I was going around the 'nets today and came across this quote by Terry Pratchett that sums up my thoughts on conspiracy theories:

"...and then [Sam Vimes] realized he was wondering if the attack on Goriff's shop had been organized by the same people, and whether those same people had set fire to the embassy.

and THEN he realised why he was thinking like this.

It was because he wanted there to be conspirators. It was much better to imagine men in some smokey room somewhere, made mad and cynical by privilege and power, plotting over brandy. You had to cling to this sort of image because if you didn't then you might have to face the fact that bad things happen because ordinary people, the kind who brushed the dog and told their children bedtime stories, were capable of going out and doing horrible things to other ordinary people. It was much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was Us, what does that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No One ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things."

I'm popping up all over these Internets. My contribution to this week's Five for Friday list over at The Comics Reporter made the cut!
But here's the director's cut of my list:

• The World Encyclopedia of Comics -- Maurice Horn This is the granddaddy of them all. Back in the mid '70's there was the full page, full color inside back cover ad for this book in the comics I collected. Boy, did this sound like a book to have. The only thing was that it was $30 plus shipping, way out of my young price range. And even if it were in bookstores, at that time there weren't that many around our area. My only hope was to persuade my parents to send off for it and I would get it for my birthday. As it made the list, you know the outcome (given that I neglected to mention buying the revised edition years later that is currently in my library) It made for hours of reading and research for my young self, learning that "bitch" could be used as an adjective for some female characters, that sex was an important part of some foreign comics, and that a brief character make-over would be more permanently chronicled (in the case of Dr. Strange's short-lived blank white head version) That cover to XYZ Comix by R. Crumb with the drippy nose creeped me out, though.
  
• Comics Between The Panels -- Duin Richardson A more recent publication, with amusing anecdotes about the world of comics that aren't usually found in published form.
  
• Comix: A History of Comic Books in America -- Les Daniels, graphics by Mad Peck Studios I saw the ads, but with only a picture of the cover to go on, wasn't sure if it was worth the purchase. Then one day in high school I was helping my english teacher bring some books upstairs to a storage room where I saw copies of "The Monster Times" and this book. To this day, I wondered what they were doing there, but perusing the book, which had not only documentation of the comics, had actual printed samples of the comics discussed. I asked my teacher to borrow the book and promised to return it upon finishing it. It was my first exposure to The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers which was one of the few comics my younger brother enjoyed as well (along with the EC reprints)
  
• Comics Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books --John Jackson Miller, Maggie Thompson, Peter Bickford, Brent Frankenhoff More than a price guide, provides some information as to the titles themselves, as well as print runs, from years of researching the statements you used to find in the letters pages of some comics, and from Capital City and Diamond orders of the past.
  
• The Encyclopedia of Superheroes -- Jeff Rovin This is one of the few reference books I encountered that had very few, if any, errors. A very useful tool for the topic.
  

Honorable Mention: Charlie Brown & Charlie Schulz --Lee Mendelson in association with Charles M. Schulz I reread the book after submitting the list, this originally didn't make the cut by my assumption that it only covered Peanuts. But it does a brief history of the comics, even including Schulz' first published drawing at age 15, used in Ripley's Believe It Or Not! featuring Spike, his dog that ate pins, tacks and razor blades, whose appearance is credited as being the inspiration of Snoopy.
D'oh! Why didn't I think of that? Dept. Origins of Marvel Comics/Son of Origins of Marvel Comics/Bring On The Bad Guys --Stan Lee Ah, to discover the Marvel Universe in the 70's. And to have a valuable resources such as these books. Stan is the real deal, who is as friendly in real life as he is on the printed page.
The Smithsonian Book of Comic Books --various I finally found this book at a used book store, years after first finding it at another store my freshman year of college, but being unable to afford the $25 price. Includes samples of more than the usual suspects, including Harlan Ellison's favorite Jingle Jangle Tales.

When I was writing my guest posting appearing on Highlander's blog (go now, check it out!) I thought about the time the Star Wars Holiday Special was broadcast. As I mentioned in my posting over there, my family liked to take trips back home to where my parents are from (Middlesboro, Kentucky) that we enjoyed, and I even still travel down there when I can. Usually if we went down for a weekend, the question was whether we'd leave after work and school on Friday, or start early Saturday morning. Usually it was the latter, as we would sometimes end up arriving late in the evening if we went on Friday. Then there was the time that it was decided we would travel down on Thanksgiving weekend, and this time leave on Friday night, the same time Star Wars Holiday Special was going to be on. As a young Star Wars fan, this was a crushing blow.
1978 was a time when VCRs were starting to come out, but we wouldn't have one of our own for another 3 years, and that was after much pleading and convincing from Yours Truly. (Digression: did you know that in 1981, blank videotapes cost $15 apiece?!) There was just one possible salvation: we had a black and white portable TV that had a cigarette lighter adapter that we sometimes used to watch TV while travelling. The only drawback was that it was subject to the reception of the area you were travelling in. Once you got out of range of the Indianapolis area stations there would be that brief limbo where you couldn't pick up anything until you got close to the next TV market city. Being TV junkies, it didn't mean that my brother and I didn't keep trying most of the time.
On this trip, this meant that when we left the home-base reception area the next TV town would be Louisville, now Highlander's and Super Girl Friend's neck of the woods. The plan was that hopefully we could leap-frog from one town to the next to watch the show and not miss out. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that well. Between the blackout zones we would encounter, having to rely on finding the CBS affiliate in Lexington as well, and that the Special was incomprehensible to begin with (several minutes being devoted to watching Chewbacca's family at home without subtitles, as well as acts and Star Wars footage being shoehorned in) led to an unsatisfying viewing experience. "No problem" my young self reasoned. "It's a holiday special, and it's Star Wars. Surely they'll run it again." Next year came and I combed the TV Guide looking for the listing that I never found. And so on for the other years after that. That's what I get for calling myself Shirley.
Of course, it was after the fact that I learned that the Special wasn't well received or thought of, and it's being denied to the general public was the main reason for it's popularity on the bootleg circuit (well, that and the cartoon that introduced Boba Fett to fandom) It was watching one of those aforementioned bootlegs where I was finally able to scratch that itch, and wonder what I got into that caused that itch in the first place.

From Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis "Reasons for changing the channel":

Obnoxious laugh tracks.
Athlete after a big win: "I'd like to thank the Lord for giving me the strength..." Just ONCE I'd like to hear the loser blame the Lord.
"You've been a fantastic audience."
The word "humongous." The ultimate: "A humongous gathering of happy campers."
George W. Bush.
Local car dealer spots featuring a guy shouting at the top of his lungs as fast as he can about the huge closeout sale this weekend only
No matter how much fun a spot might have originally been to listen to, after about 100 times it makes me want to run screaming.
The phrase "the most unique…".
Whenever both ABC and Bravo do "coming up next" clips on their reality programming--I am watching the show--don’t ruin the rest of it for me.
Ego Shots - the cutaway shot to the anchor/reporter/interviewer
Poor linguistic/speaking skills - You're an actor -- could you act like English is your native language.
Screaming - never sounds good.
Giggling Journalists (sorry CBS).
"Experts" or theoretical expert with little to no practical experience.
Celebrity Endorsements - as if Jessica Simpson eats Pizza Hut.
Anytime a network promo or movie trailer exhorts me to "Get Ready" (As in "Get ready fir the biggest night in television" or "Get ready to root for the bad guy!"). What should I do to prepare; new clothes? food and water?
"Shocking" when applied to anything on reality television, (as in, "the most shocking elimination yet"). Unless someone is going to brandish a gun or blow up Donald Trump's hair, I doubt I'm going to be that shocked.
"Amazing" - The first walk on the moon was amazing. A cure for cancer would be amazing. A pretty Oscar gown is, well, just pretty.
"I totally agree with you" is the sister of “you’re exactly right.” Redundant and who cares?
Interviewers cutting off their guests.
Sitcom plots where a main character does something uncomfortably stupid, only to be caught by the other lead character.
"The fact of the matter is..." who's fact?
"With all due respect..." means I think you're full of s*%#!
"It is what it is." Well put.
Any time a news program “reports” programming on its network as a news item, i.e. “earlier tonight on “American Idol.”
Any time news anchors start spouting their opinions
Any time I catch the scent of an over-hyped, alarmist sweeps period story.
Animated bug (or similar device) with audio promoting a future program.
News stories treating the activities of celebrities as news.
When news stories air that are updates of old stories with no recent developments, i.e. the never-ending coverage of the Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba. Reminiscent of the old SNL news skit that Generalissimo Francisco Franco was still dead.
Meaningless live shots from indeterminable locations that do nothing to aid in the storytelling.
Trying to find better commercials!!!
and lastly:
Forget all that - I recently cancelled my cable all together and am now watching nearly all of my favorite shows a la carte via iTunes. I love it. No commercials - no need for a dvr. I just connect my laptop to my TV and Stereo and viola...I've got tv when I want it. It's also great for my budget.