Well, I'm getting close to the end of my trial period on this blog server. I can save if I sign up by tomorrow, but what I'd like to know is if anyone is reading this. So I'd like to ask something of you. You can either click on "leave comment" at the bottom of this message, you can be anonymous if you'd like, just put down "Yes" or "I read it" or something like that. If you could leave a comment or feedback, that'd be good, too.
Or click on the Rate me at BlogHop.com in the lower right and rate it. 8 people have rated it so far. 1 loves it, 3 say it's good, 1 says OK, 1 says it sucks, 2 hate it.

I just got called into the boss' office a little while ago, and was told that the owner is no longer allowing special schedules. So instead of working one Saturday a month, I now have to work every other Saturday. Never mind that I've been here over 5 years. Never mind few people put up with this crap after all that time to begin with. Never mind I worked no Saturdays until they asked me "we're giving you the chance to get a day off with pay, can you give us something back"--same old management story, they're your best bud when they want something and make a deal with you, and take away what they give you, leaving you as the sucker. They did away with the bonus day "until the new software is activated", then when calls went down, now it's just a memory.
And earlier, I took a call from the store that didn't know how to remove a charge off a ticket. The notes say that another CSR had worked on the matter. I thought our policy was that the CSR that talks to the customer takes ownership of the call until completed. But if you're best buddies with the supervisor, she'll pawn it off on someone else.
"It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care"--Office Space

• STAR WARS INFINITIES RETURN OF THE JEDI #2
  
• BATMAN #623
  
• TEEN TITANS GO #3
  
• HULK GRAY #5
  
• MARVEL MASTERWORKS FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 5 2ND ED HC
  
• ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #2--I guess "Van Damme" is better than "Von Doom", how many Von Dooms do you know? Besides him? Interesting twist having Reed throw Victor out of his room for reading his notes and correcting his calculations, instead of vice versa in the original.
  
• ULTIMATE SIX #6
  
• WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE FINCH SECRET WAR CVR #149--I know I'm supposed to hate Wizard and everything they stand for, and I see your point (I would say that they ruined Chicago Comicon, but it jumped the shark when they moved to the Rosemont Convention Center) but I'm geeky enough to get enjoyment for my money, it's not taking money from something "worthy", and I'm not hurting anyone.
  
• NEWTYPE ENG VER FEB 2004
  

The guy had me pick the stuff off the rack, I forgot the new Amazing Spider-Man, see if I can pick up at a local shop after work.

The official word should be coming out any time now, but here (my thoughts follow)...

Star Wars Celebration III, the much-anticipated fan gathering that will
celebrate the Star Wars saga in advance of the opening of Star Wars
Episode III, will return to the Indiana Convention Center April 21 to
April 24, 2005.

The announcement of the location and dates of the convention was made
jointly by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC. Gen Con will manage the
convention on behalf of Lucasfilm and the Official Star Wars Fan Club.
Celebration II, held in Indianapolis in May 2002, attracted more than
26,000 fans from all over the world.

"We had such a great experience with Celebration II, that it just made
sense to return to Indianapolis," said Steve Sansweet, Director of
Content Management and head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. "Only this
time we're going to do it bigger and even better. It's going to be an
event that no fan will want to miss" Sansweet said that advance
indications point to a significant increase in attendance at the event,
which will take place several weeks before the Spring 2005 release of
Star Wars Episode III. Because of that, and to mitigate long lines
common to such conventions, Celebration III will occupy the entire
convention center except for the RCA Dome. Also, the convention has been
extended for a day, and will open around mid-day on Thursday, April 21.

"Gen Con is thrilled to be working with Lucasfilm on this very special
event," said Peter Adkison, owner of Gen Con LLC, producer of Gen Con(r)
Indy, which also is held at the Indiana Center. "Together I know that we
will produce an event that will not only meet, but exceed, fans'
expectations. With Lucasfilm behind this show 100%, it's going to be the
biggest party in the history of the franchise."

Sansweet noted that the Celebration III announcement is being made far
earlier than the announcements for the first two official Star Wars fan
conventions. "We want to give our fans all over the world the chance to
plan their vacation time for this one-of-a-kind event," he said. "We've
already been getting requests for information from Australia to
Hungary."

Details about programming, guests, activities, entertainment and
exclusive merchandise at Celebration III will be released as they are
confirmed closer to the convention. The main places to check for
information will be www.starwars.com, the official site, and
www.starwarscelebration.com. Online ordering for admission to the event
and for discounted hotel rooms is scheduled to begin late this summer.
**************
I went to Celebration II, and the thing that ruined it was the long lines. The wife and I waited for an hour to try to get into the opening ceremonies, only to be given a ticket for a panel later in the day! No communication, lines for everything, didn't get half of what I wanted to accomplish. It accelerated my sour feelings over Star Wars that the new trilogy was brewing. I'm glad the originals are coming out on DVD this fall.

After work yesterday, went and got 2 new DVDs. Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country is the deluxe DVD version they've been releasing with lots of supplemental material, and a caption track relating bits of Trek trivia. Comic Book: The Movie is from Mark Hamill (thunderous applause) about a comic fan dealing with the updating of his favorite superhero Spinal Tap style. Usually do a quick recon of a disc and watch it later, but got pulled into watching CB:TM. But in the middle of it, the power went out about 6:30. It got cold real quick. The wife and I were under a blanket reading, I was getting tired and decided to go to bed early. Unfortunately, as it usually goes, when I start to nod off, by the time I get ready for bed, I can't go to sleep. Then my dad knocked on the door. Suggested leaving the water dripping to keep it from freezing, also suggested turning on the oven for heat. We decided to read a little longer, then went to bed around 9:30. The power finally came on around 10:10. Went to turn everything off, set the alarms, and went back to bed. That was a wasted evening, thanks to Cinergy.

Here's the list!
My first impressions: Good for Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King and Lost in Translation. Bad for American Splendor and anime-- no anime films nominated for Best Animated Feature! Millennium Actress
got shafted twice, first at the box office, and now this! I made a road trip to Chicago to see this film and Lost in Translation (before it looked likely to head to Indiana) and enjoyed it very much.

Sorry for the delay, but there's a lot of ground to cover...
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