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Post by The Captain on Mar 26, 2020 13:49:18 GMT -5
So I'm sitting at home right now in my comic book room, and it's really loud outside. I turn and look out the window and what do I see? Five elementary and middle school boys playing street hockey in one driveway, while there are three elementary school girls playing dolls in the driveway next door to them.
I'm not blaming the kids, but what part of "self isolation" and "social distancing" don't these parents understand? This isn't muffin-fluffing spring break for your youngsters, and even though I am sure you are tired of being around them 24/7 as you're cooped up in the house, this is how the disease spreads, you morons. One infected kid touches four other kids, who then go inside and infect their respective households, and all of a sudden, there are 24 cases on one street and a bunch of idiots going "how ever could this happen? We stayed home and didn't go out in public, yet somehow we all got sick."
I'd rather have my daughters pissed at me because I won't let them hang out with even one friend than risk them potentially getting sick and giving it to the rest of us, especially since I will be going to their grandparents' house weekly throughout this ordeal to make sure they have food and their medications.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 26, 2020 13:27:19 GMT -5
I've been looking at EMPYRE in the free Marvel preview magazine my LCS and have zero interest in it, like 98% of the other things they have in their every month. It's a pretty sad state of affairs for them when the things I'm most interested in are the True Believers books, Facsimile editions, and Epic Collections. The vast majority of their current output just doesn't excite me in the least. I'm not interested in Empire either but for my money Marvel is putting out a lot of good books, I'm buying more Marvel than any other publisher for the first time since the Ultimate Universe was at its peak. I'm loving Hulk, Doctor Strange, Strikeforce, Wolverine, Spider-Woman, Thor, Miles Morales: Spider-Man and the Star Wars books are solid too. Some of these books look good, but I'm not certain I want to start buying more monthly books. Space is getting limited in my storage area, so I want to just get the things that really blow me away. I read most of the first Star Wars series (the post-New Hope) and all of the Darth Vader one, and they were good but I'm not really feeling like I want to grab the current post-Empire stuff. I've leafed through Doctor Strange, but I don't really like the artwork (although I'm interested to know how Dr. Druid came back), but one thing I may get is the Strange Academy book that is due to come out, because I like a lot of the supporting cast (not the kids, but the adult teachers) and while I'm not a huge Ramos fan, Skottie Young does some good work as a writer (really loved I Hate Fairyland).
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Post by The Captain on Mar 26, 2020 5:55:49 GMT -5
My teen years while I was in middle and high school sucked.
My teen years after I graduated high school and moved away to college were awesome.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 25, 2020 15:42:27 GMT -5
How about a little Jazzy John this week?
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Post by The Captain on Mar 25, 2020 12:16:21 GMT -5
Not really seeing much in Marvel's summer epic EMPYRE other than them exploiting the Kree/Skrull war concept yet again. BUT there is one exception: the return of the ORIGINAL SWORDSMAN. That bears checking out to see what they do with my boy 'Swordy. I've been looking at EMPYRE in the free Marvel preview magazine my LCS and have zero interest in it, like 98% of the other things they have in their every month. It's a pretty sad state of affairs for them when the things I'm most interested in are the True Believers books, Facsimile editions, and Epic Collections. The vast majority of their current output just doesn't excite me in the least.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 25, 2020 10:14:38 GMT -5
Also in a digital format, I've been reading the Daredevil Epic Collection, "Mike Murdock Must Die!", which collects Daredevil #22 to #41, the first annual and Fantastic Four #73. These were also very cheap! I had all these issues as well … and then sold them. This another run I absolutely love! The whole Mike Murdock saga is here! I know everyone hates it like a Jack Schiff alien story, but I love it! I remember reading the Mike Murdock issues when I was 12, 13, 14 and thinking it all so much fun! Before he takes on the Mike Murdock identity, Matt fights the Owl, the Gladiator, the Masked Marauder, the Tri-Man and the Leap Frog. Then he becomes Mike, and must face the Masked Marauder (again), Stilt-Man, generic gangsters, generis aliens, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Beetle, the Trapster, Dr. Doom and the Exterminator and his Ani-Men! Glorious glorious amazing wonderful Silver Age silliness! I've also been reading this for months. I finished the Dr. Doom issues a few nights ago, so I should be finishing this off in a few days. Daredevil had a lot of good runs before Frank Miller showed up, and this is one of them! (Of course, Daredevil also had that dreary awful run from #54 to #80.) So this is not my favorite DD run. Frank Miller stepped in and practically redefined super-hero comics when he started drawing (and eventually writing) Daredevil. That's hard to compete with. Still, the Gene Colan art on the Mike Murdock issues is sooo goooood! And the Silver Age silliness and the parade of menaces (not to mention the variety! From the Leap Frog to Dr. Doom!) makes this run a great favorite that I know I'll be going back to from time now that I have a digital copy available. I read this run of issues a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Always liked the original DD villains like Owl, Stilt-Man and Gladiator (and Hyde and Cobra, who I loved as a weird team). Agree about the period from 54-80. I got to 64 and stopped since I didn't own 65, but even after acquiring it last year, I've been hesistant to pick it back up. Maybe after I finish Iron Man I'll give it anothet shot.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 19:23:15 GMT -5
I think it's like my daughter with her Instagram account. I've watched her scroll through her feed indiscriminately "liking" every post without looking at it for more than 1 second. When I asked her why she "likes" everything, she said she didn't want the posters to feel bad if they didn't get enough "likes". On the other hand, that's pretty wonderfully kind of her. Not to mention very good karma. My only concern is that without actually looking at what she's liking, she could inadvertently "like" something offensive or insulting or racist or homophobic. She and her friends are 14-year-old girls, and they don't always have the best impulse control, so something they think is funny could be really inappropriate, and then my daughter gets caught up in having to explain why she "liked" a post that made fun of someone at school or that demeaned the LGBTQ community or perpetuated racist stereotypes. Sure, we could try to turn it into a teachable moment, telling her to make sure that what she is "liking" would be something she would be OK showing to her mother and me, but the damage would already be done. As someone who grew up in a home with a virulent racist, misogynist, and homophobe for a father, I heard a lot of comments or jokes that he found funny, and because I was really too young and naive to know that they were hurtful, I would repeat them at school and get myself into trouble with classmates and teachers. The school would call my house and let my parents know what I'd said, and when I got home, my father would ask me how I could be so dumb as to repeat that at school, and I was all "but you say this kind of stuff all the time at home and laugh about it, so I thought it was OK." It caused me problems because kids have long memories, and I certainly don't want her to run into the same issues because she doesn't take the time to check everything she upvotes.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 18:18:39 GMT -5
Horn
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 15:36:08 GMT -5
Dover
(yeah, ya'll expected me to write "Uncle" or "Gentle", but nope. I'm a little slappy from being cooped up in the house with the wife and daughters for 9 straight days, and this is my only outlet to be a little weird without getting yelled at.)
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 12:20:37 GMT -5
Hooker
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 10:25:35 GMT -5
Getting a " like" on your cover contest entry is the same as getting the kiss of death. You won't get that vote. There I said it. So true! There have been weeks I've gotten 6-8 Likes on my cover, then wound up with zero votes. I think it's like my daughter with her Instagram account. I've watched her scroll through her feed indiscriminately "liking" every post without looking at it for more than 1 second. When I asked her why she "likes" everything, she said she didn't want the posters to feel bad if they didn't get enough "likes".
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Post by The Captain on Mar 24, 2020 7:46:17 GMT -5
Oh, a new (to me) thread that looks interesting. While I am not happy with the way we got here, it is good that the doors on the working from home Pandora's box are being blown off their hinges. That is going to give so many people flexibility and hopefully finally shatter the antiquated idea that your ass needs to sitting in a specific chair near the asses of you coworkers in order to be productive. It will save companies a fortune on office space, and it will save people time and money on gas, commuting, wear and tear, and allow more freedom of movement. Being mandated to go into an office if your job duties do not inherently require it is a relic. There, I said it! I had a conversation with a colleague of mine on this exact subject yesterday (while both of us were sitting in our respective homes, working remotely as we both usually do). My hope when this is all said and done is that companies stuck in the "present = productive" mindset realize that if they hire the right people, people they can trust to be responsible adult employees, then they can give them more freedom. My boss doesn't care if I cut purchase orders from my office or my couch or if I do it at 7 AM or 4 PM, just as long as the plants have the materials and services they need to operate. It requires good communication and coordination skills to make it work properly. Also, if I work remotely from 6-2, take a nap from 2-3, then work from 3-4, they're getting more time out of me than if I commute 30 minutes to the plant, work 6:30-2:30 there, commute 30 minutes home, then nap from 3 to 4. I'm also more willing to work later if needed because I can still be making dinner while listening on a conference call or waiting for a quote to come in; it gives me back my time instead of sitting around an office waiting, knowing I still have a half-hour commute ahead of me.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 23, 2020 19:20:46 GMT -5
Twelve
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Post by The Captain on Mar 23, 2020 19:07:03 GMT -5
I watched today's U.S. federal coronavirus press briefing and it was a lot about lifting restrictions and not going any further with them (like on travel within the country, or lower 48 as they would say in Alaska). It's obvious the intent is to help the stock market by promising an end to some of the precautions by next week. Dr. Fauci was not present at this one. The answer as to why this is happening is 100% political, but I will respectfully adhere to the moderators' admonition to not turn this thread into a new Politics thread.
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Post by The Captain on Mar 23, 2020 11:35:13 GMT -5
Would asking for a little responsible leadership on the federal level be seen as politically triggering? It shouldn't. What we need right now are mature, sober-minded individuals from everywhere on the political spectrum coming together to solve the problems that are facing the country (no slight meant here to our foreign members, but this is a US-focused comment) they were elected to serve. That means no misinformation. No shady stock transactions while assuring the public it would all be OK. No posturing or pandering or politicizing. No games or "gotchas" or gambling with the lives and livelihoods of the American people This virus doesn't care if you're white or black or Asian or Hispanic. It's not checking people's religion or voter registration or zip code. Not diving into your bank account balance or 401(k) portfolio. Senator, doctor, grocery store worker, mail carrier; no one is immune. It is going to indiscriminately f@$% up everything in its path, because that's what viruses like this do. My church prays for OUR leaders every week. Not the Republican leaders, not the Democrat leaders, not the ones who vote the way that most benefits or agrees with the church. ALL of our leaders. I think it definitely warrants adding to my list.
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