busted. Its disappointing knowing that you can't put the art up after you do it. I completed a piece of Wolverine on cardstock, and can't do anything with it because the scanner is crapped.
Finally, I'd also like to say that I believe that Christy and I are also about 60-75% done with Christmas shopping, which is a good thing. Still looking for my mom, her parents, my sister Michelle, Brother David and Brother-in-law Andy...if you aren't on this list, your done. So far, I've also got to say we're about as creative as we've ever been with gifts, except maybe her brother, but we got him something we know he'll enjoy. We're going for a common theme on gifts this year...simple but awesome. Its tough, but the wife and I are pretty smart.
Friday, November 30, 2007
11/30/07 - POST 475! - One More Flaw...Spoilers Ahead!
Yes, my 475th blog post...wow. Anyway, lets get to the matter at hand, since I have to get ready for work shortly.
Marvel Comics is "putting the cat back in the bag," so to speak with its current storyline, ONE MORE DAY, in the Spider-man books. Spoilers start here, folks...
Aunt May is on her death bed and no one can do anything for her, but Peter KNOWS there must be something that can be done. So what happens? Mephisto mentions that he can fix her for a price...well, that price is a 30 year old marriage in the comic, something that Marvel's Editor in Chief, Joe Quesada, has stated to be against since he started as the guy in charge. Here's the problem, the characters have been together for 30 years, and Peter at this point in his life would get over the death of his aunt by blaming everyone else.
While I DO believe there are stories that can be told with them not being married, what does this say about Marvel's stance on marriage? An old woman, who has lived her entire life and is ready to go, or the marriage that has helped keep him together for years? See, I have a problem with this. Would any of us give up "our better half" in a real life situation for an aunt? I doubt it. In fact, this whole story just rings wrong, and I think Marvel is dropping the ball with it. Is this a situation where Mary Jane ends up finding him later and then they get back together?
Apparently a piece of their souls will know that something is wrong and missing, but they won't know what, and they won't know how to fix it...
I just don't get it. If you don't want their marriage to work, write it out of the book with a death of a character or a divorce because it gives her a chance to have a normal life, but don't take away THIRTY YEARS of Continuity...
This happened once before, when someone at Marvel thought it would be a good idea to have a clone of Peter Parker, calling himself Ben Reilly, was the REAL Spider-man and then something happened to public perception...they hated the book because they lost 30 years of reading relatively overnight...Marvel had to Ret-con the Ret-con, and suddenly Peter WAS Peter, not the clone and we got what we wanted, and MJ "lost" her baby...
Why is it okay for Reed and Sue Richards to be married, but not Peter Parker? Yeah, I agree, his wife shouldn't be a movie star or a model, but come on, Marvel, don't take away a natural progression of characters after 30 years...its just going to end badly.
Even with the talent you have on Spider-man coming up, people will be upset that it was a 30 year marriage that took all of 4 issues to get rid of...
Marvel Comics is "putting the cat back in the bag," so to speak with its current storyline, ONE MORE DAY, in the Spider-man books. Spoilers start here, folks...
Aunt May is on her death bed and no one can do anything for her, but Peter KNOWS there must be something that can be done. So what happens? Mephisto mentions that he can fix her for a price...well, that price is a 30 year old marriage in the comic, something that Marvel's Editor in Chief, Joe Quesada, has stated to be against since he started as the guy in charge. Here's the problem, the characters have been together for 30 years, and Peter at this point in his life would get over the death of his aunt by blaming everyone else.
While I DO believe there are stories that can be told with them not being married, what does this say about Marvel's stance on marriage? An old woman, who has lived her entire life and is ready to go, or the marriage that has helped keep him together for years? See, I have a problem with this. Would any of us give up "our better half" in a real life situation for an aunt? I doubt it. In fact, this whole story just rings wrong, and I think Marvel is dropping the ball with it. Is this a situation where Mary Jane ends up finding him later and then they get back together?
Apparently a piece of their souls will know that something is wrong and missing, but they won't know what, and they won't know how to fix it...
I just don't get it. If you don't want their marriage to work, write it out of the book with a death of a character or a divorce because it gives her a chance to have a normal life, but don't take away THIRTY YEARS of Continuity...
This happened once before, when someone at Marvel thought it would be a good idea to have a clone of Peter Parker, calling himself Ben Reilly, was the REAL Spider-man and then something happened to public perception...they hated the book because they lost 30 years of reading relatively overnight...Marvel had to Ret-con the Ret-con, and suddenly Peter WAS Peter, not the clone and we got what we wanted, and MJ "lost" her baby...
Why is it okay for Reed and Sue Richards to be married, but not Peter Parker? Yeah, I agree, his wife shouldn't be a movie star or a model, but come on, Marvel, don't take away a natural progression of characters after 30 years...its just going to end badly.
Even with the talent you have on Spider-man coming up, people will be upset that it was a 30 year marriage that took all of 4 issues to get rid of...
11-30-07: Back for a bit...
So, I noticed I've been really busy and haven't been able to get on here as much...so next year, I'm going to try to find a way to make this blog into a podcast, because then I can share my thoughts any everything as I dictate them into an audio file and then post it that way. Yeah, a fun aspiration, but who knows if that one will come to fruition, as well.
So Junior Bruce and I have almost completed the "first season" of The Ardy Vanstarr Adventures, and I believe we'll be reposting the ENTIRE thing in full color as we go back and recolor and reletter all previous pages. JB wants to keep a very static look to the coloring, to make it look like an old-school Saturday morning cartoon, where I want to add a little flair of the computer add with color seperation in it, but his way transfers to black and white comics a little easier than mine.
He has also established a much more polished art format for it, going to a more conventional 3 panel layout, however that will change depending on the page in question, I'm sure.
I originally said I'd love to re-introduce it in January, but there's no real time-table, and we'll launch it when its ready, in 3-per week intervals, so that we can be on the Keenspot dropbox and main page, since we feel that seriously hurt our overall visibility on the web.
So I've played through Mass Effect, and its amazing. Yes, there are framerate issues, but the game's story and building of character relationships is so good, you may not even notice. I can't say enough about the amount of work that went in from BioWare, I just truly hope they intend to give me my next helpign sooner...rather than later.
I'm also playing Rockband, and its the first time my wife, Christy, and I can do something together in terms of gaming...how, you ask? She wants to sing, and I like playing the guitar, so we just play, and the other night played until 3 am. This game is amazing, and today, I'm buying an Xbox Live points card so that I can buy all the extra tracks that are already available. I can't wait.
Finally, something I'm a little agitated about at my job. Throughout the year, we go up against our numbers on sales that we did last year. No big deal, right? Except the mall stores are the stores that see an increase in sales to about 10X their normal at this time of year, whereas a strip center store will see an increase of 3-4X. What this means is more sales, faster transactions, and not as much time to put in to get the other things that make up our ranks. The problem here is that even if sales are that much better than anywhere else, we're against our sales from last year, and NOT against the other stores...where does this affect me most? In my pocket...
At this time of year, we've been told that the top 25% of store managers will receive a 10% of their salary bonus. While this is amazing news, they also stated that the top 75% of managers will receive a bonus, but they haven't explained what it is. No where have they explained what it is, how much it is, or how many (actual number) stores will get it. This is wrong. I need to know what I'm fighting for. Do I want to be in the top 25% of stores? Absolutely. Do I anticipate that I'll end up there? Not likely. I'm trending at the 33% mark at the moment, and I'm 100% fine with that...its just that I have no idea what I lose by being there when there isn't really anything I can do to get to the higher spot because of the way they rank us.
Oh well, guess I'll just suck it up and hope my boss gives me a good raise next year.
So Junior Bruce and I have almost completed the "first season" of The Ardy Vanstarr Adventures, and I believe we'll be reposting the ENTIRE thing in full color as we go back and recolor and reletter all previous pages. JB wants to keep a very static look to the coloring, to make it look like an old-school Saturday morning cartoon, where I want to add a little flair of the computer add with color seperation in it, but his way transfers to black and white comics a little easier than mine.
He has also established a much more polished art format for it, going to a more conventional 3 panel layout, however that will change depending on the page in question, I'm sure.
I originally said I'd love to re-introduce it in January, but there's no real time-table, and we'll launch it when its ready, in 3-per week intervals, so that we can be on the Keenspot dropbox and main page, since we feel that seriously hurt our overall visibility on the web.
So I've played through Mass Effect, and its amazing. Yes, there are framerate issues, but the game's story and building of character relationships is so good, you may not even notice. I can't say enough about the amount of work that went in from BioWare, I just truly hope they intend to give me my next helpign sooner...rather than later.
I'm also playing Rockband, and its the first time my wife, Christy, and I can do something together in terms of gaming...how, you ask? She wants to sing, and I like playing the guitar, so we just play, and the other night played until 3 am. This game is amazing, and today, I'm buying an Xbox Live points card so that I can buy all the extra tracks that are already available. I can't wait.
Finally, something I'm a little agitated about at my job. Throughout the year, we go up against our numbers on sales that we did last year. No big deal, right? Except the mall stores are the stores that see an increase in sales to about 10X their normal at this time of year, whereas a strip center store will see an increase of 3-4X. What this means is more sales, faster transactions, and not as much time to put in to get the other things that make up our ranks. The problem here is that even if sales are that much better than anywhere else, we're against our sales from last year, and NOT against the other stores...where does this affect me most? In my pocket...
At this time of year, we've been told that the top 25% of store managers will receive a 10% of their salary bonus. While this is amazing news, they also stated that the top 75% of managers will receive a bonus, but they haven't explained what it is. No where have they explained what it is, how much it is, or how many (actual number) stores will get it. This is wrong. I need to know what I'm fighting for. Do I want to be in the top 25% of stores? Absolutely. Do I anticipate that I'll end up there? Not likely. I'm trending at the 33% mark at the moment, and I'm 100% fine with that...its just that I have no idea what I lose by being there when there isn't really anything I can do to get to the higher spot because of the way they rank us.
Oh well, guess I'll just suck it up and hope my boss gives me a good raise next year.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
11/13/07 - Cabela's Monster Wha?!
"Do y'all have this in stock?"
I bet that's a great game as you go fishin for bitches down the ghetto pipeline.
Sorry, a little finger fun.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
11/10/07 - Notre Dame Drops another, so why am I happy for my team?
So I just got done watching Notre Dame fall to 1-9. Now, before I get into the high's and low's, I want to discuss something else, the fact that NO ONE thought Notre Dame was good this year. It's true. ANY TRUE FAN would have known that the team would struggle without Quinn, Samardzia, McKnight, Walker and others. Most fans were HOPING for a 7-5 year, but that just wasn't how it would play out. The team has two more WINNABLE games left on the schedule after losing to Air Force, but does that mean they will be favored to win, or actually win the games? Not necessarily, however, there are things to look forward to for this squad of guys. Really good things. Sure, the defense is on the field WAY TO LONG per game, but overall, as these young guys get older, isn't this a good thing for their game stamina over the course of four years? This one I'm guessing on, but I think it should mean they'd be stronger later in games as they progress.
Alright, now time to get into the nitty gritty of what will come for the Blue and Gold boys come next year.
Notre Dame has only been penalized EIGHT times in the last three games...that's one more penalty than in the game against Boston College alone. What does this mean? The team is learning discipline, and becoming better at not losing yards on false starts, encroaching, or pass interference. This is a huge step, since the team is young.
How young is the team? The starting quarterback is a freshman, and although he's had a hard time adjusting to the speed of the game, he performed well this week, and his receivers dropped A LOT of catchable passes. Their leading rusher (Aldridge) is a sophmore, so he has a lot more time to grow and hone his game. Their second leading rusher (Allen), is a freshman with lightning quickness, and IS averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The crazier this gets, huh? The two leading receivers, Parris and Kamara are Sophmore and Freshman as well. This is just on offense. Yes, their best player, John Carlson will be overshadowed when it comes to being an All-American, even though he would have been drafted by the third round of the NFL draft last year, is a senior, but Notre Dame has already shown that they can develop hybrid Tight Ends, as I believe before Carlson got to shine when Fasano left, he had caught all of 6 passes the year prior. On defense, yes, they have more leadership in the form of Seniors, like Zibikowski and Trevor Laws, but they are young, too, especially in the Linebacker core. And they'll only get better...and younger.
This brings me to the final reason WHY Notre Dame will get better in their off-season...recruiting. Do I believe ALL the numbers when it comes to recruits? Do I believe who has the best team based on who they bring in, when they are playing highschool talent, instead of NFL laden boys? Not really, but their are HUGE promising spots here. Let's look at what Rivals.com, the top college recruiting site out there has got locked down as Notre Dame commitments.
COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED
Pos Stars Ht Wt 40 RR Hometown
Dayne Crist
QB 5 6-5 228 4.66 6.1 Sherman Oaks, CA
Kyle Rudolph
TE 5 6-6 229 4.6 6.1 Cincinnati, OH
Steven Filer
LB 4 6-3 220 6.0 Chicago, IL
Jonas Gray
RB 4 5-10 213 4.44 6.0 Detroit, MI
Ethan Johnson
DE 4 6-4 266 4.8 6.0 Portland, OR
Robert Blanton
DB 4 6-1 177 4.5 5.9 Matthews, NC
Lane Clelland
OL 4 6-5 270 - 5.9 Owings Mills, MD
Sean Cwynar
DT 4 6-4 284 - 5.9 Woodstock, IL
Darius Fleming
LB 4 6-3 230 - 5.9 Chicago, IL
Michael Floyd
WR 4 6-3 195 4.55 5.9 St. Paul, MN
Omar Hunter
DT 4 6-1 295 4.7 5.9 Buford, GA
Jamoris Slaughter
DB 4 6-1 185 4.5 5.9 Stone Mountain, GA
Braxston Cave
OL 4 6-4 295 5.09 5.8 Mishawaka, IN
Joseph Fauria
OL 4 6-8 250 4.75 5.8 Encino, CA
John Goodman
WR 4 6-4 192 4.5 5.8 Fort Wayne, IN
Dan McCarthy
DB 4 6-2 190 4.5 5.8 Youngstown, OH
Anthony McDonald
LB 4 6-3 220 4.5 5.8 Sherman Oaks, CA
Mike Golic
OL 3 6-5 260 5.1 5.7 West Hartford, CT
David Posluszny
LB 3 6-0 206 4.62 5.7 Aliquippa , PA
Hafis Williams
DT 3 6-3 285 - 5.7 Elizabeth, NJ
Brandon Newman
DT 3 6-1 300 5.09 5.6 Louisville, KY
Hmm, weird that names like Posluzny, Golic and Fauria show up, huh? Yeah, these kids have dads that played at the highest level, or at least highly taughted siblings. Charlie wants the right fits for his schemes, much like the two Bill's he used to work for.
Notre Dame's recruiting class has a nice mix of both offense and Defense, though if you were creating a class for NCAA 2009 football from EA sports, this team has 15 4 star recruits. On the 360, this would mean ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED. So far they are ranked #1 in overall recruiting this season, and that though some are verbals only, most have stayed with Charlie for a reason...THE BEST GUY PLAYS...period. Look at the freshmen playing right now. When they are seniors, don't you think they'll be ready for whatever they want?
Sure, Notre Dame is "no better" than when Ty Willingham was here, but lets be honest. Sure the records are really close to the same, but how many $14 Million dollar BCS bowls did he take them to? Charlie's paid for his contract already, now he just needs to keep his team content with learning more, and getting better in the offseason. And this means, making sure that Jimmy Clausen is trying to throw more footballs through moving tires (ala Doug Flutie), while running away from a speeding truck...
But heck, it can't get much worse than only winning one game, right?
Alright, now time to get into the nitty gritty of what will come for the Blue and Gold boys come next year.
Notre Dame has only been penalized EIGHT times in the last three games...that's one more penalty than in the game against Boston College alone. What does this mean? The team is learning discipline, and becoming better at not losing yards on false starts, encroaching, or pass interference. This is a huge step, since the team is young.
How young is the team? The starting quarterback is a freshman, and although he's had a hard time adjusting to the speed of the game, he performed well this week, and his receivers dropped A LOT of catchable passes. Their leading rusher (Aldridge) is a sophmore, so he has a lot more time to grow and hone his game. Their second leading rusher (Allen), is a freshman with lightning quickness, and IS averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The crazier this gets, huh? The two leading receivers, Parris and Kamara are Sophmore and Freshman as well. This is just on offense. Yes, their best player, John Carlson will be overshadowed when it comes to being an All-American, even though he would have been drafted by the third round of the NFL draft last year, is a senior, but Notre Dame has already shown that they can develop hybrid Tight Ends, as I believe before Carlson got to shine when Fasano left, he had caught all of 6 passes the year prior. On defense, yes, they have more leadership in the form of Seniors, like Zibikowski and Trevor Laws, but they are young, too, especially in the Linebacker core. And they'll only get better...and younger.
This brings me to the final reason WHY Notre Dame will get better in their off-season...recruiting. Do I believe ALL the numbers when it comes to recruits? Do I believe who has the best team based on who they bring in, when they are playing highschool talent, instead of NFL laden boys? Not really, but their are HUGE promising spots here. Let's look at what Rivals.com, the top college recruiting site out there has got locked down as Notre Dame commitments.
COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED
Pos Stars Ht Wt 40 RR Hometown
Dayne Crist
QB 5 6-5 228 4.66 6.1 Sherman Oaks, CA
Kyle Rudolph
TE 5 6-6 229 4.6 6.1 Cincinnati, OH
Steven Filer
LB 4 6-3 220 6.0 Chicago, IL
Jonas Gray
RB 4 5-10 213 4.44 6.0 Detroit, MI
Ethan Johnson
DE 4 6-4 266 4.8 6.0 Portland, OR
Robert Blanton
DB 4 6-1 177 4.5 5.9 Matthews, NC
Lane Clelland
OL 4 6-5 270 - 5.9 Owings Mills, MD
Sean Cwynar
DT 4 6-4 284 - 5.9 Woodstock, IL
Darius Fleming
LB 4 6-3 230 - 5.9 Chicago, IL
Michael Floyd
WR 4 6-3 195 4.55 5.9 St. Paul, MN
Omar Hunter
DT 4 6-1 295 4.7 5.9 Buford, GA
Jamoris Slaughter
DB 4 6-1 185 4.5 5.9 Stone Mountain, GA
Braxston Cave
OL 4 6-4 295 5.09 5.8 Mishawaka, IN
Joseph Fauria
OL 4 6-8 250 4.75 5.8 Encino, CA
John Goodman
WR 4 6-4 192 4.5 5.8 Fort Wayne, IN
Dan McCarthy
DB 4 6-2 190 4.5 5.8 Youngstown, OH
Anthony McDonald
LB 4 6-3 220 4.5 5.8 Sherman Oaks, CA
Mike Golic
OL 3 6-5 260 5.1 5.7 West Hartford, CT
David Posluszny
LB 3 6-0 206 4.62 5.7 Aliquippa , PA
Hafis Williams
DT 3 6-3 285 - 5.7 Elizabeth, NJ
Brandon Newman
DT 3 6-1 300 5.09 5.6 Louisville, KY
Hmm, weird that names like Posluzny, Golic and Fauria show up, huh? Yeah, these kids have dads that played at the highest level, or at least highly taughted siblings. Charlie wants the right fits for his schemes, much like the two Bill's he used to work for.
Notre Dame's recruiting class has a nice mix of both offense and Defense, though if you were creating a class for NCAA 2009 football from EA sports, this team has 15 4 star recruits. On the 360, this would mean ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED. So far they are ranked #1 in overall recruiting this season, and that though some are verbals only, most have stayed with Charlie for a reason...THE BEST GUY PLAYS...period. Look at the freshmen playing right now. When they are seniors, don't you think they'll be ready for whatever they want?
Sure, Notre Dame is "no better" than when Ty Willingham was here, but lets be honest. Sure the records are really close to the same, but how many $14 Million dollar BCS bowls did he take them to? Charlie's paid for his contract already, now he just needs to keep his team content with learning more, and getting better in the offseason. And this means, making sure that Jimmy Clausen is trying to throw more footballs through moving tires (ala Doug Flutie), while running away from a speeding truck...
But heck, it can't get much worse than only winning one game, right?
11/10/07 - Mullet of the Week...maybe the Year!
I liken this to a MEGGET...ie, a MEGA MULLET. This bad boy from Tijuana let that monster hang out, eat some teriyaki chicken and just overall, steal our hearts with this fucker.
Yeah, I went all non-children with that statement...but yea, that dead antelope was all business in the front and partying like it was 1999 in the back...
Wow. And I know what you are asking, "Did he let me take the picture?"
And the correct answer is, "No." He did not. I just pulled my phone from my pocket and decided I HAD to get this ugly bastard's best Ron Jeremy impersonation captured for the world to see.
Congratulations, all, you just saw history.
Friday, November 09, 2007
11/10/07 - The big Big BIG TAVA Update!
11/10/07 - The big Big BIG TAVA Update!
So who out there misses my comic strip, THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES...(still located at ardyvanstarr.com for anyone that wants to go back and check it out, still with the less than stellar website, but still a fun read story)? Well, I'm not going to say when...but it is coming back!
Both Junior Bruce (JB for short and now on...) and I have decided that our hiatus that has allowed us both some serious thinking time, should come to an end and we should give back to the fans...and how do we intend to do that?
Easy...we want to get back into THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES in a big way...JB has said that he wants to go back through and re-letter and...dun duh duh...COLOR every strip that has already happened, and we'll begin republishing it from the beginning.
Not a Hoax, NOT an April Fool's joke (five months early?). We want to come back in a major way, and we want everyone to take notice this time.
JB and I have had two stories we've always wanted to complete...and this goes back YEARS upon YEARS here, folks. We have two next storyline ideas in place for after the intial story, though they DO have to be re-written...and they are SPRING BROKE and INDOMITABLE FORCES. Don't worry, BOTH are Ardy (and Torch) stories...and yes, both will be retouched so that they have the feel of what we've already done here.
We intend to continue to give you the quality of product that we have always been about giving to the fans, and this means a couple things. We want to come back, and update THREE times a week (part of Keenspot's premiere line, so we get on the drop box and on the main page), but we also need everyone's help. When it restarts, we're going to need hits...lots of hits. We want to be able to give you back the product, but we want to know you love it...post links on your blogs, websites, bathroom stalls...this means a lot to us, it should mean a lot to you as well...
Okay, I said I wasn't going to do it, but here's what I had intended...I'm HOPING for a January re-start, but no guarantees...New Year...New Ardy. That's the way I want it to go.
So who out there misses my comic strip, THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES...(still located at ardyvanstarr.com for anyone that wants to go back and check it out, still with the less than stellar website, but still a fun read story)? Well, I'm not going to say when...but it is coming back!
Both Junior Bruce (JB for short and now on...) and I have decided that our hiatus that has allowed us both some serious thinking time, should come to an end and we should give back to the fans...and how do we intend to do that?
Easy...we want to get back into THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES in a big way...JB has said that he wants to go back through and re-letter and...dun duh duh...COLOR every strip that has already happened, and we'll begin republishing it from the beginning.
Not a Hoax, NOT an April Fool's joke (five months early?). We want to come back in a major way, and we want everyone to take notice this time.
JB and I have had two stories we've always wanted to complete...and this goes back YEARS upon YEARS here, folks. We have two next storyline ideas in place for after the intial story, though they DO have to be re-written...and they are SPRING BROKE and INDOMITABLE FORCES. Don't worry, BOTH are Ardy (and Torch) stories...and yes, both will be retouched so that they have the feel of what we've already done here.
We intend to continue to give you the quality of product that we have always been about giving to the fans, and this means a couple things. We want to come back, and update THREE times a week (part of Keenspot's premiere line, so we get on the drop box and on the main page), but we also need everyone's help. When it restarts, we're going to need hits...lots of hits. We want to be able to give you back the product, but we want to know you love it...post links on your blogs, websites, bathroom stalls...this means a lot to us, it should mean a lot to you as well...
Okay, I said I wasn't going to do it, but here's what I had intended...I'm HOPING for a January re-start, but no guarantees...New Year...New Ardy. That's the way I want it to go.
11/9/07 - Dane "What a Silly Bitch" Cook...
11/9/07 - Dane "That silly Bitch" Cook...Merry F’in Christmas...
So I took the wife to see Dane Cook for her christmas present. Yeah, I know what you are thinking..."Rob, Christmas isn't for another 50 something days..." And Dane gave the information about it, that makes me remember why I hate that fucking time so goddman much...his' recounting of walking into a Brookstone and not seeing a line, but a pile of people that roll off one by one to the register, holding their bags up like decapitated zombies and then crossing people off their list because you just don't want to wait for them...remembering that they yelled at you in the fifth grade, just to justify you not getting them shit besides a bonzai tree...personally, Dane, I'd go after that magic wrap thing in the mall that they grab your dying carcass out of thin air and make you see how this is, "the greatest shammy ever created..."
He talked about how he'd rather just sit and play Call of Duty than go shopping at Christmas, and then made some pretty funny statements...
My wife has already told of her experience last night, which was the only present I've ever gotten her that I know she truly wanted...man candy. Here's where her post is...http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=77053571&blogID=326897587&Mytoken=A8C2444E-6172-4E97-AEC2B672B77F265B14356256She talks about our drive, our waiting in line, but she didn't tell about the coolest things that happened during this whole experience...First...this line that we were standing in was wrapping around a city blog, and we were standing in it. I then ask a cop if it was the right line for will call and he says you have to go inside to the ticket desk for will call. I go inside and the guy at the door tells me to get my wife and tell her to come on in, because no one is at that door...yoink! Zang Za Damn...we're in, in front of about 2000 people! (Not to mention, we literally parked less than a block away...)
So after that, Christy and I are walking around...we go in, we find our seats, and I ask if she wants anything, because we're at least 45 minutes early...we go for a walk and we see desks of employees giving out what look to be tickets. I'm thinking its where the Charlotte Bobcats are getting their next sell out from, but it turns out that they are giving upgraded tickets out. I don't want to say I was cheap on the tickets, but Christy has been out of her bar job for a week, now, and that is where a lot of our income comes from, so I bought the cheapest tickets I could get, because I didn't want us going into the hole...so we went from about twelfth row from the top...to twelfth row! Wow.
Only thing I could have lived without last night, was the dumb bitch sitting right behind us and trying to "talk" directly to Dane with her, "Ha ha, I knew that one Dane" at LOUDER than the man himself with the entire sound system behind his voice...but hey, to go from $30 tickets to $100 tickets FOR FREE, I'll take it and do what I can to forget about her.....
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
10/16/07 - Greatest Interview EVER...Must read!
So today, I decided that I was going interview for Christmas positionsat my little Babbages, and I have to say, one interview went well, and we hired the young lady, and the other interview...well, let's just say, its going to be known as a Tomlinson for as long as I interview anybody ever again...
This gentleman, whom we'll just call by his last name Tomlinson, showed up to be interviewed in a white long t-shirt, a pair of not necessarily clean jeans and a dumbfounded look on his face. I asked him to sit in the food court and I'd be with him in a minute, because I knew this one was for the record books... I just got that feeling.
I grab my counterpart, Jason, from his Gamestop store in the mall because we typically try to do dual interviews so we can go back and forth with how we feel afterwords and determine if someone deserves the job or not. Well, today, it was more for shits and giggles than anything else. I tell him we're interviewing a guy in a t-shirt and jeans, and he says, "At the end of the day, sometimes all we need is a warm body to interview because that's all we really need..." and although true, this was not the body we want to hire...
So we sit down with him and introduce each other, and I ask, "What do you know about Gamestop...?" Answer..."Umm...well..." and then he starts to rub the top of his head, and then rubs his chin...through ALL of these exchanges, this is his general response..."I don't really know about the company."
Jason: "How do you feel one person affects a company?" Answer...shrug, rub head, rub chin..."um..." rub chin, rub head, rub chin..."I don't know what the question means."
Jason: "What's your favorite game of all time...?" Answer..."I dunno. Maybe NBA Live 2007 or maybe it was 08..."
Rob: "Sell it to me." Answer: "Huh? Sell what?"
Rob: "Your favorite game to me. Sell me a copy of NBA Live 08." Answer: "Ummm..." rubs head, chin, head, chin, "I only played it a couple times."
Jason: "Your favorite game, you've only played a couple times?" Answer: "Uh, well, I never really play games."
I look at him at this point and ask, "Are you feeling overwhelmed by the questions we're asking? You don't seem to be giving us much information, or answering any of our questions..." Answer: "Nah...hm. I'm, uh, not hm...overwhelmed."
Rob: "Do you know that you applied for a sales job?" Answer: "Uh" shrug, chin, head, chin, chin, chin..."Hm, uh, I put and application in."
Jason: "Rob, do you have any more questions for him, because I feel like I've got everything I need..."
Rob: "Yeah, just one more...If you were the boss of a business, and this was the interview that you just had to hire someone...would you hire that person?"
This question's response was terrific...chin...chin...chin...head...head...head..."uh, um..."...chin...chin...chin...::breath::...chin, chin...head, head, head..."I'd, uh...well, I'd have to think about it..."
Jason: "You know, you only get one chance to make a first impression..."
Rob: "You know, we're trying to give you a fair chance here...but you haven't answered ANY of our questions, you haven't given us anything to go by, so we'll be doing our call backs in about a week. You've got our number, right?"
Answer: "Um...uh. Well...yeah."
Rob and Jason: "Alright, then, have a good one."
Wow, just writing about it here, it doesn't get the same gusto that a lot of my stories get, because you really have to animate the hair and chin rubbing, because there was A LOT of it...this guy, afterwords, here's the conversation Jason and I had about him...
Rob: "Jason, you said warm bodies...I don't think he qualified even for that classification...I think he was dead."
Jason: "Wow. That was the greatest interview of all time. I mean, I'll look back for months, maybe years, and go, "Well, it still wasn't as bad as Tomlinson..."
And you know what? He's probably right.
This gentleman, whom we'll just call by his last name Tomlinson, showed up to be interviewed in a white long t-shirt, a pair of not necessarily clean jeans and a dumbfounded look on his face. I asked him to sit in the food court and I'd be with him in a minute, because I knew this one was for the record books... I just got that feeling.
I grab my counterpart, Jason, from his Gamestop store in the mall because we typically try to do dual interviews so we can go back and forth with how we feel afterwords and determine if someone deserves the job or not. Well, today, it was more for shits and giggles than anything else. I tell him we're interviewing a guy in a t-shirt and jeans, and he says, "At the end of the day, sometimes all we need is a warm body to interview because that's all we really need..." and although true, this was not the body we want to hire...
So we sit down with him and introduce each other, and I ask, "What do you know about Gamestop...?" Answer..."Umm...well..." and then he starts to rub the top of his head, and then rubs his chin...through ALL of these exchanges, this is his general response..."I don't really know about the company."
Jason: "How do you feel one person affects a company?" Answer...shrug, rub head, rub chin..."um..." rub chin, rub head, rub chin..."I don't know what the question means."
Jason: "What's your favorite game of all time...?" Answer..."I dunno. Maybe NBA Live 2007 or maybe it was 08..."
Rob: "Sell it to me." Answer: "Huh? Sell what?"
Rob: "Your favorite game to me. Sell me a copy of NBA Live 08." Answer: "Ummm..." rubs head, chin, head, chin, "I only played it a couple times."
Jason: "Your favorite game, you've only played a couple times?" Answer: "Uh, well, I never really play games."
I look at him at this point and ask, "Are you feeling overwhelmed by the questions we're asking? You don't seem to be giving us much information, or answering any of our questions..." Answer: "Nah...hm. I'm, uh, not hm...overwhelmed."
Rob: "Do you know that you applied for a sales job?" Answer: "Uh" shrug, chin, head, chin, chin, chin..."Hm, uh, I put and application in."
Jason: "Rob, do you have any more questions for him, because I feel like I've got everything I need..."
Rob: "Yeah, just one more...If you were the boss of a business, and this was the interview that you just had to hire someone...would you hire that person?"
This question's response was terrific...chin...chin...chin...head...head...head..."uh, um..."...chin...chin...chin...::breath::...chin, chin...head, head, head..."I'd, uh...well, I'd have to think about it..."
Jason: "You know, you only get one chance to make a first impression..."
Rob: "You know, we're trying to give you a fair chance here...but you haven't answered ANY of our questions, you haven't given us anything to go by, so we'll be doing our call backs in about a week. You've got our number, right?"
Answer: "Um...uh. Well...yeah."
Rob and Jason: "Alright, then, have a good one."
Wow, just writing about it here, it doesn't get the same gusto that a lot of my stories get, because you really have to animate the hair and chin rubbing, because there was A LOT of it...this guy, afterwords, here's the conversation Jason and I had about him...
Rob: "Jason, you said warm bodies...I don't think he qualified even for that classification...I think he was dead."
Jason: "Wow. That was the greatest interview of all time. I mean, I'll look back for months, maybe years, and go, "Well, it still wasn't as bad as Tomlinson..."
And you know what? He's probably right.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
10/4/07 - Sace Us 222 and more...
Viral websites seem to be the "big it thing" on the internet now, where the website is full of subliminal-ness and just off the wall code to secretly give you the message...now, the WWE is involved with it. SAVE-US.222 is their new thing. They make no mention of it on their television, though Jim Ross has made mention of it on his blog, stating that "its working." Apparently, if you stop and start the video per frame, there's a hidden message that says, "te/jer_ico_moive" and on the next line says, "save_raw"...
Now this has a lot to do with former superstar, Chris Jericho, who has always been brought in with the use of really cool tactics (ie, his being brought in in late 1999 as Y2J), and who has recently (rumored) signed a new agreement with WWE. Now here's where it gets interesting, is it possible that they move his return up REAL FAST to this Sunday now that John Cena has torn his Pec from his bone? Here's hoping they do.
So today I received my EIGHT Gigabyte memory stick for my PSP game system. I spent $84 on it, and am satisfied, since the cheapest I can find them in the US is $169. I'll be using it for movies and TiVo files, since otherwise, what's the necessity of an 8 gb card? It is pretty awesome tho.
This week, GREAT comics came out. Sinestro Corp Cyborg Superman special was terrific, and I hope to see more Patrick Blaine art. He's the same man that did all the promo art for GOD OF WAR and GOD OF WAR II for the PS2, so seeing him work in comics is great. GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16 came out this week, as well, and its another terrific issue. The new Action Comics issue came out, and gives SOME explanation on how the Bizarro world came from, though I don't think Richard Donner is really writing any of it anymore. ENDANGERED SPECIES #14 (of 17) shipped in Uncanny X-Men this week, as well, and actually the whole issue was darn good, except for the unnecessary entrance of Spiral. Countdown is becoming more and more of a boredom book, however Detective Comics does not disappoint.
The only real disappointment of the day was having to go to my store to set something up that cost me $26 on my day off because I figured someone there would have totally come up with an excuse as to why it was NOT done if I hadn't done it.
Well, that and the fact that the Indians and the Rockies beat my Yanks and Phils...boo that.
Now this has a lot to do with former superstar, Chris Jericho, who has always been brought in with the use of really cool tactics (ie, his being brought in in late 1999 as Y2J), and who has recently (rumored) signed a new agreement with WWE. Now here's where it gets interesting, is it possible that they move his return up REAL FAST to this Sunday now that John Cena has torn his Pec from his bone? Here's hoping they do.
So today I received my EIGHT Gigabyte memory stick for my PSP game system. I spent $84 on it, and am satisfied, since the cheapest I can find them in the US is $169. I'll be using it for movies and TiVo files, since otherwise, what's the necessity of an 8 gb card? It is pretty awesome tho.
This week, GREAT comics came out. Sinestro Corp Cyborg Superman special was terrific, and I hope to see more Patrick Blaine art. He's the same man that did all the promo art for GOD OF WAR and GOD OF WAR II for the PS2, so seeing him work in comics is great. GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16 came out this week, as well, and its another terrific issue. The new Action Comics issue came out, and gives SOME explanation on how the Bizarro world came from, though I don't think Richard Donner is really writing any of it anymore. ENDANGERED SPECIES #14 (of 17) shipped in Uncanny X-Men this week, as well, and actually the whole issue was darn good, except for the unnecessary entrance of Spiral. Countdown is becoming more and more of a boredom book, however Detective Comics does not disappoint.
The only real disappointment of the day was having to go to my store to set something up that cost me $26 on my day off because I figured someone there would have totally come up with an excuse as to why it was NOT done if I hadn't done it.
Well, that and the fact that the Indians and the Rockies beat my Yanks and Phils...boo that.
Monday, October 01, 2007
10/1/07 - Lying in the Gutters...
So I read and submit to a rumor mill for comics entitled LYING WITH THE GUTTERS by Rich Johnston for cbr.cc (comic book resources) and this past week, I sent Rich an email, and then he posted something on his site...here's the email, and what he posted:
EMAIL: (Titled: New TITANS Comic?)
from
Rob Potchak
Sep 27 (4 days ago)
to
richj@comicbookresources.com
date
Sep 27, 2007 8:08 PM
subject
NEW Titans comic?
mailed-by
gmail.com
"So rumors are now circulating that DC is going to launch a new TITANScomic with the team of Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Flash,Red Arrow and a few others...now I haven't heard any teams named forart, but Judd Winick's name is all over the project.Hopefully they'll at least get Perez on covers."
rob potchak
LYING IN THE GUTTERS SPOT:
TITANIC DAYS (Posted 10/1/07)
"So rumors are now circulating that DC Comics is going to launch a new "Titans" comic with the team of Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Flash, Red Arrow and more. Now I haven't heard any people named for art, but Judd Winick's name is all over the project.
Odds are they'll get George Perez on covers. "
Now, Rich, normally you give people credit for their rumors that sound like they are pretty accurate, but this time, my friend, you seem to have forgotten to credit me, and damn near purgered my statement. Other than my forgetting a space and changing the last sentence, everything else was word for word with better punctuation, which is pretty surprising, because I had to have been drinking to not do spell check.
Anyway, I think I'm going to link Rich to this, because I want to make sure he knows that I know he did this, but he's a swell enough guy, and again, has credited me in the past for my rumors.
In other rumored news, I would assume that Rags Morales or Mike McKone ARE the artist on said series, but that's my speculative mind here, since those two guys haven't been announced for any projects yet, though Matthew Clark is another one I wouldn't be surprised with.
EMAIL: (Titled: New TITANS Comic?)
from
Rob Potchak
Sep 27 (4 days ago)
to
richj@comicbookresources.com
date
Sep 27, 2007 8:08 PM
subject
NEW Titans comic?
mailed-by
gmail.com
"So rumors are now circulating that DC is going to launch a new TITANScomic with the team of Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Flash,Red Arrow and a few others...now I haven't heard any teams named forart, but Judd Winick's name is all over the project.Hopefully they'll at least get Perez on covers."
rob potchak
LYING IN THE GUTTERS SPOT:
TITANIC DAYS (Posted 10/1/07)
"So rumors are now circulating that DC Comics is going to launch a new "Titans" comic with the team of Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Flash, Red Arrow and more. Now I haven't heard any people named for art, but Judd Winick's name is all over the project.
Odds are they'll get George Perez on covers. "
Now, Rich, normally you give people credit for their rumors that sound like they are pretty accurate, but this time, my friend, you seem to have forgotten to credit me, and damn near purgered my statement. Other than my forgetting a space and changing the last sentence, everything else was word for word with better punctuation, which is pretty surprising, because I had to have been drinking to not do spell check.
Anyway, I think I'm going to link Rich to this, because I want to make sure he knows that I know he did this, but he's a swell enough guy, and again, has credited me in the past for my rumors.
In other rumored news, I would assume that Rags Morales or Mike McKone ARE the artist on said series, but that's my speculative mind here, since those two guys haven't been announced for any projects yet, though Matthew Clark is another one I wouldn't be surprised with.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
9/27/07: I haven't forgotten about my readers...
So this week was the Halo 3 launch from Microsoft at work, and from the look of their stock, Bill Gates' Third or fourth generation from now has already retired. On day one, I believe the figures were close to 2.5 Million units sold. Crazy. They said it earned a reported 172 Million dollars on day one, actually putting it 22 million in front of Spider-man 3 THE MOVIE, not the game, as the biggest entertainment release of the year.
I finally heard from JK, and he said that he's going through an artist's block at the moment, and said that as soon as he's off the schneid, that he'll be back to making the fans look on in awe with new pages.
On other comics news, Eric Kent has told me that he will be sending me the pages he's drawn from THIEF and from TAGGER, so that I may do with as I please in his own words. What I'll probably do is either electronically ink them, or ink them myself by hand, which I've been wanting to try again for a while. Obviously, after that, people will begin to see them.
Rumor has it that DC Comics is coming up with a new comic series called TITANS, which will be written by (ugh,) Judd Winick and star Nightwing, Donna Troy, Cyborg, and all of the other original Teen Titans...look for this to be DC's answer to people wanting more of what they want, while giving it to them with a writer that knows how to ruin it...HOPEFULLY they'll listen as I saw, PUT GEORGE PEREZ ON COVERS!
I've been going through a very NON-creative time right now, and while certain things tell me that you never know how long you've got, so you have to go do the things you want now, there's another pert of me that's just saying, "you are too tired to write..."
I have two weeks to find another car insurance company if I want to pay less than $5000 a year for two cars.
I'm congested for absolutely no reason tonight.
Saw Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and Seether last night and thought it was a great live show...especially for $20. They don't really have stage presence yet, but they're all good musicians.
I won a Red and Black Nintendo DS, so hopefully that's something I'll see in the next few weeks.
Well, I'm about pooped, so everyone have a good night...Puzzle Quest for the PSP is freaking awesome!
I finally heard from JK, and he said that he's going through an artist's block at the moment, and said that as soon as he's off the schneid, that he'll be back to making the fans look on in awe with new pages.
On other comics news, Eric Kent has told me that he will be sending me the pages he's drawn from THIEF and from TAGGER, so that I may do with as I please in his own words. What I'll probably do is either electronically ink them, or ink them myself by hand, which I've been wanting to try again for a while. Obviously, after that, people will begin to see them.
Rumor has it that DC Comics is coming up with a new comic series called TITANS, which will be written by (ugh,) Judd Winick and star Nightwing, Donna Troy, Cyborg, and all of the other original Teen Titans...look for this to be DC's answer to people wanting more of what they want, while giving it to them with a writer that knows how to ruin it...HOPEFULLY they'll listen as I saw, PUT GEORGE PEREZ ON COVERS!
I've been going through a very NON-creative time right now, and while certain things tell me that you never know how long you've got, so you have to go do the things you want now, there's another pert of me that's just saying, "you are too tired to write..."
I have two weeks to find another car insurance company if I want to pay less than $5000 a year for two cars.
I'm congested for absolutely no reason tonight.
Saw Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and Seether last night and thought it was a great live show...especially for $20. They don't really have stage presence yet, but they're all good musicians.
I won a Red and Black Nintendo DS, so hopefully that's something I'll see in the next few weeks.
Well, I'm about pooped, so everyone have a good night...Puzzle Quest for the PSP is freaking awesome!
Friday, September 14, 2007
9/14/07: Rob with Todd, FINALLY, and more.
So my phone camera looks like its been drunk all week, not really sure why, but here is the picture of me with Todd McFarlane, FINALLY.
I've decided to include another picture here, as well, that of Heavenly Sword babe, Nariko after she caught me staring at her Heavenly something...no, not the breasts, as this young lady for some reason, would uncross her legs as she would be getting up, and you got to see the goods. She noticed that I noticed, and before you knew it, everyone was noticing, hehe...
It was a fun picture, since I could write ALMOST ANY caption for it.
Oh, for those who thought I was saying something bad about Clive Barker in a previous post, I wasn't. The man looked tired, and I didn't want to stand in line, so I walked up and shook his hand, that's all.
I am attempting to work something out with Vivendi interactive for the release of HALO 3, and all I can say about it is that it has something to do with a game that while not 100% dissimilar to Halo, it does have a chance to be the coolest multiplayer game out there with new ways to go.
In closing, here, thanks for the support in reading this blog, I've probably got a couple more Vegas photos to upload from phone to web, and today I did something that I wasn't sure about, so I flipped a coin.
I traded in a lot of the games I received from the conference, since by company standards, that's okay, but I wasn't sure what to get with it. I wanted the PSP, but I couldn't justify $200 to myself OR my wife, because we've been struggling to keep money in our bank accounts recently, so I didn't want to effect that. I decided that since I wanted the PSP, and since I had enough to cover it, I would go ahead and get the PSP. I bought the new Slimline PSP, the PSP-2000 is what they call it at Sony, and I've enjoyed it so far.
I'll probably go back to doing what I had done with it previously, which is place burned movies on my 2gb memory card.
A couple things I DO like about it include TiVo -To-Go service, so taking programs from my TiVo and placing them on there, as well as being able to remotely control (not remote control, but to control the system from somewhere else) my PS3...meaning...if I have a movie in there, I can pull it up on my PSP similar to sling box...this is awesome, as I've already tried it out, and I've heard it even works with the new PS3 game, LAIR...if more companies take advantage of this, I'll probably start buying more games on PS3.
I've decided to include another picture here, as well, that of Heavenly Sword babe, Nariko after she caught me staring at her Heavenly something...no, not the breasts, as this young lady for some reason, would uncross her legs as she would be getting up, and you got to see the goods. She noticed that I noticed, and before you knew it, everyone was noticing, hehe...It was a fun picture, since I could write ALMOST ANY caption for it.
Oh, for those who thought I was saying something bad about Clive Barker in a previous post, I wasn't. The man looked tired, and I didn't want to stand in line, so I walked up and shook his hand, that's all.
I am attempting to work something out with Vivendi interactive for the release of HALO 3, and all I can say about it is that it has something to do with a game that while not 100% dissimilar to Halo, it does have a chance to be the coolest multiplayer game out there with new ways to go.
In closing, here, thanks for the support in reading this blog, I've probably got a couple more Vegas photos to upload from phone to web, and today I did something that I wasn't sure about, so I flipped a coin.
I traded in a lot of the games I received from the conference, since by company standards, that's okay, but I wasn't sure what to get with it. I wanted the PSP, but I couldn't justify $200 to myself OR my wife, because we've been struggling to keep money in our bank accounts recently, so I didn't want to effect that. I decided that since I wanted the PSP, and since I had enough to cover it, I would go ahead and get the PSP. I bought the new Slimline PSP, the PSP-2000 is what they call it at Sony, and I've enjoyed it so far.
I'll probably go back to doing what I had done with it previously, which is place burned movies on my 2gb memory card.
A couple things I DO like about it include TiVo -To-Go service, so taking programs from my TiVo and placing them on there, as well as being able to remotely control (not remote control, but to control the system from somewhere else) my PS3...meaning...if I have a movie in there, I can pull it up on my PSP similar to sling box...this is awesome, as I've already tried it out, and I've heard it even works with the new PS3 game, LAIR...if more companies take advantage of this, I'll probably start buying more games on PS3.
9/14/07: Yet another guest from the Gamestop Con...
So here's a pic of Slash. Now unfortunately, this day I was not close to the stage, so I didn't specifically MEET Slash, but I snapped up a quick pic of him on onw of our 1000 inch screens. He was cool as shit, coming out to a fog maker and lazer show, playing guitar with cigarette in his mouth. He came out and introduced someone to play AGAINST him on the All new GUITAR HERO III, which I have to say, was pretty cool, but the computer version of Slash, playing a guitar solo written exclusively for the game by the real Slash, was too good for the player to beat.
For some reason, the Todd McFarlane picture will not upload still, so I will have to figure that out.
For some reason, the Todd McFarlane picture will not upload still, so I will have to figure that out.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
9/13/07: Yuckin it up with Todd McFarlane!
At the same vendor show at the conference, none other than Todd McFarlane was there. (apparently, blogger is not letting me upload the picture, which I'll now have to do later, heh).
For those who don't know, I met Todd 14 years ago at a Philadelphia Comic Convention that he was at. At my convention here, I brought it up. "Todd, y'know, the last time I saw you was at Philly in 1993...?" And he looked over and smiled. "Y'know, that was the show I debated Peter David." And I agreed and said that I still felt he won the debate, just making light conversation. I then asked him about his current convention status. "This is only your second convention this year, right?" And he replied, "Yeah, y'know, ever since I became a dad, its a lot harder for me to want to leave home, so I like doing these quieter gatherings..." I then got my Convenant HALO 3 Xbox360 controller autographed by him and took the picture (though its again, not in great quality).
Overall, a decent guy. He chat with everyone, and literally stayed until we all got our stuff signed. I shook his hand and made a simple comment about how the comic industry still misses him and mentioned ARDY (on my shirt).
I missed getting to meet Randy Orton (saw him, though, seemed a little standoff-ish, but on good behavior). I had a customer I was going to try to get an autograph from him for, but he only signed for 2 hours, which in no way was long enough.
And the one disappointment in my meetings, was Clive Barker. I just went up, shook his hand, and then let him get back to signing.
I'll try to post that pic of me and Todd tomorrow, as well as a few others that are good.
For those who don't know, I met Todd 14 years ago at a Philadelphia Comic Convention that he was at. At my convention here, I brought it up. "Todd, y'know, the last time I saw you was at Philly in 1993...?" And he looked over and smiled. "Y'know, that was the show I debated Peter David." And I agreed and said that I still felt he won the debate, just making light conversation. I then asked him about his current convention status. "This is only your second convention this year, right?" And he replied, "Yeah, y'know, ever since I became a dad, its a lot harder for me to want to leave home, so I like doing these quieter gatherings..." I then got my Convenant HALO 3 Xbox360 controller autographed by him and took the picture (though its again, not in great quality).
Overall, a decent guy. He chat with everyone, and literally stayed until we all got our stuff signed. I shook his hand and made a simple comment about how the comic industry still misses him and mentioned ARDY (on my shirt).
I missed getting to meet Randy Orton (saw him, though, seemed a little standoff-ish, but on good behavior). I had a customer I was going to try to get an autograph from him for, but he only signed for 2 hours, which in no way was long enough.
And the one disappointment in my meetings, was Clive Barker. I just went up, shook his hand, and then let him get back to signing.
I'll try to post that pic of me and Todd tomorrow, as well as a few others that are good.
9/13/07: Back from Vegas...Koji Igarashi
I'm back from Vegas and wow, I'm exhausted. This year was WAY better than last year since it was in Vegas...and Although these pictures are HORRIBLE quality, I must say that I'm super excited about them.
This one for example is ME with KOJI IGARASHI, the famed creator of Castlevania...This is his ONLY US Appearance that I know about this year, so I have to say, getting to meet him is incredible...
The photo was taken with my phone, so that's where the quality issue came into play.
This was at our vendor show, and I got him to autograph the cover art for the upcoming game for PSP: CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X CHRONICLES.
Its awesome, I know...more to come.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
9/5/07: Biggest Update in a while...
Alright, I haven't been on here for a real update in a while and that's because the wife and I have had some issues with things going on around here...no, nothing with US, but just around the house, car, work, stuff...Its really been bogging into a lot of the free time we've had, which sucks, because since my vacation I have not touched my movie treatment for THIEF, which everyone who has read it has said that they would pay to see this movie, which is a plus.
Okay so let's start with what I am allowed to talk about at home. My car insurance company, Nationwide, knows that I have a DWI on my account. They also know when our bill is supposed to be due...however, they don't seem to realize that MY WIFE is not MY DAD'S wife when it comes to paying your bill. My mom pays her insurance monthly, I pay mine quarterly because it allows us time to save enough to pay the hefty fee for having a DWI and a speeding ticket (the former is mine, the latter is the wife's). Well, they told me our account went delinquent, and we hadn't paid, and now it was too late to reinstate that account...the reason? They said we hadn't paid. (Sorry if this jumps around, but you should get the gist.) So anyway, I'm looking through the old bank statements and finding nothing to go against their claim...so I have to start a new policy, get looked at as a HIGH RISK and they tell me our insurance will be about $5000 a year ($1200+ a quarter), and that we owe it to them to restart the policy. They also tell us the DMV will be sending a notice and we'll owe them $50 per vehicle for that, too...so this week, the wife and I shelled out $1300...YIKES...that's what a rainy day savings is for...it was fucking pouring. We get it paid and get it cleared...now here's where the fun happens.
My mom contacts Nationwide and asks why she hasn't received a bill in two months (again, she pays monthly). They tell her its because her account has a $750 credit on the account... Mom taps her forefinger on her cheek and asks, "Do you think this could be the payment that my son and his wife swear got paid but you folks told them it didn't?" They look it up, and guess what? It was a money order from my wife to Nationwide in the sum of $750...what we just so happened to owe on June 26th...Mom, being the sport she is, said she would pay what would have mader her account delinquent and asked that the credit be used to reinstate my old account because we never should have had the lapse in coverage...now, where the confusion came in...
With my wife taking $750 in cash to the bank to get a money order because we didn't have any checks at the time, we never had it show up in our bank account, which means we had NO RECORD of us paying it...so I had Diane, our Nationwide rep copy the money order for me, since they had it on record all along, and we now have record of it. Folks, this is the ONLY reason I can think of to NOT have a namesake...
Okay, so other happenings...
As stated, the movie treatment is where it was a month ago, but I'll probably finish it within the month so that I can get Keenspot's people looking at it. I have a tentative agreement with them to shop it around, since they have taken care of me in the past. I believe in giving back as well as taking in relationships, professional and personal, so with Chris Crosby and myself knowing this property could move well, I have given my word it would most likely stay there.
That's the same reason I'm not currently looking for other employment. I like what I do, they've been pretty good to me, and I would rather deal with the shark pool I know than the shark ocean I don't.
I will be revisiting all the current projects I have on the plate, since I'd really like to get DEAD SONJA off the ground for the sequel, and I NEED to get my ass back on TAGGER and THIEF the comic...however, with the re-write that has become the treatment, I'm not sure where Eric would like to go with it...I don't want to scrap what's possibly the best art of his career, so we may just run that the way it is, and then have the other ready for a movie adaptation :).
Although I haven't talked with JK in a while, I'm hoping everything is okay with him and his wife and their families. I know he started a new job not too long ago, and I hope that isn't killing his creativity, since I want to finish the first TAVA arc to get started on the second one, which YES, I am in the middle of writing. The catch on TAVA was not all on the art end, either folks, let me say that now. TAVA is a project that with two different minds visually seeing the pages, there were constant rewrites to make JK's pages flow with my text. The biggest problem for me is that I couldn't get the lettering to look right in the small size that looked good on the big size. As an artist myself, it was difficult to look at, and I know JK wasn't pleased with it, either.
Next week is my company (GAMESTOP)'s big Manager's Conference, and this year is in a much better locale than last's, which was in Dallas...this year, it's in VEGAS baby! So not only do I get to see about all the new games, systems, merchandise coming out not only in this final quarter of the year, but I also get to check out stuff that is top secret coming in the industry...what is it? Can't tell you, even if I DID know, hehe...Nah, I'll come back with lots of info on upcoming stuff and it makes me excited as shit for Christmas, since this is when most of the stuff I'll get to see and play will get dropped this year. Unfortunately, no cameras or video footage will be allowed out, and I can be fired for taking any...So not only do I get to see that, get to go to Vegas for the first time, see the sights, eat the food and walk the strip, I get to gamble!
Only real downside to my trip is that the company scheduled it on the week of my second wedding anniversary, and I am very upset about that, since there's NO WAY to bring my wife, since they force roommates on us for it.
Hopefully I'll make another update before the trip, and anybody who wants to give me shit for Notre Dame getting destroyed on Saturday, remember...Michigan lost to a Division 1-AA school, and they are the ONLY program in HISTORY with more wins than Notre Dame...so bite me. :)
Okay so let's start with what I am allowed to talk about at home. My car insurance company, Nationwide, knows that I have a DWI on my account. They also know when our bill is supposed to be due...however, they don't seem to realize that MY WIFE is not MY DAD'S wife when it comes to paying your bill. My mom pays her insurance monthly, I pay mine quarterly because it allows us time to save enough to pay the hefty fee for having a DWI and a speeding ticket (the former is mine, the latter is the wife's). Well, they told me our account went delinquent, and we hadn't paid, and now it was too late to reinstate that account...the reason? They said we hadn't paid. (Sorry if this jumps around, but you should get the gist.) So anyway, I'm looking through the old bank statements and finding nothing to go against their claim...so I have to start a new policy, get looked at as a HIGH RISK and they tell me our insurance will be about $5000 a year ($1200+ a quarter), and that we owe it to them to restart the policy. They also tell us the DMV will be sending a notice and we'll owe them $50 per vehicle for that, too...so this week, the wife and I shelled out $1300...YIKES...that's what a rainy day savings is for...it was fucking pouring. We get it paid and get it cleared...now here's where the fun happens.
My mom contacts Nationwide and asks why she hasn't received a bill in two months (again, she pays monthly). They tell her its because her account has a $750 credit on the account... Mom taps her forefinger on her cheek and asks, "Do you think this could be the payment that my son and his wife swear got paid but you folks told them it didn't?" They look it up, and guess what? It was a money order from my wife to Nationwide in the sum of $750...what we just so happened to owe on June 26th...Mom, being the sport she is, said she would pay what would have mader her account delinquent and asked that the credit be used to reinstate my old account because we never should have had the lapse in coverage...now, where the confusion came in...
With my wife taking $750 in cash to the bank to get a money order because we didn't have any checks at the time, we never had it show up in our bank account, which means we had NO RECORD of us paying it...so I had Diane, our Nationwide rep copy the money order for me, since they had it on record all along, and we now have record of it. Folks, this is the ONLY reason I can think of to NOT have a namesake...
Okay, so other happenings...
As stated, the movie treatment is where it was a month ago, but I'll probably finish it within the month so that I can get Keenspot's people looking at it. I have a tentative agreement with them to shop it around, since they have taken care of me in the past. I believe in giving back as well as taking in relationships, professional and personal, so with Chris Crosby and myself knowing this property could move well, I have given my word it would most likely stay there.
That's the same reason I'm not currently looking for other employment. I like what I do, they've been pretty good to me, and I would rather deal with the shark pool I know than the shark ocean I don't.
I will be revisiting all the current projects I have on the plate, since I'd really like to get DEAD SONJA off the ground for the sequel, and I NEED to get my ass back on TAGGER and THIEF the comic...however, with the re-write that has become the treatment, I'm not sure where Eric would like to go with it...I don't want to scrap what's possibly the best art of his career, so we may just run that the way it is, and then have the other ready for a movie adaptation :).
Although I haven't talked with JK in a while, I'm hoping everything is okay with him and his wife and their families. I know he started a new job not too long ago, and I hope that isn't killing his creativity, since I want to finish the first TAVA arc to get started on the second one, which YES, I am in the middle of writing. The catch on TAVA was not all on the art end, either folks, let me say that now. TAVA is a project that with two different minds visually seeing the pages, there were constant rewrites to make JK's pages flow with my text. The biggest problem for me is that I couldn't get the lettering to look right in the small size that looked good on the big size. As an artist myself, it was difficult to look at, and I know JK wasn't pleased with it, either.
Next week is my company (GAMESTOP)'s big Manager's Conference, and this year is in a much better locale than last's, which was in Dallas...this year, it's in VEGAS baby! So not only do I get to see about all the new games, systems, merchandise coming out not only in this final quarter of the year, but I also get to check out stuff that is top secret coming in the industry...what is it? Can't tell you, even if I DID know, hehe...Nah, I'll come back with lots of info on upcoming stuff and it makes me excited as shit for Christmas, since this is when most of the stuff I'll get to see and play will get dropped this year. Unfortunately, no cameras or video footage will be allowed out, and I can be fired for taking any...So not only do I get to see that, get to go to Vegas for the first time, see the sights, eat the food and walk the strip, I get to gamble!
Only real downside to my trip is that the company scheduled it on the week of my second wedding anniversary, and I am very upset about that, since there's NO WAY to bring my wife, since they force roommates on us for it.
Hopefully I'll make another update before the trip, and anybody who wants to give me shit for Notre Dame getting destroyed on Saturday, remember...Michigan lost to a Division 1-AA school, and they are the ONLY program in HISTORY with more wins than Notre Dame...so bite me. :)
Friday, August 31, 2007
8/31/07: Halloween comes early...and its good.
Thursday night, around 9:30 pm, I decide I want to see the new Halloween film. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good cheese ball horror flick. This was NOT one. In fact, the casting seemed perfect, from Tyler Mane playing the crazed psychopathic Michael Myers, to Malcolm McDowell playing the role that NO ONE thought anyone could fill Donald Pleasance's shoes... and he did so nicely.
The cameos were spot on for what you'd expect from such a cherished property, and this movie was just good.
If you want to jump two to ten times, this movie does so in a way that is sure to continue to do so EVEN after you've seen it once.
Zombie sticks to most of the story, changing only the end, but at the same time, he kept the scenery the same (filmed in the same city) and gave a new reason behind the painted Shatner mask...which after 17 years is pretty gruesome.
If you want GOOD horror done right, this compliments the original film VERY nicely, and I'd recommend it highly to anyone wanting to jump.
The cameos were spot on for what you'd expect from such a cherished property, and this movie was just good.
If you want to jump two to ten times, this movie does so in a way that is sure to continue to do so EVEN after you've seen it once.
Zombie sticks to most of the story, changing only the end, but at the same time, he kept the scenery the same (filmed in the same city) and gave a new reason behind the painted Shatner mask...which after 17 years is pretty gruesome.
If you want GOOD horror done right, this compliments the original film VERY nicely, and I'd recommend it highly to anyone wanting to jump.
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