Tales of the Geeky Vixen

I am not a fan of Mondays. Never have been. Like the old song says, "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down..." (However, I am kind of a fan of rainy days, even if they do make me a little sad.) I am tired as all get out, and I hate being in limbo (i.e., I want someone to tell me one way or another the outcome of this thing I want to do).

Also, I think a lot has to do with the reading I did this weekend. I bought The Walking Dead trade paperbacks a while ago, and Brad got into them right away. (Apparently I was in one of my "hoard books but not read them" phases at the time.) Anyhoo, he raved about how good they were, and I decided that when I had a free moment I'd start reading them. Finally, after much coaxing, I cracked open the first book Thursday night. A couple hours later I had blasted through the first three trades. Twenty-four hours later, I had finished the first 6. Yesterday I finished issues 31-48. I kinda wish I'd stopped at 44. Don't get me wrong--every rave review this book gets is totally well-deserved. It's probably one of the best series I've ever read. But the events of the last two issues shook me to the core. It really takes a lot to rattle me--I'm not easily bothered by most things I read or watch. But this--this really got to me. I guess since I'd saturated my mind with the book over the course of 3 days, I couldn't put it out of my head when I tried to go to sleep.

I told myself this morning that was it for me. No more Walking Dead. The more I think about it, though, the more I think that's a bad choice. The fact that the story has occupied every corner of my mind for days is a testament to how good the storytelling is, and how much you truly care about the denizens of this desolate landscape. I felt like the kid in The Neverending Story, who locked himself in the school basement just to go through Atreyu's journey with him. When people die in the story, I feel the loss too.

That being said, if you're a fan of zombie movies or just some good horror writing, pick up this title. Yes, it is a challenge to read at times, since these people endure horrors at the hands not only of the undead, but of the soulless among the living. It's definitely not for kids or the faint of heart, and it won't be a walk in the park. The action is building toward issue 50; after the action we've seen, I can't imagine what Robert Kirkman's got in store for the gang.

I want to be a drummer when I grow up. Rock Band is a dangerous endeavor for an almost 30 geek hipster, because it gives you that false hope that you might actually have a shot at being a rock star. Oh well...guess I'll settle for rockin' the suburbs.

Seriously, though, I think I have a shot at being the next...

No? Hmm. How about...

Yeah, probably not. What about this one?

I'm guessing that's a no, too. OK, I think this is the one I'll aspire to...

First things first...
Listening: Your Mom's Favorite DJ, Kid Koala
Surfing: emusic, iTunes, myspace

Alright. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's begin.

1. Be Kind, Rewind - Go. see. this. movie. Just do it! It's a lot of fun. Add in the fact that Brad and I took a "get ready as fast as you can and head to Knoxville" trip, including a stop at our comic shop in Sevierville and a new place, and it was a great day. We left with a pretty good haul, not to mention we had a blast. Oh, but about the movie--not only was it fun, but it also had a lot of heart. I think my favorite "Sweded" movie was Driving Miss Daisy, just because you could really tell they'd never seen the movie before. By the end, I was a little teary-eyed. If you're a fan of movies or have a creative bone in your body, you'll see why.
2. Kick-Ass - This comic is extremely violent, but the art is amazing, and the storytelling delivers. Issue 2 came out today, so get in on this while you can. One of our comic shop pals was part of the poster campaign. If you're a fan of Powers or would like to see a Tarantino-style Spider-Man story, this book is for you.
3. Fables - OK, peeps. We're 71 issues in, and if you haven't discovered this Vertigo title, then you're missing out. I finally completed my collection by picking up issue #1, and I couldn't be more excited. It's got everything: fairy tales, love, violence, marriage, war, wooden puppets, magic, swashbuckling, murder--really anything you want out of a good story. Yes, it features fairy tales and characters from our childhood, but it's really an adult title (and no, I don't mean that kind of adult title). Very mature storytelling, and every cover by James Jean makes the $3 bucks you spend an investment in a piece of art.

I gotta vent some comic rage. I was really excited to see the relaunch of Wonder Woman, because the Dodsons were on board. I enjoyed the first 2 story arcs, and the start of the 3rd was pretty good. But Gail Simone needs to check herself lest she wreck Wonder Woman. Ish 18 was a bunch of crap--a race of random aliens whose excuse for the teenager's bastardization of the English language was that she watches (and I quote), "the MTV". Come on, now. I've read the previews of the next few issues, and I'm still on board, but issue 18 was the first comic I've read in a long time that actually made me angry.

*Whew* I feel better. :)

Speaking of Amazon(s) (LOL), I ordered 2 Image graphic novels on Saturday, and they're already here! Luckily I had a $25 gift credit (thanks, ThankYou Network!), so it wasn't too much of a bust of my budget. Popgun is a compilation of works by a lot of Image artists, including Madman artist Mike Allred. I also picked up Jim Mahfood's Mixtape, Vol. 1, a collection of his art, including sketches and flyers. It's the bomb, yo. I love Amazon so much. I think it's my favorite store, just because they have everything I'm looking for.

That's the haps for now...at least on the review front.

Listening: Kid Koala, "Your Mom's Favorite DJ," Left Side.
Reading: Chuck Klosterman, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs and catching up on my comics (right now I'm catching up on Angel: After the Fall, Vinyl Underground, and Suburban Glamour)
Drinking: Water
Surfing: Jim Mahfood's website, www.400zcomics.com, www.nufonia.com (Kid Koala's site), www.amazon.com, www.oldnavy.com (I love multiple tabs on Internet Explorer!)
Totally loving: Star Wars Mighty Muggs and the fact that it is t-minus 3 days until I buy Rock Band! Close second? The new office chair and the facelift we gave the office. (It still needs work, but it's less cluttered.)
Lamenting: the fact that I haven't started any new craft projects since the embroider-a-thon at Christmas
Biggest desires: A turntable, everything I saw previewed on Action-figure.com from Toy Fair.

If you listen to SModcast (and who doesn't, right?), you've heard my new favorite song. Since I listened to episode 44 (a great ep w/Kev and Mewes), I've been obsessed with the song "Generator", by the Holloways. It's a very catchy fun song, and it mentions record players, one of my favorite things in the world.

Speaking of record players, I'm trying to find one on ebay. I want one I can hook up to my computer eventually, so that I can make mp3s of my vinyl collection (a very random collection of things from when I was a kid, and things that I've picked up at yard sales and such). I think right now, though, I want to get my favorite record player on the planet: a Fisher-Price 1978 model 825. Yes, the orange and brown model that was most recently featured in up for Best Picture in the Academy Awards Juno (go back and watch it again if you missed it--it's in Paulie's room toward the end of the flick). If you're a Homestar Runner fan, you can also see this record player being used by the Cheat.

Holy crap! I just checked the noms for the Oscars, and Juno is up for 4? I think that's amazing, because it's such an organic film. I absolutely loved it, and the soundtrack makes a bad day much better. Looks like the Academy stepped up this year, but the list makes me realize I need to catch up on flicks. Check out the list here, and make your picks!

OK, so I haven't seen Cloverfield yet. Don't worry, I'm going to--especially since at every turn someone tries to ruin it for me. So I got bored one day and took some random pictures of my theories on the monster in the film. You can view them all at my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/12866292@N04/), but here are a few of my faves:

It's amazing how much fun you can have with a digital camera and a lot of toys! :)