Humpday Hubbabaloo — 05/14

Went to the Angels/White Sox game last night — my Angels won. It was turning quite the pitchers duel, at least until the eighth inning when my Angels scored two runs. My Angels are back in first place — at least by half a game at the time of this post. Apparently, last night was the only night of the week that they weren’t giving away free swag at the game — Monday night they were giving away Torii Hunter bobbleheads, tonight they’re giving away Angels beanies, and tomorrow night they’re giving away retro-style caps from 1971. But, I’ll take a “W” over free swag any night. John Lackey is expected to return to the mound tonight after having been on the DL since the beginning of the season. This is a good thing, my two fantasy baseball teams could use his arm.

There are a handful of comics that I want to pick up today. They include:

• SERENITY BETTER DAYS #3
• BATMAN #676 RIP
• TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #11
• ALL NEW IRON MANUAL
• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #559
• GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1
• SECRET INVASION FANTASTIC FOUR #1
• CTHULHU TALES #2
• EVERYBODYS DEAD #3
• NORTH WIND #5
• PROJECT SUPERPOWERS #3
• STAR TREK ALIEN SPOTLIGHT TP
• WARHAMMER CONDEMNED BY FIRE #1
• ZORRO #3

Over the last couple of days I’ve had some great artwork come in on the various projects that I’m working on including covers and interior pages. I’m anxious to show some of it off, but it’s probably in the best interest to hold steady a bit and unleash it all when the time is right to promote said projects. But it’s very cool to see artwork based on your words show up in your email inbox.

Last Thursday was the last episode of the seventh and final season of Scrubs on NBC — and in tradition of treating the show like the ugly red-headed stepchild, NBC aired the episodes out of order and finished with what many consider the weakest episode so far. Oh, well… Scrubs will be returning next mid-season on ABC.

And, speaking of Scrubs, my good friend David had a nifty surprise for me when we met to catch Speed Racer last Saturday, a Scrubs directors chair…

Lately I’ve had the urge to play building simulation games and have been tinkering around with my old copies of Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon. I might have to go out and pick up something new and give it whirl. But, I shouldn’t be tinkering with or whirling any games right now — I’ve got writing to do.

One more week until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Do You Know The Way To Liberty City?

Today the world embraces and entrenches themselves into Liberty City, the virtual world of Grand Theft Auto IV. Well, there’s one guy that’s not — me. I don’t own a Playstation 3, nor do I own an Xbox. Word on the financial streets is that sales of Grand Theft Auto IV are expected to possibly reach $400 million this week — not this year, not this month — this week. At least we now know the true reason President Bush expedited the distribution of our stimulus tax refunds. But, let’s remember all of the revenue that will be lost today by eager GTA enthusiasts who are taking the day off in order to play.

Now, I also happened to have let the three previous Grand Theft Auto installments slip by me without giving them a try. And, it looks like the same will be true with IV as well. But, if I had a console to play GTA IV on I’m sure I’d be jumping on board. And with this being the first GTA title that supports multiplayer on a console, I could share in on the fun while racing around and shooting up the city.

Now, which comic book publisher is working on getting the license to do Grand Theft Auto? Come on Rockstar Games — it’s a no-brainer.

Halo 3? Hell No!

Today’s the day — the day the greatest video game of all-time, the first-person shooter developed by Bungie Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360, drops in retail outlets everywhere, forever changing the way video games will be played… Or so the hype would have you believe. Honestly, I’ve got nothing against Halo 3, but I’d be remiss if I’d didn’t make some sort of mention of something this “nerdy.” (That, and why not take advantage of the hype and draw more traffic by mentioning it?) Will I be playing Halo 3? Nope. I don’t own an Xbox 360, nor do I have the time. Video games are the bane of the writer’s life. That’s why I had to sell my PSP.

So, to all you Halophiles (and I’m not talking about extremophiles that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt) out there… Throw back a Big Gulp-sized Mountain Dew for me and, “Game on!“

My Pick Six Of ’06

Let’s start 2007 by taking a look back at 2006 with my Pick Six of ’06. Now I didn’t see as many new movies as I should have. I didn’t read as many new books as I should have. I didn’t listen to as many newCDs as I should have. I didn’t… etc, etc, etc…

But yet, I feel that I’m still qualified to pick the best from the various forms of media that the year 2006 had to offer. And in my oh-so-clever way I’m picking my favorites from six different catagories. Let’s start picking…

Comics: The Pride of Baghdad. Written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Niko Henrichon, and published by Vertigo. This 136-page hardcover graphic novel is a must read for anybody and everybody — not just comic book readers. I praised this title earlier when it was first released (Vaughan Can Be Proud Of Pride Of Baghdad) and I still stand by my words of praise. Set during the spring 2003 U.S. bombing raid on Iraq, a pride of lions escape from the Baghdad Zoo. They wander the war-torn streets confused and hungry, yet free — struggling for their survival. Now this is the sort of animated talking animal movie that George Miller of Mad Max and The Road Warrior fame should be making instead of a flick with dancing penquins.

Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Now while the second installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may have been my favorite movie of the year, it wasn’t exactly a perfect movie… It was long. It was long and it still managed not to tell a whole story. Now don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the flick, but you wade through a lot of movie for what is essentially the set up for third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. My viewing tip — do not drink a large soda during a two and a half hour movie that takes place mostly at sea.

Music: Stadium Arcadium – Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’ve been a Chili Peppers fan for a long time and this two disc set did not disappoint. While there may not be anything ground-breaking regarding this outing — their 9th studio album — it definitely shows maturity in their craft. Stadium Arcadium made a long eight hour road trip much more tolerable. The single Dani California is definitely memorable, but for me it was the track Snow (Hey Oh) — a mellower tune reminicent of their earlier hit Under the Bridge — that seems to have made the heavy rotation playlist in my head.

Podcasts: Keith and the Girl. If it weren’t for the Keith and the Girl podcast I probably would’ve driven my pickup off a cliff during my hour and a half commute each way to work and back. Although they premeired in 2005, it was in 2006 that I became hooked on this “no holds barred” podcast that Keith and his girlfriend, Chemda (the Girl) have themselves described as free comedy and a talk show where they “talk shit.” Nothing is sacred, nothing is tabboo, and I’m hooked. I’m probably never going to recommend Keith and the Girl to my mom, but if you’re not easily offended and like a good laugh (often at the expense of others) at the end of a long day you should give Keith and Chemda a listen. Note — you’ve been warned.

Television: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. My favorite new show to premiere during fall 2006 — without a doubt. It’s dramatic, it’s poignant, it’s humorous, it’s probably too good for television. Like Aaron Sorkin’s short lived Sports Night, Studio 60 is a look at the hectic behind the scenes going-ons of television — only this time the show focuses on a weekly latenight comedy/variety program (ala Saturday Night Live) instead of a cable sports channel. And like Sorkin’s previous effort, Studio 60 may just be too good for television, and although NBC has ordered a full season this smartly written and witty drama is having a hard time finding a steady audience. Do yourself a favor and check it out before it’s too late. Episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip are available on iTunes.

Video Games: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. I’m probably the last guy who should offer any sort of video game review since I very rarely play any at all. If it weren’t for thePSP that I won at Dave & Busters this catagory pick would not even exist. But I did find out in ’06 that a PSP is a nice little device to take along on long business trips when you’re spending countless hours in airports and on planes. Of course, being a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy doesn’t hurt while playing this game which is filled with cute (yes, I’m using the term “cute” in my review) scenes featuring Lego minifig Star Wars chracters that are as entertaining as the gameplay itself.