HURRICANE KATRINA

AAAH! Run for your lives!

Poor, unfortunately named cat. Fortunately, she's not very destructive.

Take that, Nature!

Ha ha, fish, I have you now!

I went to Cape Cod with my family this past weekend, and one of our activities was pay-for-seasickness - er, I mean ocean fishing. We were out on a boat somewhere in between the Cape and Martha's Vineyard, when I managed to reel in this bluefish. Pretty freakin' rugged, isn't it? I've been fishing before, but it was years ago on a man-made lake in New Jersey that my uncle used to live next to.

Strangely enough, I was the only one to catch a fish on this particular outing.

I'm sure Greenpeace wants nothing to do with me anymore, even though I bought their calendar.

Online Comics, woo!

Web-based comics have apparently arrived. Witness coverage in no less than the New York Times. I've been reading comics online for over two years. Not just familiar syndicated stand-bys like "Get Fuzzy" or "Doonesbury", which you can set up RSS feeds for and get each day's strip in your news aggregator (I use Bloglines). I've been enjoying some of the new stuff that's only available online - you're not likely to see these in your local newspaper or comic book shop.

My favorite is Scary Go Round. Very humorous, in the British vein of humo(u)r. The artwork is bright and colorful, and it's amazing how much characterization John Allison (the artist behind SGR, as the "cool" kids say) can get into an oversized daily four-to-six panel comic strip. Two others that I highly recommend are Wigu and Overcompensating, both by Jeff Rowland. These both feature mainly hand-drawn artwork, but they consistently make me laugh out loud. Good thing my office isn't really near anyone else's. Both Jeff and John actually make a living through these comics. More specifically, they make money selling t-shirts inspired by the comics, and reprint books of their work. I admit I've dropped some coin on both. They've got my seal of approval, which I don't just whore around to anyone.

A somewhat different take on a web comic, the Perry Bible Fellowship straddles the line between syndicated, newspaper-style strip and web comic. There are no recurring characters to speak of, the style can be described as "minimalist," but I dare you to find something equally funny on the printed funny pages. Actually, the PBF (there's another one of them cool acronyms) has run in newspapers - it was published in the Syracuse University Daily Orange in its early years, and currently appears in several alternative newsweeklies, including the Rochester City Newspaper. The artist behind PBF, Nicholas Gurewich, lives in the Rochester area and was interviewed earlier this summer in the City paper - search the archives for the interview if you're interested.

Well, I hope I've given you some pleasurable reading material. I regularly read several other web comics as well, but I leave the rest of the online comic world for you to discover on your own, if you're so inclined.

Note: NY Times article linked above may require free registration

When the backlash gets the best of you

Some of you may know that the White Stripes have been a favorite band of mine for the past 3 1/2 years or so. They put out a new record earlier this year, but the advance word and initial reviews said it was weird. Because of this, I didn't rush out and buy it right away. Finally, a good couple of months since its release, I picked it up last night (at Target - ok, I don't usually buy CDs at Target, but I was there, it was on the rack...). And my first listen through confirms that the initial backlash was wrong. It's a great record, and easily stands up to the rest of their work. I will no doubt keep listening to it in the coming weeks. They continue to branch out, and despite their increased popularity and exposure, and Jack White's sudden transformation from weird nerd to mercurial rock star, they continue to stay interesting in the world of music.

I noticed something else interesting just now. The New York Mets have a better record than the San Diego Padres by one game (the two teams are playing today). The Mets are in last place in their division. The Padres are in first place in theirs. Huh?

Free day!

I was back amongst my family in the Albany/Troy area this past weekend for an anniversary party (my aunt and uncle - 25 years without injuring each other!). Saturday ended up being "free day" for me. Here's the dish - I was having dinner with Ben at Holmes and Watson in downtown Troy (if you've never been there, I highly recommend it - satisfying food named after Sherlock Holmes stories and an insane number of draft beers). Apparently, the cooks had prepared the wrong sandwich for me, but the waitress caught it before bringing it to me. She apologized for the delay (which didn't really bother me), and gave me my second beer on the house. Nice! Then Ben and I went to a baseball game. As we were walking in from the parking lot, some people asked us if we would like some free tickets to the game, courtesy of the local National Guard post. We gladly accepted them, on the condition that we wouldn't have to enlist. Score! Then, at the game, I got up to go to the concessions stand (helmet sundaes - gotta love them). I saw something on the ground, and stopped to examine it - it was a folded-up $20 bill. No one appeared to be looking for it, so it became a matter of finders keepers. Frickin' sweet!

I am still waiting for nubile young females to fall from the sky into my lap.

Who says it's no fun being a librarian?

Look what I came across in my book ordering activities! I think I may buy this for myself - the hell with the students! Let them get their own copy.

I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but there hasn't been much to say. Except that I'm slowly becoming obsessed with The Decemberists. Guys, if you read this, please come play a show in Rochester! Otherwise, I'll have to impose on Brian and see the Providence show in October.