• 12:18 BILLY MAYS PASSED AWAY TOO!?!?!?!? #
• 13:36 The Front Porch Restaurant in Northport is awesome! Locally owned goodness! #
• 21:54 Is downloading Wolfenstein 3D on Xbox Live! I cannot say how many hours I devoted to the original when I had it for the Atari Jaguar! #
• 00:25 No one plays like this. No one. bit.ly/5BBtN #
• 00:48 Albert Collins / BB King / Stevie Ray Vaughn: Texas Flood... bit.ly/18SA7P #

- Drew

• 07:23 Feels as thought MJ's death will allow people to focus on his pre-scandal years as a way to remember him. I hope so, anyway. #
• 01:21 @timacx I hear rumor of Full Throttle coming to Xbox Live. The Secret of Monkey Island is confirmed. #

- Drew

• 11:01 Going to do some running. #
• 11:18 @doomsdayblaze Whoa, dude, that is... I don't even have a proper word for it... #
• 13:14 "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable." #
• 13:31 City Stages is no more: bit.ly/MOJ56 #
• 15:51 If ''chillaxin'' is a serious part of your everyday vocabulary, then you're a douchebag. #
• 18:31 Michael Jackson passed away. :( #
• 23:55 @andiandiandi4 Don't throw up on Mario Kart! Throw up on your cat instead. #
• 01:02 Ultimate Doom has been beaten! #

- Drew

• 11:40 I, I just crapped in your arms tonight. It must have been something you said. Or, that I ate. #
• 21:10 Foreigner kicks Journey's ass! #
• 01:15 Ultimate Doom's Thy Flesh Consumed Episode is no frickin' joke. That's some tough gaming! Anyway, off to read some Starman! #

- Drew

• 07:44 @Kuddles913 Not a good time with UPS. Last package I got from them was crushed. Fortunately it was just a mousepad. #
• 15:10 Listening to the Jerky Boys! #
• 15:31 @Ma_Bo Okay, Charley! #
• 15:33 Split their fuckin' heads. Outta here. #
• 16:32 Top 50 Movie Robots: bit.ly/EGmp2 #
• 00:52 Just beat Doom's Inferno episode. Now, off to read some Starman! #

- Drew

• 07:35 Cool Transformers TV history: bit.ly/EWMrR #
• 07:41 Turned Nic on to: www.darkpassage.com/ #
• 10:54 @TreeHugrNic82 Haha, you said "doo doo"! #
• 11:37 Just ran eight laps around Building One here at the apartment complex. I am greased up with sweat... #
• 15:11 Donated some books to the Public Library and picked up some as well! Nic and I are running out of room! #
• 15:39 Remembering Burton's Batman, 20 Years Later: bit.ly/n2QxO #
• 19:16 Homemade tacos tonight... they were awesome and very hot! Also, the new salsa we bought at Tannehill was awesome! #
• 00:22 Just played through Doom's The Shores of Hell levels. Man, that game takes me back. It's just as good now as then, too! #

- Drew

• 16:50 Nic and I had one big lunch with both our dads at Mugshots. It was awesome. The two families seemed to really hit it off! Whew! #
• 16:51 Oh man... the internet personas are in full blast today. #
• 22:16 All senior citizens should have Life Alert. #
• 23:00 Picked up the Generation X trade paperback and multiple Darkhawk comics today at Tannehill's Trade Days. Also got some homemade salsa! #

- Drew

• 11:34 Apparently it's Super Soaker's 20th Anniversary: bit.ly/pcf80 #
• 11:35 I just bought this for work: bit.ly/HZk1n #
• 12:44 Johnny's in America. No tricks at the wheel. Nobody needs anyone. They don't even just pretend. Johnny's in America. #
• 12:57 Every time I listen to Iron Maiden's "No Prayer For The Dying", I feel like I'm back in junior high. #

- Drew

• 13:28 Someone sent me "answer to exams" in my Gmail spam box! Joy, now I can know all the answers to tests I took before I graduated college! #
• 00:02 Fucking ridiculous... bit.ly/qwWuA #
• 00:25 Has got to get a copy of the Archer & Armstrong hardcover that Valiant Entertainment released! GOT TO! #
• 06:45 BEST SUPERHERO EVER!?!? bit.ly/qXenF #
• 06:59 Did I mention that I have Sunday off? Did I also mention it's Trade Days at Tannehill this weekend? Add 'em up. #

- Drew

• 12:36 Alabama Sunshine Hot Sauce makes everything a bit better! #
• 20:10 Kid Rock is one of the most unoriginal music hacks of the last decade! #
• 20:13 Oh yeah, Saliva sucks balls too! #
• 00:02 Such an awesome book! twitgoo.com/u87q #

- Drew

Have I mentioned that I am utterly disappointed with Marvel Comics? Their push to "maximise" profits at the expense of $3.99 comics is a bit much for me, especially when the page count still sits at 32 pages. I'm not entirely sure I'd be happy paying that price if it was 48 pages.

This feels like, more or less, a spit in the face to fans that have been with them as long as I have. I understand the need to raise prices. Hell, they're a company with an interest in making profit, right? But to do so a full dollar in the current economic climate without an extra incentive doesn't make a bit of sense.

Marvel may be a "cash cow", but that doesn't mean they can't lose some of that in their experiment to see just how far they can open their fans' wallets. The best way, of course, is to vote with your money and this is what I am doing.

I have dropped multiple books, both at the $3.99 and $2.99 price point. I have dropped books I never thought I would; some of the reasoning for that is just simply the fact that the books have been sucking. I have fallen into the trap of buying books to ensure that I don't have holes in my collection regardless of the quality of the book. Well, there'll be no more of that.

I have dwindled my Marvel books from eight a month to two (X-Force and Cable). I am still willing to give other Marvel books a try, but I am not willing to pay the $3.99 price. If the two books I am reading jump to $3.99, then I'll be done with them.

The great thing about comics in general is that every company has a rich back catalog that, sometimes, can be found at excellent prices thanks to eBay and the like. I am a big fan of late 80's/early 90's X-Men books and pre-Clone Saga Spider-Man books as well as my other favorites of that era; these can all be found cheap!

This also gives an incentive to branch out and see what else is out there; what are other companies putting out that I may enjoy. I'm actually more willing to pay $3.99 for an indie, creator-owned book with nice paper quality where something really happens in the store than to keep shelling out for the same ol', same ol' at Marvel and even DC.

Also, for the first time in my comic-buying life, I have more Image Comics on my pull list than anything else. And I am completely and totally enjoying every title I read. Every single one.

Picked up this book a few months back at a discount used book store in McCalla and stuffed it on a bookshelf. I'm a big fan of 60's/70's sci-fi novel cover art and was drawn to this one immediately. On a whim, about a week ago, I pulled it off the shelf and began reading and, to my surprise, found out it was awesome!

I've kind of been taking my time with it; not plowing through because I am enjoying it so much. Sad, isn't it? Especially considering it's only about 200 pages long!

I'll do a proper review once I'm finished, but I have to say right now that I've found this book to have a lot of ideas I've seen in science fiction and comic books that have come out post-1976 (the year the book was published). Anyway, more on that later!

So, since Nicole and I moved in together I've been learning to... um, "work" a charcoal grill. I was kind of surprised to find that I could actually cook stuff on it that wasn't completely covered in black, burned spots.

Nic and I are absolutely obsessed with cooking pretty much all meat on the grill. We've had some "meh" results, but overwhelmingly they've been good, if not friggin' great!

But I am not bragging. We're probably not the best in the world at fixin' meals, but we're pretty damn close!

Oh LiveJournal, my dedication to you has dwindled and dwindled as I've gotten older and had less time to spend here. Okay, so maybe the "less time" part isn't entirely accurate, but it is true that I've spent my time doing other things.

You see, the career I've chosen is full of ups and downs. I see and deal with many things that might make an ordinary person go nuts. But you see, instead of actually going nuts, I have healthy ways of dealing with the stress of my job:

Talking with Nicole helps a lot, though I don't always feel the need to burden her with all the gruesome details of things that may have occurred. I have a heavy need for "down time" when I get in from work and she's very helpful with being understanding of that.

I believe the key to being mentally stable in this job is to not surround myself with all things related to my career; a healthy life away from work is key. I have friends who are not in the field; I also have friends who are, but the opportunity for constant job talk ends once I hit the door to my home. I try not spend my time with friends talking about my job. It's natural for people to be curious and I'll indulge them for the most part, but it's not the only thing I want to talk about.

Don't get me wrong: I absolutely love my job and feel I am very lucky to have it, but I don't live my job. I feel like people may have believed I would change as a person once I got into this field, but I don't believe I have completely. It's hard not to change just a little when you encounter and deal with the things I do on a daily basis, but my core believe system is still strong and I am always going to be me because I won't sacrifice that part of myself for anything. It's one of the things that keeps me sane.

That was actually kind of therapeutic. I may come back here more often. Perhaps I was hasty in getting too far away from the ol' LJ? Besides, sometimes I have more to say than can be expressed in 140 characters.

• 19:56 @TreeHugrNic82 Oh god, here we go with that Fall Out Boy shit! :p #
• 22:45 Just found out that The Comic Strip will have a copy of the Starman Omnibus v.3 for me this week! #
• 06:47 Happy Days Season 2 is on its way from Amazon!!!! #

- Drew

• 11:43 I thought I'd never say this: buying monthly comics has become less economical than buying the trade. What does this mean for me? #
• 11:44 It means I'm going to cut my pull list again and buy only the books I absolutely think are worth every dime. The rest I'll snag in trades. #
• 11:45 Also, this will give me a chance to complete past series. eBay is my friend. #
• 14:22 Had lunch with Nic at Moe's. Damn, it was good! #
• 15:27 Just spent nearly an hour watching political videos. Oh, what fun. #
• 15:58 Snagged all of Christopher Priest's Black Panther run. Can't wait to read it all. Of course, this is after I've finished my Valiant kick! #
• 16:57 @Ma_Bo Hey man, Valiant rocks. Barry Windsor-Smith, Bob Layton and Jim Shooter did very little wrong in the early days of that company! #
• 16:58 @Ma_Bo Depends... what are you selling???? #
• 18:54 @Ma_Bo I am looking for Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, Batman and the Outsiders (vol.1), Archer & Armstrong, Moench Moon Knight, The Flash (vol.2) #
• 19:03 Um, why? bit.ly/RFKUa #
• 21:34 Wow, these bitches are delusional... www.firedavidletterman.com/ #

- Drew

• 16:14 Subway's flatbread sandwiches are awesome! #
• 23:03 Can't wait to get a copy of Ghostbusters: The Game on Tuesday! Also, Nic and I are hitting up Kuk's Dog Days this week! #
• 06:37 Omelet Wedding Cake... disgusting: bit.ly/13fhle #

- Drew

• 07:38 Feels the need to watch some Saved By The Bell! #
• 11:53 Is Marvel really bringing back Ben Reilly in Amazing Spider-Man #600? I'll only buy it if it has a die-cut chromium cover! #
• 18:50 @superleezard I liked Ben as a character but the Clone Saga was just so bad and long. It had spots of greatness, but those weren't frequent. #
• 18:51 @superleezard Have you read the Behind-The-Scenes "Life of Reilly"? Check it out here: lifeofreillyarchives.blogspot.com/ #
• 18:53 @Ma_Bo Oh man, 90's comics are pure nostalgia for me. I have a total love/hate relationship with that era! Much more "love" than "hate"! #
• 20:46 Awesome thing about being a late unit on Friday nights: Metal Zone! #

- Drew

• 14:16 Time for work. I'm a late unit tonight. As of next week I will only have one designated late night instead of two! #
• 21:16 Had Zoe's Kitchen for dinner with Nic! Yum... And now I have to poo. #
• 01:17 Is reading Valiant's Secret Weapons series and seriously enjoying it. #

- Drew

• 07:23 It's amazing the people that will follow you on here based on keywords alone and not the context in which you used them. #
• 07:32 Wishes he could go to this: www.rockgonewild.com/ #
• 23:29 Thinks the internet is a terrible place to get to know anyone. Internet personas are way too rampant. #
• 23:31 I've got a copy of Rebellion's Judge Dredd: Complete Case Files v.1 on the way from the UK. Got it cheap, too! #
• 01:15 Beat Gears of War. It was friggin' awesome! Definitely interested in the sequel! #
• 06:44 Started Jack L. Chalker's A Jungle of Stars, an awesome sci-fi novel I found on one of mine and Nic's trips to a used bookstore. #

- Drew