Monday, August 29, 2005

Welcome to Monday

How's this for a way to start your week: Our bus driver, driving the 7:22 AM 101 route from South Renton Park & Ride (Metro bus #2647) managed to rear-end a small Honda/Acura on the freeway. He was paying attention to another wreck already pulled off on the side of the road rather than focusing on the actual road.

Melissa and I were sitting the in very back on the forward-facing bench seat. Melissa was watching the whole thing unfold and managed to brace herself with her legs. She threw an arm out towards me right before impact. That and the shouts of "SHIT SHIT SHIT" from the passengers up front gave me enough warning to hook my right arm around the pole in front of me. The pole was in the crook of my elbow and my body swung forward, yanking on my arm. Luckily, we were not going 60 MPH at the time, so instead of tearing my arm out of the socket, my instinctive grab for the pole simply kept me from flying. Now, a couple of hours later, it just feels like I've been pitching a couple of innings of baseball.

Looking back on the whole thing, two things stick in my mind: First, how violently everyone on the bus was thrown around when the impact occurred. Several people that were standing went flying. I am truly surprised that only one person was looked at by paramedics (he was standing and hit his chest on the headrest of a seat when he flew forwards). Second, Melissa throwing an arm out in front of me just in the nick of time. Thanks honey! I owe ya one!

I should also mention that Melissa spilled her coffee in the car (before the accident) and we were both 30 minutes late to work. Yeah, this is going to be a long week...

Thursday, August 25, 2005

'Global Frequency' TV Pilot Lives On Via P2P

I am one of the last people on the planet to post this information. The reason I re-hash this story is that the creator of 'Global Frequency' is the one-and-only Warren Ellis, one of my favorite comic book writers. I actually took my wife on a trip to San Francisco specifically to meet him at a comic book shop down there. We ended up not going, choosing instead to get drunk at the Tonga Room, a story best left untold for now.

Anyhow, so many people have absolutely loved the TV pilot that I felt a need to point them all in the direction of the comic books that started it all. 'Global Frequency' was a maxi-series of 12 individual comics that came out a couple years back. It was one of Ellis' finer works recently. You can shell out $20 to buy volume one (issues 1-6) and volume two (7-12) or just check out the trade paperbacks at your local library. Either way, if you have seen the pilot, do yourself a favor and read the books.

What's With the Go Read! Section?

You may be asking yourself why the Go Read! section to the right is all comic book/graphic novel material. It is because that is what I like. I like comic books. There, I said it. Every Wednesday I go to my comic book shop and pick up the new releases. I get a discount because more than 50 titles go into my subscription box each month. I have over 5000 comics at home (do NOT bring this subject up with my wife). And I am of the opinion that the comic book is one of the most important and vital forms of art, literature and pop culture (all rolled into one) that exists today. Sadly, the industry is not doing as well as it should be. That is why I am encouraging you all to check out one of the trade paperback collections in the Go Read! section. You might be surprised.

My wife is the GREATEST!

She's bitchin'.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Video Gaming Marathon Ends Poorly

My friend Matt has been talking about joining forces to complete the 24 hour endurance race found on his PS2 game GRAN TURISMO 4. Then today I received a "Perhaps we should re-think" email from him with a link to this story:
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) -- A South Korean man who played computer games or 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe, authorities said on Tuesday.
Sadly, this is the sort of story that parents and wives of video gaming geeks will use bolster their argument about getting off the couch and getting some fresh air. I think they miss the point here. If the guy had just stopped playing after 49 hours, he would have been just fine!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

The End of a Formula 1 Era

My wife's favorite (and mine, darn it!) F1 driver has decided to leave his number two position at Ferrari to head for the greener (read: number one position) pastures at another team, reportedly BAR Honda.

Rubens Barichello, the Brazilian Fraser/Niles Crane look-alike, has been sad and lonely at Ferrari for some time methinks. I always felt a little sorry for him, playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher. However, you must admit that he played his support role perfectly there, without much (if any) complaining. I just can't imagine what it's going to be like seeing him out of the red. Perhaps the fact that Ferrari is going through a "slump" this year cemented his decision. For the last few years, there was no beating Ferrari. Now they look vulnerable and other teams are moving in for the kill.

I hope Rubens is happy wherever he ends up. I just don't want him spending the twilight of his career on a shitty team at the back of the pack. At least he won occasionally at Ferrari. My biggest wish for him is to beat the pants off of his former teammate in at least one race. He has the talent, but has never had the luck or go-ahead from the team bosses. Here's to more of both Rubens!