The comics blogosphere is abuzz with the news that Robert "Evel" Knievel has passed away. Many especially remember the ads in the comic books for the toys. Condolences to his family and loved ones. Now pardon me as I go down memory lane.

Note: first thing a lot of people do when they wake up in the morning is get some coffee to start their day. A lot of times, that involves going somewhere that sells it. And a lot of times that involves paying $3+ to get it. When you add up what's spent that way, that really adds up. Whether you want to save that money, cut out the middleman, or get you fix sooner, why not see all these coffee makers available to fix you dream beverage?

Note: although many are saying the bubble is gonna pop, there is still an interest in real estate. Like they say, it's something they're not going to make any more of. So whether you're interested in buying or selling, no matter what kind of property it is, GMAC Real Estate can help you out and get the most for it.

It's after midnight now, so technically it is yesterday (Thursday the 29th) that I want to talk about.
First I couldn't go get my comics early, which would've made the day go easier. Then I got word that the house that was bid on that we would've moved into had the bid turned down by the bank. Yeah, like there's a big line of buyers for houses now, even in the so-called growth area that is the adjacent county. I took a page from V and the plan is if the property is still available in a few months and still available, or by chance they come back to see if there's still an interest, the offer will be $5000 less. Of course, that pretty much sunk the day as far as Kathy was concerned. She said it was okay when she heard the news, but if like me you thought it was the calm before the storm, you're right.
One step I was going to take to deal with this and the fact that I live in this neck of the woods was to visit one of the restaurants that Mark Evanier wishes was out in California: we went to Five Guys Burgers And Fries. Mark gives more detail on that and Chik-Fil-A, but the fries are fresh cut that are a good runner up to Wendy's as far as fries. Then we went to SuperTarget to pick up a replacement blanket for our bed that was on sale and very soft. It's good that we have good places to eat, but I wish I was living in Louisville (or at least go for a visit. Is it too much to ask? It's been too long since the last one)
Then we went grocery shopping. The thing with shopping for us is in order to get the most bang for our buck I like to go to 3-4 different places to take advantage of the sales (I even study the sales papers for the stores, buy from Wally World what isn't on sale) and coupons. So that took a little time. And by the time we got everything done and got home, it was about bedtime. Which didn't help Kathy's mood any.
And now let me trot out my soapbox for a couple of rants:
Why is cool that one of the Church of God is doing a presentation of "A Christmas Carol"? I know the whole nativity story is overdone this time of year, but don't you guys believe there's no such things as ghosts or spirits? Or is this one of those "exceptions" that are "okay"? Like it's easier to condemn homosexuality because it's easier to rail against that than selling your daughters into slavery, wearing clothing made of two different fibers, killing anyone who works on the Sabbath (people kinda look at you funny when you do that and explain why) or eating anything with a shell. I actually was told by the wife that those other examples I cited didn't apply, but the homosexuality one is still in force, no exception. Aren't they all in the same part of the Bible?
Come to think of it, that may be why I don't get invited to some parties...
And new rule: if you get to record your religious shows on the TiVo and watch them, I shouldn't get any crap for recording the latest Kathy Griffin special. Instead of doing the knee jerk reaction (the bad lady said something bad about baby Jesus) and oh, I don't know, pay $90000 to put an ad in USA TODAY (as a certain religious theatre group did. As Griffin said about her days in theatre, they barely had enough money for glitter for the posters, let alone spend 90 grand on an ad in USA TODAY) you might want to consider her point that Jesus is more concerned with what's going on in Darfur than who wins a People's Choice Award.
Oh, and I can't finish this without pointing out the latest thing firing up the comics blogosphere: the Gordon Lee case got even sillier. From the prosecuting of a retailer for giving away a comic that had one panel of a nude (but flaccid) Picasso, to the delays and shennanigans of the prosecution, all this is going on not far from a statue of a nude Romulus and Remus suckling on a wolf. Thanks to Laura for the link with picture goodness.

Peter David relayed this letter that Andy Mangels received about a Star Trek story he co-wrote with Michael A. Martin. Ironically the writer of the letter was criticizing Mangels for elements that his co-writer wrote while ignoring the things Mangels wrote that the writer wouldn't attribute to him. And when New Voyages releases their next episode "Blood and Fire" it's going to make some people's heads explode. Especially when they forget that Uhura on the show was a big deal.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
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This one's for you Mark. Ain't It Cool News is reporting that Journeyman is scheduled to show all 12 of it's episodes, with more to come hopefully after the strike's resolved. Right now, episode 10 and 11 will air on Monday nights (December 10th and 17th) and the 12th to air on Wednesday the 19th. As they say that's 3 episodes in 10 days.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Long time readers may recall that years ago when I took a brief hiatus from this blog (I believe I was going on vacation) I offered up a chance for people to confess something secret to try to make things interesting. Alas, it never went anywhere. But here's another site that has taken up the torch and is trying something along those lines: a "Confess to the Demon Barber" Confessional where you can vent and discuss previous acts of revenge. You can submit it in writing or in video. And with the internet becoming more pervasive, it might sound better coming from you than if we find out about it another way.
Of course all of this is inspired by a tale of revenge based on a classic musical Sweeney Todd that is scheduled to come out as a movie this holiday season starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton. You can also visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site and sample the music, view the trailer, and as a sign of these digital times visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace and more. And get ready to see the Grand Guingol musical of revenge and horror that'll have you tapping your toes to the music.

Continuing our quest to fight the cabin fever of 2008 here's a list of movies showing at Sundance in January. I know none of us are going to Park City, but ain't it fun to look at? And if you really want to simulate the experience, just go to a mall the next few weekends, stand in lines, and don't see any movies (or see one you really didn't want to see)

Man, I must be getting the cabin fever. If that's the case, we in trouble. I usually get it in January after the holidays and everything's been put up. It lasts until March when it seems like things start getting better again. I was even just checking out the Boston Red Sox Spring Training Schedule today because like everything else, it starts in March down in Fort Meyers Florida. It's the next best thing to being at Fenway, but the fan devotion is more intense. And you start getting the hope that yes, the weather isn't going to be cold and grey forever. I don't want to go stir crazy yet. I'd rather be watching the Sox.

It's all dry out there. I'm not finding anything else online to talk about. I was thinking things were starting to get better but they've dried up again. I'm taking a break from all this and devote my energies elsewhere. Hopefully things will get better soon. If any time of the year would be better, it should be this one.
On the bright side, I found one of the figures I've had my eye out for for some time. I found the "Concept Starkiller" Star Wars figure at Wal Mart yesterday. This is the McQuarrie concept Luke Skywalker back when he was a she and Han Solo looked more like George Lucas (I got that one earlier)
And to cheer up the rest of you, here's a video that would sum up why I think you should read Nancy (If you're not already) in the comics links at right:

Like a lot of people, I do some shopping online. Sometimes one thing I do is at the checkout where they ask for a "coupon" or "promotional" code is Google around looking for one. Most cases I'm unsuccessful. I'd hate to think that I missed out on saving some money because I wasn't "in the know". There is a reliable source in online shopping coupons at CouponChief.com. They have over 1000 merchants you can search for, either by store or type of product. And if you click on a particular code or store like Kohls coupon codes or Wal Mart deals, online shopping coupons does the first step for you and transports you to their website. And with the holidays coming up, it's good to know I now have a reliable source for coupon codes.

Geoffrey Wessel pointed out something that looked like Warren Ellis' followup to his THE ENGINE message board but upon further investigation looks like something else to me. It's for his new Avatar Press comic called FreakAngels. What's cool about it is it's his attempt to do a webomic and weekly storytelling that his British colleagues got to do but he missed out on. Although I've never seen any version of Children of the Damned, the premise does sound interesting. And you can put in your e-mail address to be advised of updates and more important when it starts.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
There are many places online you can go to to check hotel prices online, and I've been to most of the ones you heard about. My experience is that they usually offer the same price, but once you book with them, you're committed. If you have to change it for any reason, you have to pay a penalty. That Canadian trip I told you about a few years ago, I got dinged by a competitor because the hotel offered an upgrade for a steal at check-in and I took it. I still came out ahead, but didn't like getting dinged. While I don't mind making reservations, I guess I take after my dad and don't like being locked in to something, or being told I have to do something. And there's one web site that won't tell you what hotel you book until after you book it, and you have to do a dance with them over the price. I like to know what hotel I'm getting before I get it.

The good thing about Hotel Reservations is that it's the place to look for Cheap Hotels, not to mention vacation rental, car, or airfare. I checked out their website to give them a spin, and the hotel I usally use to visit friends in Louisville has an additional 10% off their already low price, and that was just for one night! And their site is easy to navigate. For instance, when you put in the last day of the month for arrival, they automatically put in the next day for a departure. For those who only book one night, it's easy; and easier for those who book more than a night. Some sights you have to put everything in manually. With Cheap Hotels, they have a bit of a brain, but not enough to interfere with your navigation of their site. Another thing I liked that they have right on the home page is that they don't charge you if you cancel or change a reservation.
Another cool promotion they're offering right now is a $100 rebate if you book 12 nights with them? Too many nights? Not to worry, they offer a rebate starting at $20 for 3 nights.
So I know next time I have to book lodging, I'll go to Hotel Reservations.

I was suspicious on Monday when Diamond Comic Distributors' weekly shipping list had Thursday the 29th's date instead of Wednesday the 28th's. Of course, I had it archived where I looked for the shipping list before, which is a good thing, because you'd have a hard time finding it on their website now since they changed the label from "shipping list" to "new releases". They've been giving advance warning they were going to do that and it was still hard to find. Then I got an e-mail from my local comic shop last night confirming the comics weren't coming until tomorrow. When I relayed my suspicions to him, his response was that Diamond was getting lazy in their old age and with no competition. Ironically, the reorders he put in on Monday that included some of this week's releases came in today. Also, the Christmas and New Year's weeks shipments are now coming on Friday.
Yeah, it's the downloading that's driving out the paying customers.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Park West Art Gallery is home to the largest collection of fine art in the world. Their affiliate company Park West at Sea conducts cruise ship art auctions around the world. They're based in Southfield Michigan with an affiliate office in Miami. Park West Art Gallery was founded in 1969 on 3 1/2 acres. Inside the 63,000 square foot facility are 23 spacious exhibition galleries accented with antique furniture and fine oriental carpets on limestone floors. Each week, over 6000 works of art are cataloged, photographed, custom framed, and carefully checked and registered before leaving our facilities in Michigan and Florida to be distributed to locations and cruise ships worldwide to be included in auctions and exhibitions.

Are you reading this Shawn? Wil Wheaton has posted a tip that the Watchmen movie blog just posted pictures from the set. It took me a while to figure Wil's links, but the last picture has a shot of Rorschach.
Not only that, but one of the posters to Wil's blog pointed out this link to the new shot of Indiana Jones. And here's some more before Paramount shuts them down.

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Mark Evanier mentions this show from time to time, it's Alice in Wonderland, but it's Hanna Barbera's version they did in the 60s that has the full title Alice In Wonderland or What's A Nice Kid Like You Doing In A Place Like This? that from time to time Boomerang says they're going to show it and show a different version, or say they're going to show a different version and show this one. It's never been released on video, and rarely shown, so it drives any animation afficionado crazy. Also, a friend of mine wanted a copy that I promised him when Boomerang did the promise this version and showed another, but I said I'd keep an eye out and get it to him. And then my DVD recorder went out a couple of weeks before Boomerang actually showed it. I finally got another recorder and took care of a couple of things too boring to relay here to finally fulfill my promise and get it sent out. For those of you who waded through all of this, as a reward I offer you the original opening credits with the sponsors featured:

And here's the Rexall commercial spots from back in the days when the characters in the show would pitch the products in the commercials:


And finally we have a Mark Evanier post from the archives that features a funny story about Howard Morris (voice of the White Rabbit) and Joe Barbera, that has been sanitized for your protection.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in Key West, San Diego and Savannah. Christmas time is great and all. but we're just getting rain here and I wouldn't mind heading down somewhere warm for a vacation. And this would be the time of year to do it. Between the cold weather and all the people in the stores, this would be the time to go. Not only would you have the warm weather and want to kick back and take it easy, you could take all sorts of tours. You can take all sorts of tours depending on your interests and for however long you'd like. For the ones they offer for Key West, for example, they have an Old Town Trolley Tour of Key West. It's only an hour and a half long, but there's 9 stops they make where you can disembark and go shopping, look at attractions, whatever you want. And you can go to their website and sign up for their newsletter to see what all they offer in tours and deals. And if you sign up by Friday December 14th you're automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of their choice.

Back in 2003 a photographer for the LA Times combined two photos taken moments apart to make it look like a British soldier was yelling at fleeing Iraqis. Now there's a study that says that altering photographs will alter peoples' perceptions of events. I don't know what's more scary, that anyone can do it in this computer Photoshop age or this quote from the article:
"Participants who viewed the doctored photos also said they were less inclined to take part in future protests, according to the study, detailed in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology." Those who control information can control the people, and there's a turn in the computer age where the people have lost some of their power.

With the big Christmas holiday shopping season starting to gear up, the last thing you'd think about buying is office furniture. But rather than have to fight and claw for all the different bargains and deals, why not have a one stop place for office furniture bargains where you can get an everyday low price? And you don't have to worry about fighting the crowds, either.