An Utter Waste of Time

Star Wars - Space and Rocket Center

By Jeff on September 2, 2010 4:01 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Originally uploaded by Shadowhelm

I got to see the Star Wars Exhibit at the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center on Sunday. Nice exhibit with some fun, interactive sections for the kids. My only disappointment is that the exhibit itself seemed a little on the small side. There certainly were not enough creature displays. Still, it was nice to see something like this come through Birmingham.

One thing I think I have discovered is that the prequels pretty much burned most of the Star Wars fanboyism out of me. Honestly folks, those movies suck. Stop making excuses and just admit the obvious.

Do or Die

By Jeff on September 1, 2010 8:47 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

September is always an interesting month for me for many reasons. I have big time commitments I have to meet every year as well as help work on things like planning my daughter's birthday party the first week in October. This year is no different except that it may be even busier this year due to the added responsibility of coaching my daughter's soccer team. Even with everything I have to do both as a father and as as professional, there is one other thing that has to get on my plate. That other thing is this blog/website/thing.

The blog came into existence in 2003 but I had been toying with different websites and domains on a personal level for some time before that point. Without going into the history of the thing, it became a blog shortly before my daughter was born. Over the years since the amount of content has ebbed and flowed along with its overall value to myself and the world in general. That is IF any one personal website can be said to have any value at all. It is a concept that is at least extremely debatable. Anyway, over that time I have trashed the site more times than I can count and flirted with taking it down entirely. The one or two of you out there that have been around that long probably remember all the other times I have written similar posts about bringing the site down for one reason or another and those issues I wrote about then are still relevant today. The overriding concern, however, is that I just don't have anything to write about...or can write about. Oh I have plenty of things to say but I have decided that this is not the forum for much of what I REALLY want to talk about. It is just too public. So, where does that leave me? I don't know but it is time to find out.

I am giving myself the month of September to either get things around here busy living or get busy dying. The renewal is coming up soon and money is tight so if I can't find any personal value (what the rest of the world thinks is a non-issue) in the site then I think it is time to kill it and move on to something else. There are some things I want to explore in the mean time. The first is moving the site to WordPress. As much as I feel connected to MovableType, I just don't feel like there is a community around the software like there is for WordPress. Maybe joining that community will give this blog a reason to live. I also want to get back to the things I used to enjoy about having the site. Things like sharing photos, opinions on film, and thoughts on philosophical issues. Again, none of that may have any value to the rest of the world but I enjoyed it and really what is a personal blog than an exercise in vanity?

The long and short comes down to this...I have 30 days to decide whether or not to continue here. So if there was ever anything you wanted me to write about, now is the time to ask. I can't guarantee I can address everything but I will leave that open. Personally I hope that I find my passion for blogging and the internet in general again.

The New TV Order

By Jeff on August 17, 2010 7:17 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We flirted with shutting off our satellite system last year. I turned the system back on after a month due almost exclusively to Battlestar Galactica. Well that and college basketball I guess. Anyway...Time has passed and I am back to considering shutting down the pay television service.

Things have changed over the last year to make this an easier adjustment to get used to. We are heavy XBOX 360 users at my home and Netflix streaming is a big part of the usages. Netflix streaming alone gives us more choices for entertainment than we can ever watch so just in shear volume Netflix can replace much of the stuff I watch on satellite today. The problem, however, comes in trying to watch first run shows and sports. Although I am not a rabid sports fan I certainly enjoy particular events with the aforementioned college basketball being my primary interest. The good news is that ESPN is bringing their ESPN 3 service to the XBOX later this year. While details are still sketchy, it looks like this service may be able to replace much of the sports content I watch on satellite.

The final piece of the puzzle may debut in early 2011. Hulu is in the process of launching Hulu Plus. This service is supposed to offer full seasons of current shows, movies, and all kinds of other content. While the service is available for things like the PC, iPad, and PS3 today, the "custom" XBOX version will not be available until next year. The service is currently priced at $10.00 a month. I have taken a wait and see attitude about Hulu Plus but signs are encouraging. I could cancel my $60.00 satellite service and replace it with a $10.00 service. I already pay for Netflix so the cost is already covered.

All of these services plus over-the-air, OTA, high definition local television make a pretty compelling argument against paying for cable/satellite. There are other issues to be considered including DVR service and viewing in multiple rooms but this can be dealt with through different technological solutions. I am excited about the move toward ubiquitous streaming and it won't be long until we can access anything, anywhere, anytime.

The only real question left is "Should we be watching any of it?"

Do It Yourself

By Jeff on August 16, 2010 12:11 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Sometime near the end of summer last year my aging Toyota truck blew the AC clutch/compressor unit and I found myself driving a vehicle without air conditioning for the first time since about 1996/1997. I wrote about this experience then and about how I was being forced to break a vow I made to myself all those years ago. The vow was how I would never again drive a car without AC no matter what the cost. Well, as we all know, things over the past few years have not been good economically and I have not been spared the pain of financial struggle. I could not afford to fix the truck then and even now during the hottest summer on record I drive a vehicle whose only cooling comes from rolling down the windows and driving really fast. For most of the year this is not a problem but during the summer it is fairly uncomfortable. I have learned to live with it though and have been happy to be driving a vehicle that overall runs well. At least up until last week.

On Wednesday of last week I pulled into my driveway after a particularly long and hot drive from work (my drive home is about an hour long) and as I exited the vehicle I could hear what sounded like boiling water. Upon popping the hood my worst fears were confirmed. My 13 year old truck was overheating. Being the pessimist that I am I instantly assumed the engine was blown and that the final straw had been placed on my back. I envisioned trips to the bank to beg for a loan to get the truck fixed or worse.
After calming down a bit I sent a note to an old friend asking if he had any advice. He knows about car repair and maintenance and had tried to help out when the AC blew out the previous years. After a few emails back and forth and some preliminary checks on my end much of my fear was dissuaded in the hopes that the fix would actually simple, quick, and quite economical.

After a few days the weekend came around and on his advice I bought some parts and other supplies (spending less than $40.00) and awaited his arrival to see what could be done about my friend, the Toyota. We drained the disgusting liquid from the radiator (flush your radiators regularly kids!) and replaced the suspected culprit, the thermostat. Soon enough the truck was driving like normal and the problem was solved. Although I didn't do the repair completely by myself I was able to follow along and learn quite a few new things about vehicle maintenance of which previously I had been unaware.

The end result of the experience was that learning to do things for yourself is economically imperative in the world today. In the past few weeks I have repaired my Xbox 360, an office fan, and the truck. Professional service on these items would have cost me hundreds of dollars and over all the repairs I think I have spent $50.00. Not only am I saving money but there is a particularly nice feeling of accomplishment when you can handle things on your own.

I have been thinking lately how a barter economy could grow within a depressed capitalist economy. We all have skills that other people need. I can build, repair, and network computers and my friend can repair and maintenance cars. Between the two of us we have shared skills which have benefited us both without an over expense of the almighty dollar. How much of our incomes could we all keep if were were willing to trade services and skills more often that just exchanging cash? While this type of exchange is an everyday thing all over the country I wonder if there is a way to organize such trades on-line. Kind of like an EBay for swapping knowledge and know-how.

Anyway, I am happy beyond measure that I have a better concept of how to take care of the cooling system in my truck. Next up...learning how to replace the AC compressor!

What's Going On?

By Jeff on August 11, 2010 10:09 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Seriously, what's up? I feel like I have been out of touch with most of the world for the last few months. The unending routine of work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep has become so monotonous that I often feel more like a robot that has been programmed to walk between point A and B until its gears wear down than a living, breathing human. It must be the crushing heat we have been experiencing here in the south. It is slowing my mental processes and I am falling back on automated responses.

With that being said I have some random thoughts to throw out. I hope something in the coming jumble of miscellaneous stuff is interesting.

I. - LIMBO

If you have an XBOX 360 take some time and download the demo of this game. It is beautiful and engaging. I haven't purchased it yet myself but I plan to when funds are available (and hopefully the price comes down a bit). It really captured my imagination and my daughter and I have had several conversations on what the nature of the world is and what the boy is doing there. From my understanding, this is all left open by the designers.

II. Typos

I know I have talked about this before but my writing is just plagued with typos these days. This is especially concerning when it comes to Twitter. I just can't seem to catch my fat fingered typing mistakes fast enough. It is a more glaring problem on Twitter because the Tweets are so short to begin with. I don't know if it makes me look lazy, stupid or both but it is really bothering me personally. I just have to work at getting better at reviewing what I right before I publish it. Even if the content is poor at least I can make it look professional.

III. Rage

Rage

Stephen King published a novella called Rage under the pseudonym Richard Bachman back in the 70s. It is about a high school student who takes his math class hostage. After a rash of school shootings in the 90s King took the book out of print after connections to the book and the shooters came to light. I have owned a paperback collection of Bachman stories since high school but for some reason never got around to actually reading the book. I stumbled across the book recently while combing the attic looking for stuff to sell in a yard sale and decided it was high time to read it. It wasn't long after starting the story that all the thoughts I had in high school came flooding back. All the anger and hatred for my classmates flared up fresh after almost 20 years of being forgotten. I am a different person now but that bitter 16 year old is still in me and while reading the story I couldn't help but remember how I often thought about what it might be like to take over the school and exact some revenge. Obviously a clearer head prevailed and I made it out of high school like most everyone eventually does. The sharp, visceral reaction I had to reading the story however took me a bit by surprise. I had thought I had gotten over that period of my life but apparently some thing are just too formative to ever truly go away.

Today I am more concerned for my daughter and what she will experience growing up. I would save her a lot of those experiences if I could. The fights on the bus, the being afraid to go to the bathroom during school because of the nefarious acts that tended to go on in the restroom, the cliques, the insults, and all of the other things that occur in American institutionalized education will still be there when she gets to high school but maybe, somehow she can avoid them. If not...well...I hope I can teach her to deal with them and get through it. Living with rage is a bad thing and I would spare her that as well.

IV. Religion

No, I am not about to go off again but I did want to share the following video.

There are some interesting thoughts on the end but what most interested me is the picking and choosing parts. There is plenty to be learned from the Bible. I have never denied that. The value that the Bible provides, however, does not make the rest of it true. One can find plenty of value and inspiration from any number of works of fiction but truth is often harder to come by. It has been argued recently by people I know that the morality of the Bible is so self-evident (a questionable statement at best) that the mere goodness of the morality is evidence enough for the existence of the Christian God. That statement is akin to saying the values expressed in Heinlein's A Stranger in a Strange Land are also so "good" that it proves there are aliens on Mars. Ultimately what I believe Jacobs is pointing out is that we can find worth in the Bible even if some if it is junk. I would agree with that.

V. Batman

Grant Morrison's work on Batman is controversial at best but one thing you have to admit is that it is always engaging...even if you have no idea what is going on. It looks like he is bringing the yellow bat symbol back to the costume and I couldn't be happier. I have always liked it and I am glad to see it return. Check out the LA Times for more Morrison and Batman goodness.

Batman

That's good for today. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow but as always...we'll see.

You've Got A Little Something on Your Face

By Jeff on July 22, 2010 8:52 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

I have gushed over Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead for some time now. I picked up reading the comic a few years back on the recommendation of just about everyone in the comics world. Of course I am also a long time zombie fiction fan so this was a fairly easy story for me to pick up. My initial opinion was that the story had been done before but I liked the art enough to stick with it. By the second trade editions, however, I was hooked. While most zombie fiction only runs from the initial outbreak to a group of survivors and they few days until they are mostly/all dead, Kirkman's story follows a group of humans for months and years past the outbreak. The story became a study of humanity struggling to survive in a very hostile world. The fact that there are zombies all around becomes a minor annoyance as the human stories took over.

Last year or so it was announced that AMC had picked up the rights to The Walking Dead and the channel was planning on making a TV show out of the books. The news that Frank Darabont would be directing came shortly thereafter. Darabont is the director behind The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. I have been looking forward to the adaptation since it was announced and the news leading up to this week's San Diego Comic Con has been very encouraging.

Today I found the poster on the right at Ain't it Cool News. This poster is by one of the great movie poster artists, Drew Struzan. His work can be seen all over the place and he has worked to create posters for many blockbuster films including films like E.T., Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and the Star Wars film series. Click on the poster for a larger version. I love the poster and I think it really shows that AMC is dedicated to the project by hiring such a high profile artist to work on the marketing.

What seems great about this project from AMC is that they really seem to be trying to make this a quality show. At the very least the channel has put together a great creative team and doesn't seem to be holding anything back. They proof, however is in the pudding and we won't know much until the first episode airs. It is my hope however that the show takes off and we get to see some of the great moments from the comics play out on film.

Of course I continue to recommend checking out The Walking Dead in its original form. The trades are available at most bookstores and comic shops and you can even get the first issue for free from comixology.com. Comixology has apps available for the iPhone and iPad as well as a PC reader. Check it out and great ready to see the show coming in October. I'll be there!

The Pop Culture Divide

By Jeff on July 21, 2010 8:47 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I am one of those guys that has a wealth of absolutely useless knowledge banging around between my ears. I can destroy trivia competitions while half asleep, but I can't multiply two digit numbers without a calculator. I can name thousands of movies from short audio clips but I can't remember the capitals of all 50 states. For whatever reason, I remember mountains of information about all things pop culture but often forget my own phone number. I assume this trait is due to spending way too much time in front of the TV and at the movie theater My wife, on the other hand, has but a passing knowledge of these things. See says she didn't watch TV as a kid for many reasons and just never developed the voracious appetite for all things pop culture like I did. This difference between us also comes up at the oddest times but when it does a situation arises where it seems like we are from different planets.

2010 - The Year We Make Contact

Take for example a most recent event that occurred at home. 2010 was showing on TCM and I casually started watching it as I waited for dinner to be ready. The film was well over half finished but this is one of those films I can start watching at any point and still enjoy it. As I watched, my daughter started peppering me with questions about what was going on and I answered them the best I could. It was around this time when my wife joined the conversation. I was in the process of explaining the meaning of "sequel" to my 6 year old when my wife asked me something along the lines of "This is a sequel? To what?" My jaw dropped and I was honestly shocked and flabbergasted at the question. After asking several more apparently insulting questions, it became clear that she had never seen 2001. I think my incredulity over this realization slightly angered her but I just couldn't fathom the idea that she had never seen the film.

It is in these moments when we literally speak a different language. I make film references constantly and just assume that everyone can follow along. They can't of course and I am left trying to communicate without my crutches. On more than one occasion this has resulted in bad feelings. I guess I make people feel stupid when they don't know the inconsequential details of some film that I think they should know. It is certainly a character flaw of mine. The point is, however, that even though my wife and I grew up during the same time and in the same culture we don't share a common cultural experience. Due to this divide we often misunderstand each other...especially when I throw out some sarcastic reference which my wife doesn't get. I wonder if this is a problem for other people. Certainly it has to be true that many couples have cultural experiences that differ enough to the point that they sometimes can't understand what the other person is talking about. I guess it is just one of those weird facts about marriage that one has to understand.

P.S. I wonder if getting my wife to watch 2001 is really a great idea at this point. The film isn't exactly one to make someone enjoy the world of high concept Sci-Fi. Hell, I am not even sure if I like it even if I do understand its place in film history. It is something I guess to consider anyway.

Chattanooga

By Jeff on July 20, 2010 10:42 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Chattanooga Carousel
Originally uploaded by Shadowhelm

Over the past 10 years I have spent a good amount of off time in Chattanooga. My wife and I even had our brief honeymoon in the city. We really enjoy the aquarium along with the many other attractions on the Riverfront. The picture above was taken at the beautifully restored carousel that sits just across the river from the Aquarium.

Some days I really want to move to the area. It just seems like there is more going on there than in Birmingham. I haven't heard great things about the schools in the area though so my desire to pack up the family and move isn't quite as strong as it could be. Still, a change from Birmingham would be welcome.

The great thing, however, is that it really isn't that far so even if we can't move we can still enjoy everything the town has to offer.

The Facebook Question

By Jeff on July 15, 2010 8:48 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Image via Wikipedia

Facebook is beginning to be more of a sore spot for me than something I really care about. The recent, and not so recent, problems with the site's stand on privacy is annoying but I have mostly ignored it. I have locked my profile down a bit and generally don't do much on the site. I read the "news" feed through Tweetdeck and rarely go to the Facebook site during the day. So while I have been kept up with the buzz surrounding the privacy issue, I have mostly stayed out of the fray. The real problem I am having is dealing with how Facebook handles external RSS feeds. More specifically I am referring to how Facebook completely mishandles entries from my blog.

The problem is fairly simple. Facebook is horrible at processing the feed. When I post a blog entry it usually takes AT LEAST 24 hours to show up as a note on my Facebook profile. Not only that, but the version the system posts is almost never the current version of what is on the blog. I often edit my posts after I publish them. Usually this is because I am lazy and don't edit BEFORE hitting the "Publish" button. Once it goes live, I find mistakes and I generally want to correct them. The posts are never perfect but I like to fix problems when and if I find them. The weird thing about Facebook is that the version of the post that ends up on my profile THE NEXT DAY is almost always the first version of the post and not the version that is live on my blog the day it shows up on Facebook. This is insane to me because what seems to be happening is that Facebook grabs the feed when I publish it but doesn't put it on my profile until the next day. The end result is that I have two similar but slightly different posts on the two sites with my blog being the most current and accurate version.

There are other problems as well. Sometimes the Facebook version shows my embedded images and sometimes it does not. It also NEVER shows embedded videos. Although this isn't a huge deal, I do take some thought into what I put into my posts other than text. I might suck at this, but I still have a look I want to portray...even if that look is pathetic. The images and graphics often add context to what I am writing about and Facebook's spotty replication of this when it imports the feed is frustrating. In some cases the images and video are critical to understanding what I am saying and Facebook destroys the effectiveness of these posts by not importing the entirety of the code. Certainly this may be a problem with what I embed but other services don't have a problem with this so why should Facebook?

Outside of the delay and presentation problems, however, I like the concept of having my blog posts (sporadic as they have been lately) as well as tweets show up on Facebook. I decided at some point that it was useless for me to try and maintain different, private "personas" on the Internet versus real life. I have taken the view that if you are going to be on the internet you need put some thought into how you come off to the rest of the world. This is important for many reasons including the simple fact that employers and potential employers are taking the time to research their people and possible hires and what those people say and do on the Internet. I am doing better at this but I am not perfect and I still make mistakes of discretion. Nevertheless, it is clear to me that whatever I say and do on the Internet as any one of my screen identities can easily be traced back to me, the real person. With that in mind, I found that although I want a presence on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter, and my blog, I don't want to manage updating all of those services individually. For me it became clear that my Blog and Twitter were the two places I wanted to make updates and then feed all of that to other services so they all have some sort of fresh content on a regular basis. This processes keeps my presence "active" while having to do less work. I certainly understand the value of dealing with separate audiences differently but right now that is not a goal of mine.

There are many reasons for this approach. Mostly it is because I am lazy. I just don't have the time or the desire to manage my presence at half a dozen different sites. The technology exists to link these things together and that is just what I have decided to do. I feel a need to have accounts on the sites because I am connected to people in different ways. People that are my "friends" on Facebook may not follow me on Twitter or read my blog. There are different pockets of people that I am connected to at each site/service but I want them all to get the same information from me no matter if it is worthless Twitter updates or something else that may have more value. The other, more selfish reason, is that I have some weird desire to increase the size of my connections at all services so connecting them together seems to help. I can't explain that desire but it is what it is. In the end, however, it is just easier for me and IF I am doing things right, the "different audience" issue isn't a concern.

Facebook, however, just doesn't do a lot of things the way I want it to to and for me that is a problem. Using Facebook as a catch-all for stuff I write elsewhere seems to be breaking the model I had hoped to create. It screws up my blog posts and then doesn't link back to the RSS feed for people to find the actual post. Often I have resorted to posting a link to the blog in the actually post but I shouldn't have to do that. Feeding the RSS into Facebook also creates two places where discussion of the same topic can happen and then I have to move back and forth between the discussions. This also stinks because a good discussion on Facebook doesn't get feed into the blog or from the blog into Facebook. It would really make sense to have all of the comments exist in one place. Not only is this better for the actually sharing of ideas, but it makes it easier for me to keep up with what I have said where. Taken as a whole these issues make me spend more time managing information on Facebook than I would like.

So, what is the solution? The simpliest thing may very well be to give up on the "one post / multiple publishing locations" model. I could wall them off and treat each audience separately. I have already said I really don't want that hassle so the option isn't great. I could come up with a more selective repost workflow (I call it work...how hilarious is that?) where I choose what goes where at the time of posting. I feel pretty confident from a technological standpoint that this is possible but again this breaks my original desire for a single post model. Or, I could just throw up my hands and just saw "screw it" and let it continue to be what it is. Right now I am leaning toward the second choice. I am sure it would be better for the people who follow me (why anyone follows me is often a question I can't answer) but it would require a little more thought and work on my part. No big deal I guess really. I know I can't stand how Facebook handles my blog RSS feed so I have to do something about that. The solution I am thinking of right now is to break the feed and just tweet when I make a new blog post. That will feed in Facebook and anyone who wants to read it can click the link and come over. I don't like regular blog pimping on Twitter though so I am a little wary of doing that on a regular basis. We shall see.

I'd love to hear some thoughts on this issue.

A Fanboy's Story - Part II

By Jeff on July 13, 2010 9:01 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

*****Be sure to see Part I first*****

By 1995 I was losing interest in the hobby that had been a big part of my life for several years. My favorite store had moved a couple of times and it wasn't convenient for me anymore. I had also gotten more involved at school and wasn't working much which meant I had less disposable income. Sometime during that year two things happened that ended my comic book buying for about a decade. The first was my store, The Comic Strip, merged or sold out to the worst store in town (and by this time maybe the only store left), the infamous Lion & Unicorn. The industry was shrinking as the speculator market figured out that the multiple copies of books they were hoarding away would never be worth anything. The market demand disappeared and stores all over the country shut down. The change meant a lot of loyal customers saw stores they loved disappear and were forced to deal with the remaining players. I was left doing business with a company I had avoided as much as possible. To put it simply, I loathed having to walk into Lion & Unicorn on a regular basis. From poor customer service to rude and uninterested employees I quickly lost interest in reading comics and finally just quit going. I still remember the good days at The Comic Strip where everyone knew my name and they would sometimes even order stuff for me just on the off chance I might be interested. The other store didn't really care and represented everything bad and stereotypical about the hobby. I seriously think the Simpson's Comic Book Guy used to work there. At this point I was pretty much done but still occasionally wandered into a store if I found myself in the area.

The other factor that pushed me away from comics was my growing interest in computers and specifically the Internet. I had been using services like Prodigy and AOL but found the old machine too slow to hold my interest for long. It also could not play the games I wanted to play. In early 1996 I bought a new PC which resulted in a spiral of late night Internet sessions that often lasted well into the early morning hours. I spent so much of my time on the computer that most of my life during that time is really a blur. I didn't sleep enough during and limped through my last years at college in a bit of a sleep deprived haze. The story of me and the internet is also a long one and concludes with me married and a father but that is a story (probably a more interesting one) for another time. What is important here is that all comic book interest come to a complete stop. I racked up nice sized bills for Internet access. Remember, these were the days of paying by the hour. Pretty much all disposable income (and more) was used up so there was nothing left for buying funny books. On top of that I no longer had a comic book "home" so I didn't feel like there was anything left for me in the hobby. My time as a comic book fan ended. At least for a while.

The Dark Tower

Life moved on as it tends to do. I moved my collection from one apartment to another then to a rental house then to my own home never really thinking much about it. I also never considered getting rid of any of it even when it became obvious I didn't have the space for it. It was just always there, waiting for me to get interested again. Over 10 years passed and I never once had the urge to go back into a comic book store. If you had asked me then if I was interested in the genre I would have said "no" and that I couldn't see myself ever being interested again. You know what they say about saying "never" right?

Sometime in 2006 I think I got word that Marvel Comics was working with Stephen King to produce a comic book based on King's Dark Tower books. For those of you that don't know, The Dark Tower has been a minor obsession of mine since high school. I knew immediately that I would be getting the book. It wasn't long until I checked with a local store to see if they would be getting the book. Sure enough they were and that there would be a midnight launch of the title in February 2007. I wasn't really into the midnight launch but I asked if they would have plenty of copies. They said yes and I made plans to stop by once the book was released. I remember distinctly telling people I knew and even my wife that this could be a very bad thing. It was this casual stopping at a comic store that got me started the last time. I joked about how I would end up buying dozens of books a month because of Stephen King. I really did think I was joking but something told me I was actually being prophetic.

I'm not sure exactly the events that followed. I know I bought the Dark Tower issues as they were released and that at some point I picked up another book. It was likely the current issue of Green Lantern but I don't recall exactly. Old habits die hard and sometimes not at all. A few weeks after the Dark Tower launch I found myself going by the store every week, just like the old days, and saw my subscription list climbing. This time it included some mature reader content like The Walking Dead and Fables. I was impressed with the writing in this generation of books and even though I still ended up with some crap, most of it was (still is) very good. It was nice to be enjoying a hobby again that I had forgotten about.

By early 2010 I was getting somewhere between 20 and 30 books a month. I was reading all the books I used to read, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, as well as some new stuff like Terry Moore's Echo (which is really great by the way). I even got my wife to read a few things but not much. She has tolerated this hobby as much as she can and I try to stay low key about it. She seems to view it as an unnecessary expense and maybe rightly so. I have also brought my daughter into the fold a bit. Occasionally I will buy her something to read along with my stuff. These days she will often asks me for something new and of course I oblige. Sharing a hobby with a child is one of the great joys of being a parent. Also, reading is fundamental right?

Sadly, this era seems to be coming to a close and not of my own choice. The struggling economy is hitting everyone, myself included. I have had to cut my pull list down to really only a few books and I am still looking at other books to cut. The industry is also making things difficult in these tough times by raising the prices of books. In 1993 books ran between $1.25 to $1.75 each. By 2007 books started at $2.99 and often ranged up to $4.99 each. By 2011 the standard price for a book will rise to $3.99. That is a price that is going to force a lot of people, including myself, to decide which books are important and which are not. I guarantee I will be cutting the weaker books from my list if not gutting the whole thing entirely. When it comes to reading comics versus eating...well...something tells me food might come first.

There is a ray of light in the darkness though. Recently I have been introduced to Digital Comics on the iPad. Here I can read the books for $1.99 at current prices. Not only that but the presentation looks great with these early apps. Most apps allow you to zoom in on panels which makes it easier to appreciate the art that goes along with the story. The only downside right now is the publishers are not making everything available. Obviously this is so they don't cannibalize their print market too quickly. This is understandable but I believe digital is where the market is heading. While this really stinks for the retailers, especially the good ones out there, it is inevitable. I think something will be lost by no longer reading books in print but that is the way of things. It does make me hopeful that I can continue reading the books I enjoy at a price I can afford. If you are interested in such things, check out Comixology. There are plenty of free books available. My personal recommendation is Chew from Image Comics. I thought the first issue was very original and is a series I will be reading in either digital or collected versions in the near future. Anyway, take some time to check out this dying medium. There are great stories to be found.

Batman 700

After all of this, where does it leave me? I have a collection today that spans over 20 years with hundreds of titles and thousands of issues. Although it also represents quite a significant investment, I don't worry about the money. I paid for entertainment and that is what I got. The fact that I can go back and enjoy the product again is a bonus. I think about selling some of the collection on occasion but I know that I can't get much out of it. One day maybe I will just donate the books to a children's charity. One day...but not today. There is something comforting about knowing that all those stories I enjoyed throughout my life are sitting right there waiting for me to read them again. It is also nice to know that maybe I will be able to share the books with my children or grandchildren one day. That is if they don't think dad/granddad is off his rocker. I also wonder if there is a time coming soon when I will give it up completely again. Tightening budgets and rising prices certainly make it more of possibility. Maybe, but again, not today. No, today I will keep reading even if I am not reading as much. Why? Because I enjoy it. Some people like going to football games, some like drinking. Others spend hours watching reality television. People get enjoyment out of many things. Me...I like comic books.

My name is Jeff and I am a Fanboy.