Strange Visitor

Breathing Room

2008-05-21T20:15:48Z

Well, thanks to a most appreciated and unexpected gift from Jane's family (they sold off a parcel of land for a "tidy sum"), we're actually looking at getting our financial footing better secured than it's been in quite a few years. Not that we've been hurting, mind you. Just that there wasn't much in the way of a safety net. Now, we've got some breathing room. We can get our privacy fence fixed without either going in hock or spending the whole of our Gubmint Stimulus money. Also, Jane and I are looking at going to NYC for a long weekend to celebrate our 15th anniversary later this summer.

That's the plan at this point, anyway. In the short term, we need to fix the fence and buy a new mattress.

Drive Safely, My Peeps

2008-05-21T12:39:24Z

Yesterday, just after I got to work Jane called me up out of the blue to tell me she'd just gotten sideswiped. Fortunately, she's OK. It was a fairly classic side-to-side contact; the other driver was entirely at fault and her vehicle got the worse of it. There is a "Darlington Stripe" all the way down the left side of the Element though.

That's the plus side. On the downside, when she called the other driver's insurance company, she found out their policy had lapsed. So, we have to use our Uninsured Motorist coverage and pay the deductible ourselves. Joy.

Then, last night, I get an email from Mom, informing me that DeNiece (age 19) and DeNephew (age 18) are both lucky to be alive. Last Thursday, they were in DeNiece's car, along with two friends. She was going too fast on a wet road, hydroplaned, spun off, and wrapped her car around a light pole. Fortunately, she was driving a RAV-4, which fairly tanklike in its construction. Thus, all four young idjits walked away and we're not attending funerals this week. The car was totaled, needless to say, but as important life lessons go, this one was comparatively inexpensive.

I know these are two basically random incidents, but let's be careful out there, folks. No need to give my mind another data point with which to construct a pattern.

Fanboy? Moi?

2008-05-20T18:54:30Z

I went out at lunch and got a copy of Keep on the Shadowfell, the "preview" 4th edition D&D module. Since rickj is planning on running it sometime soon, I'm only going to read the quick-start rules and look at the PCs at this point.

From a quick glance, it's gonna take some getting used to.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-18T16:27:00

2008-05-18T21:26:29Z

The back isn't as bad as yesterday, though I really shouldn't have taken a load of laundry downstairs this morning.

C-Monster and I went to see "Prince Caspian" this afternoon. It was one of those experiences where I can largely chalk up the things I didn't care for as originating in the novel (mainly, the heavy-handed morality/faith bits). Well, I can't blame the song at the end on the novel and it was absolutely abominable. Also, I expect it to be tearing up the Christian radio charts in the coming weeks.

That having been said, there was a lot to like. Casting, performances, costuming, effects, all splendid. The combat scenes were among the best I've ever seen in a fantasy film. They lacked the enormous epic sweep of, say "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but made up for it in clarity. You could tell what was going on, and the big important single combat was remarkably free of shaky-cam and quick cuts. It was also realistic (the armour worked!) and pushed the brutality level right to the edge of a PG rating. They even managed to avoid the (to me) nigh unpardonable sin of having a captain of archers shout "Fire!" in a pre-gunpowder setting (Mr. Jackson, I'm looking at you).

I still think Aslan is an asshole rules-lawyer.

In short, the movie's a good and pretty enjoyable (sometimes quite enjoyable) adaptation of a book I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy nearly as much, so make of that what you will.

Should've Listened To My Mama

2008-05-17T19:54:21Z

I know my LJ is like an ongoing role of infirmities. For that, I apologize. Could be worse though, could be bad sonnets. Or good sonnets for that matter.

Yes, this is another one of those "Theron is in pain" posts.

Last week, Mom emailed me with an update on the family. At the time, both of my younger brothers were in casts, the youngest for a sprained ankle, and L for torn ligaments in his elbow. He's since gotten out of the cast and will be having day surgery next week to stitch them back together. Joy. Anyway, Mom jokingly told me to be careful and I dutifully reassured her.

And so Fate was tempted.

This morning, I went with Jane over to the In-Laws' to help her sister move some furniture ahead of baby #2, which is due in the next few weeks. As it turned out, we weren't needed much, but I was asked to help S-I-L's husband move a rather cumbersome chest of drawers down to the garage. Not a problem.

Halfway down the stairs, we encountered a problem. The chest had an attached mirror frame that wouldn't clear the ceiling as we got to the first floor. So, we braced it and took the frame off.

While I was unscrewing my side, I realize that I was standing really oddly, sort of twisted halfway around, with one foot on a higher stair than the other. I also realized this position was uncomfortable. Downright painful, as a matter of fact. I shifted and it felt less awkward but not much less painful. Nevertheless, I caught my breath and carried it the rest of the way down, then went to collect C-Monster to take him home, leaving Jane to the mercies of her family for a few hours.

Except after about a dozen steps, I decided this was a really, REALLY bad idea and decided to lie down instead. Which I did for about an hour. Took some Advil too, while I was at it.

I'm home now. I think this is what they mean when they say "throwing out your back." I've taken something in the muscle-relaxant family, I'm lying on a heating pad, and I'm under Jane's orders to remain so for the remainder of the day. Possibly the weekend.

You Can Take The Middle-Aged Geek Out Of The Medievalists...

2008-05-17T14:30:08Z

But you can't entirely remove the medievalist from the middle-aged geek.

A couple of months back, the Tuesday Night Game had to find new quarters on campus at Rice. The new room is much nicer in terms of general amenities (other than lacking a whiteboard), but less convenient. It also seems to be in a building that houses the art history department, judging from the scenery.

The other night, when we were walking to our room, something caught my eye in one of the offices. A Madonna and Child scuplture. Which my brain immediately filed under "German. Late 14th or early 15th century. Doesn't appear to be a reproduction, but it's hard to tell at this distance."

Which led to all manner of vaguely conflicted thoughts. First, the reminder that I've seen enough medieval artwork that I could make a snap classification like that. Second, that I've seen enough medieval artwork that suddenly and randomly encountering a piece if art that's likely over 500 years old doesn't really faze me. Third, wondering what useful life skills I might otherwise have had I not spent so much time studying medieval minutia. Finally, a bit of frustration, since said sculpture was in a locked office and I couldn't get close enough to verify whether or not it was a reproduction.

My brain. Where trivia goes to die.

The Vaguely More Interesting Thing That Happened

2008-05-16T20:59:02Z

I'd nearly forgotten about this, as it all happened in sort of a migraine haze.

On Wednesday, around 3:30, I decided my head wasn't getting any better, so I cut out early and headed for home. Since I wasn't up to cooking, I decided to hit Kroger for something for Jane to cook. As I walk in to pick up a basket, this woman comes running up to the check stand, clearly distraught saying, "Stop that man! He tried to steal my purse." She points to a guy leaving the store in a rather brisk and direct manner, but not running.

I noticed the staff weren't very quick on the uptake, so I decided the least I could do was trail the guy out until reinforcements arrived and try and figure out what was going on. Once we were out of the store, he picked up the pace a bit and looked back at me. Big guy. Bigger than me, so that's somewhere over 6'1" and probably around 230-250 lbs. At this point, any delusions I might have harbored about tackling an assailant fell by the wayside. However, by that point I'd also ascertained from hearing the woman carrying on that he hadn't actually taken the purse, he'd merely attempted to do so. So there was even less incentive to confront him directly, which was fine by me.

As it was I (and a couple of other folks) trailed him to his car, which he jumped into very quickly and pulled out, nearly hitting two cars in the process. We got his description and license number which, under the circumstances, was probably the best case. No one needs to get in a physical tussle with someone that large over a failed attempted robbery.

I still had to shop, and when I was going through aisles, I overheard another woman talking, who filled in the rest of the story. Apparently, she'd been the one to catch the guy in the act. He'd been walking the aisles with a shopping cart, and when he came upon a woman distracted by a small child, he grabbed her purse, dropped it in his cart and started off. This woman saw him and loudly asked, "Is that your purse?" When he said no, she took it from his cart and asked the other woman if it was hers. During the ensuing confusion, the guy bolted.

Anyway, after I checked out, the woman who owned the purse pointed me out to the store manager, who asked if I could corroborate the other folks' story. I did so, and gave him my name and number in case the cops need to get in touch with me. In the grand scheme of things, not that impressive, but it did get the blood pumping just a bit.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-16T15:11:00

2008-05-16T20:13:11Z

Well, yesterday was a complete waste of time. That headache I was fending off on Wednesday morning went full-blown by 3 in the afternoon or so and lasted for approximately 36 hours. This morning, I did the math in my head and realized I should be able to refill the prescription today and promptly did so.

During the past two weeks, I did find a couple of things that helped some of the time, but no sure-fire fixes when the weather and my other triggers converge.

And I suppose it wasn't a total waste. I managed a few hours where I wasn't feeling too badly and finished up the latest Percy Jackson novel on the *ahem* pretext of vetting it for anything I might need to filter over before I read it to C-Monster. Yeah, that's the ticket. And to be honest, there's one little bit I may decide to dance around slightly. Riordan clearly expects his audience to age with the characters, so he's writing to early teens now and a matter of deific reproduction comes up that might raise more questions at Casa de Bretz than we really need at the moment.

By the way, this fourth volume is the best yet. Really cool stuff with some imagery and ideas that need to be swiped for a modern mythological game like Scion.

Tonight should be a quiet one, with just Jane and I at home. Tomorrow, we're supposed to move furniture for her sister, who's slated to drop baby #2 at any moment now. I'm also going to try to take C-Monster to see the new Narnia movie and give Jane some downtime in the process. Though I may wait until Sunday for that.

BBC's Nature Headlines Are Always Awesome

2008-05-14T17:47:59Z

Whales are 'Cheetahs of the Deep'

It can't top last week's "Great Tits Cope Well With Warming," but what possibly could?

tfbretz @ 2008-05-14T10:04:00

2008-05-14T15:06:27Z

Last night's game went pretty well. The DM likes to experiment with the game and came up with some nifty supplemental "per encounter" and "per day" powers based on our characters' "superheroic" concept. Orson Lamont, aka The Shedu shifted rather abruptly from a decent low-level psion to an information gathering cop bribing machine. He is, however, the most fragile character I've played in years and I'm going to have to bear that in mind. Fortunately, he's got some cool abilities I can use to lurk and skulk while rummaging around in people's brains.

This morning, I'm in fend off headache mode. I forgot to take a Claritin-D last night and the migraine triggers are all lining up in a row. As a result, I'm trying to lie low and take care of things that don't involve a lot of moving around. I'm also training a new Pandora station ("Duotone Rainbow") just because I can.

Dammit. I just ran out of skips for the hour. This one is much harder to educate than Elfcore!!!.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-12T15:49:00

2008-05-12T20:51:41Z

Someday, somehow, I will use this image in a game:

It's an active volcano in southern Chile, engulfed by an electrical storm. At least, that's the conventionally accepted explanation. I'm pretty sure any GM worth his dicebag can come up with something more interesting/sinister/awesome.

(Additional, less spectacular pictures here)

Inside Straight - A Review In Midstream

2008-05-12T20:39:13Z

I'm still in the process of reading Inside Straight, the new-ish "Wild Cards" novel. There's a lot to like in it. But parts of it don't sit well with me and it took a while for me to put my finger on it. Namely, it's the fact that much of the story so far revolves around "American Hero," a reality TV show where teams of Aces live together, face contrived challenges, and vote people off each week.

I hate such shows. Despise them, frankly. They hit a number of hot buttons for me, namely feelings of never being good enough to hang with the cool kids.

I'm going to stick with the book, because it's going in interesting places now that a number of characters are in Egypt, but I'm not going to feel less dirty about it.

One Last Football Related Thought

2008-05-12T13:26:36Z

To: The Premiership Announcing Staff At Sky Sports
Re: American Goalkeeper Tim Howard

Dear Sirs,

Yes, Everton's star 'Keeper, Tim Howard, is an American. For that matter, 20% of the starting goalkeepers in the Premiership this past season were born in the United States. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, you seem incapable of mentioning the man in any other words than "American Goalkeeper Tim Howard," as if that were his entire name. I've checked and it isn't.

Given the relative paucity of actual English goalkeepers in the Prem, I thought perhaps this was being done to distinguish foreign-born talent from your native sons, in case Mr. Capello was watching and inadvertantly tried to name young Schmeichel to the national team. But I haven't noticed you saying "Czech Goalkeeper Petr Cech," or "Spanish Goalkeeper Pepe Reyna," nor do you actually say "American Goalkeeper Brad Friedel" for that matter, so clearly this is a localized aberration. At any rate, you can drop it.

Yrs Truly,

T. F. Bretz
Deceased

Stuff That Won't Make a Bit of Sense to 99% of the Readership

2008-05-11T20:51:09Z

The longest season in sports comes to another end with another EPL title for ManU. Giggsy takes his 10th title and the record for appearances in a ManU uniform on the same day. Chelsea made it vaguely interesting at the end, but they were never really in it this time around. Too much playing for results instead of playing for wins. My Reds came fourth, but they really need to make some serious changes, in personnel and strategy if they want to crack the top three, much less win the title. Given their ownership situation, I'm not optimistic, but hope springs eternal on the Merseyside, and right now, we're tied for first in the 2008-2009 season.

Good show to Fulham avoiding relegation. They've got the largest number of players from the USA on their squad, and it's important for our international team to get as much top-flight experience as possible. Mr. al-Fayed, if you'd please spend some money on the team this next year instead of raising more questions about the deaths of Princess Di and your son, you might not have to squeak through again.

It appears FC Arkham will finish eleventh in the fantasy league, one place behind Jane's Slytherin 993. Not as good as I'd have liked for myself, but I'm proud of her. Clearly, my "No Ronaldo, No Chelski" policy played a big part of my undoing. Next season, no such restrictions.

Fortunately, this summer won't be as bereft of things football as 2007. A week remains in Serie A, and hopefully Roma can overtake Inter for the top spot. There's still the Champions League final in ten days, and the FA Cup final coming up. Euro 2008 starts next month (Allez Les Bleus!). We've got MLS all summer, and the Dynamo actually looked good last night, and there's Olympics as well, though I expect either a South American or African squad to take gold.

For Them What's Interested

2008-05-10T17:52:57Z

I decided to set up an RPGnet league for the upcoming Euro Tournament.

To sign up for Fantasy Euro, go to http://en.fantasy.euro2008.uefa.com/

Once your team is set up, the code to sign up for the league is 48304-6481

The deadline to for maximum points (for this league) is May 23.

It's A Slow Afternoon

2008-05-09T18:59:50Z

So I'm linking to stuff I may want to use for the upcoming game I'm working on.

(Also, because in this case, it's just freaking amazing. If you want a futuristic, cyberpunk city, look no further.)

Dubai Architecture

(Courtesy of a thread on RPGnet. They can be useful once in a while.)

More Fun With That Internet Toy

2008-05-09T18:25:24Z

The one that does the DC Animated style artwork.

It actually took all four available "Shirt" layers to get the torso portion of her alleged costume correct. A lot more complicated than I would've guessed, but it shows how much you can do with the toy.

Update Full Of Blather

2008-05-07T12:32:34Z

Yesterday was, physiologically speaking, headache-free. This morning feels like today shall be as well. Usually, I'm pretty good at anticipating these things, so let's hope that holds up.

Work-wise, it wasn't much worse. I had a (L)user-based problem first thing in the AM, setting up someone's profile on a new machine, but that wasn't the poor computer's fault. I had issues that required two trips to the main building to essentially flip a switch in order to get people up and running. And in the afternoon, I had to go dismantle two workstations that are moving so I can re-mantle them this morning in their new office. No big. The one crisis occurred when I realized we weren't getting inbound internet email, nor could you navigate to our website or reach our remote server by name. But pinging the IP address worked, so I figured out our DNS server was down. I called the folks who host it, and learned they'd had a power issue and that it should have been up as we were speaking. And it was. I love it when a crisis comes up that I can 1) diagnose, and 2) diagnose as something not caused by a problem on our end.

I had some time to kill before pre-game dinner and wandered over to Borders. Good move that. When I was heading towards the checkout counter, I chanced upon the very pleasant Charlaine Harris signing copies of the latest volume of Jane's current guilty pleasure, the "Southern Vampire" series. I got her to sign a copy to Jane, thereby garnering mondo Good Husband Points. Also picked up the new Wild Cards hardback. I followed the series religiously back in the day, and much more indifferently when they tried to revive it a few years ago, but this volume seems to be going for more of a generational break from the past. So far, it's pretty decent.

Last night's game was a transition. Val leveled up. Paladin's don't get much when they hit 10th, but he managed some nifty swag from prior adventures, and there's a damsel to court, and drow to kill down in the basement, so he's a happy camper all the same.

Starting some groundwork for a supers game I'm looking to run for j_in_question and a number of the Clix crew who don't live too far away. Too early to tell what that's going to be like, but it's got the creative juices moving around a bit.

Finally, spare a thought for mechanteanemone, who was already dealing with recent bad job mojo and then lost her father yesterday. :-(

Aw, Man...

2008-05-06T19:01:42Z

I just found out that Mike Ness is playing a solo gig here tonight, with Jesse Dayton opening for him. 'Twould be an awesome show. But I'm not sure it's $30 awesome. On a weeknight. Never mind my gaming commitment.

Urg

2008-05-05T19:35:37Z

It didn't last. When the weather turned yesterday afternoon, my sinuses locked up and the migraine fairy returned.

Last night was bumpy, though it gave me a chance to try out a slew of palliatives I haven't explored in the past. Nothing worked completely, but a few of them worked well enough to allow me to sleep in two hour stints. I stayed home an extra hour this morning, and I'm getting through the day OK, albeit slowly and kind of muzzy at times. There's still some background pain, like a light on a dimmer switched turned down low, but it's manageable.

I just hope whatever it is that's setting off my sinuses will blow on through quickly.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-04T13:51:00

2008-05-04T18:51:05Z

This morning is the first time since Wednesday I haven't woke up with an incipient migraine. I switched to a different sinus treatment last night, so let's hope that had something to do with it, because I'm now out of Imitrex until the 17th. Vibes, crossed fingers, sacrifices to the god of headaches, whatever will be much appreciated.

In spite of that, it's been a fairly good weekend, if a bit out of our regular rhythm. Jane's folks put an addition on their house (a new master suite) and Jane's been over there yesterday and today helping her mom clear out of her old room and move into the new one. According to yesterday's report, they produced thirteen garbage bags worth of clothes, etc. for Goodwill. The woman had 300 purses in her closet. It could be worse, I suppose. It could be cats.

As a result, I've been holding down the home front with C-Monster. Yesterday, we went to get free funnybooks, and hit the local gamestore where I play Clix to see if they had anything interesting in the display case. As it turns out, some guy is selling off a piece of his collection and there were a number of choice Uniques at decent prices. I picked up a MODOK and a Krypto (Yes, Superman's dog. It is very cute.)

Around 5 PM, we went to a fundraiser picnic for a friend who's running for the state legislature. He's got a good shot at it actually, because his opponent is fairly universally reviled, even by Republican loyalists. It was a good time, all in all, helped by some very cooperative weather.

Then, things got really odd. We came home and let C-Monster play until a bit later than usual. When he finally got to bed, he was constantly up and down and would NOT fall asleep. Every time I thought he was out for the count and turned out the hall light, he'd start squawking about still being awake.

This went until about midnight. By this point, my headache was getting worse and I was trying to decide whether or not to take the final Imitrex. I'd ruled it out and finally shut the house down around 1 AM and apparently dosed off for a while.

At 2 AM, I woke up, still hurting. I rolled over and got a face full of light. What the hell? Then I heard a TV on. I got up. C was wide awake, had his bedroom and the hall light on, was watching a movie on his TV and had just booted up his PC. I got up, shut him down and turned out all the lights. At which point, he began doing that forced fake sobbing thing that all parents of a manipulative child know all too well. Which woke up Jane, who thankfully tagged in and got him settled down.

At 2:30, I gave up and took the last Imitrex, which kicked in and put me to sleep by 3.

And thankfully, there wasn't a new one waiting in the wings this morning. Today is all about laundry. And soccer. And hockey.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-03T09:59:00

2008-05-03T14:59:27Z

Iron Man was damned-near note perfect. Not just as a superhero adaptation, but as a big budget extravaganza.

tfbretz @ 2008-05-01T21:01:00

2008-05-02T02:00:53Z

Iron Man tickets pre-purchased. We're meeting my friend A for dinner and catching the 8:30 showing tomorrow night. j_in_question already saw it and gave it high praise. Though from what he told me, I don't think he stayed all the way through the closing credits (I've been spoiled and will be staying). It's been a long time since I've been this amped for a movie.

More intelligent than an ape?

2008-05-01T21:28:05Z

Enough is Enough: A Thinking Ape's Critique of Trans-Simianism

tfbretz @ 2008-05-01T15:52:00

2008-05-01T20:54:47Z

I'm back on the job today. Much, MUCH better frame of mind. I'm getting things done and not feeling quite so weighed down by the prospect of taking on all of this network management nuts and bolts.

And at the moment, I've got a bit of a lull, so I'm a-gonna talk about a few funny books I've been reading and what I'm liking a lot and not so much. All opinions, as usual, are mine and mine alone.

Action Comics: I'll admit, I picked this up solely because Johns was doing a big multi-part crossover between Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes. But not just the LSH, specifically a version of the LSH that maps very closely to my most loved take on the future's brightest stars. The big-ass multiparter came off quite well, I'm happy to say. Johns didn't kill anyone on screen and those he did off were either dramatically appropriate or fairly irrelevant. Plus, he made the Subs cool and useful and funny at the same time. I thought the resolution was a little bit last-minute, but the newest issue (not set in the future, but still featuring LSH business) provided a bit more of a denoument. It's all a set-up for the big Superman and the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series coming up, which I have high hopes for.

Speaking of the Legion, over in the actual mainstream Legion of Super-Heroes title, Jim Shooter is absolutely schooling people on how to write a big team superhero comic. I doubt many of the whippersnappers are paying attention, but it's a joy to behold. He's keeping multiple plots in the air, juggling over a dozen characters, and keeping things on pace. I'm amazed by how much he's cramming into each issue without it feeling bloated. He's pretty much the polar opposite of Brad "In issue #4, they STAND UP" Meltzer in this regard. The other thing I really respect about him is that, to use a golfing term, he plays it where it lies. Rather than completely wipe out the continuity Mark Waid established on the book, he's running with it and taking it in his own direction gradually. Too many of the newer generation of writers lack the patience or the imagination to do this, and I salute the old boy.

Still on the Legion, The Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, is a damned fine read, either for younger kids (the target audience, as it's based on the Saturday morning cartoon) or adults. The most recent issue was one of the better Superman stories I've read in years, and gave us the term "Lexoskeleton 3000." That alone was worth the price of admission.

Immortal Iron Fist has been a favorite of mine since it first hit the shelves. This week saw the wrap-up of the last big plot arc the original writers are doing on the book and it ends spectacularly. Basically, take every cool martial arts trope you can think of, whether from the movies or a vidyagame and smush 'em into a Marvel Comics shaped ball. Add in a dash of 70s Blaxploitation and spread evenly between the past and present. It rocks. I'm just hoping the new writers can do it justice.

Titans Together is the worst piece of crap I've bought in ages. Judd Winick is a terribly hit or miss writer, and this one is Epic Fail. How to sum it up? Well, how about the fact that issue #1 was actually the second part of the story, having been set up in another book that is NEVER MENTIONED BY TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, OR ANYTHING ANYWHERE IN THE BOOK? OK, maybe that's editorial incompetence, but it just sums up the train wreck that is this book. And that's not even worst of it. Gaah...avoid. Just avoid.

Green Arrow/Black Canary actually illustrates the hit and miss nature of Winick. He's writing this one as well, and while it's got some problems, it's also got a fair bit of neat stuff. The most recent issue had me laughing out loud in a couple of places and not at how awful it was. I think the basic plotline started off contrived, but it's giving us GA and BC as hard-travelin' heroes, and that's when they're at their best.

The Order: This was a surprise book for me. It's a spinoff of Marvel's atrocious Civil War, and tied directly into the events that fell out of it. And yet, it was a pretty cool little book, thanks to Matt Fraction's writing and Barry Kitson's art. I mean, any comic book that includes the line, "Oh my god, y'alls, I'm totally fighting a bear!" wins major points from me just on general principle. However, the book didn't sell well and issue #10 was the last. Honestly, it went out on a really sour note, not at all what I would have expected, and not in a good way. It's setting up Fraction's next book, which I'll probably buy on the principle that he's pretty entertaining, but I wasn't entirely happy with it.

Uncanny X-Men: This is a very recent (as in yesterday) acquisition. In the past few years, I followed Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men religiously, and Morrison's New X-Men was glorious. I read Ultimate X-Men until it became "Ultimate Retread" (I mean seriously, Cable? CABLE? Why?), but I probably hadn't picked up an honest-to-god issue of the original Uncanny in over a decade. Maybe two. But I'd heard some decent buzz about it, so I picked up the three most recent issues. And you know what? It's pretty good stuff. Certainly as good as the good parts of Astonishing, though I gathered from reading these that something Bad has happened to Ms Katherine Pryde, much to my consternation if it's true. Given that she was last seen by me in an unresolved death trap in Astonishing, I'm now worried she's run up against the Curse of Whedon.

JSA: I think from here on out, I'm going to buy JSA each month, and set it aside until I have five or six issues accumulated, then read them all at once. Because I inevitably enjoy the book more when I do that.

Justice League of America: After a lengthy and needless Salvation Run crossover, Dwayne McDuffie is back to scripting the A plots. He's another anti-Meltzer in every possible good way. The most recent issue was really a Flash story, but it's a Flash story they probably couldn't do in the context of his regular book. Plus, it had Queen Bee in it.

Wonder Woman: Gotta get my dose of Gail Simone wherever I can find it. She's the best writer for the book I've seen in ages. She even managed to make a "Wonder Woman gets captured by aliens" story work.

As soon as I post this, I'll remember more, but that's enough for now.