My Week In Comics 6-22-11

It's been a bit hectic the last few days, with Sunday's softball and our sponsor being Bar of the Week (two wins and raised over $300 for the team -- woo-hoo!), and yesterday and much of today helping a friend pack up his things for a move (which I'll be helping him do tomorrow), not to mention accompanying him on his trip to the emergency room due to abdominal pains (spent like 9 hours there but he's feeling better) yesterday. I still want to write about the Phillies' current circumstances and the Flyers' dramatic moves last week (with one more big one to come?) -- but, to get something posted, I'm taking the easy way out with these...

Action Comics 902: As we continue with "Reign of the Doomsdays" (and some more clunky dialogue) there's a new player in the game, Doomslayer, who wants to destroy the original Doomsday and the Luthor-produced clones. To do so he's willing to wipe out everyone on Earth, or at least Metropolis -- which, of course, Superman and his allies want to prevent. Doomslayer seems to be a much more evolved version of the original Doomsday, or perhaps he is the original, evolved and returned from the future. That, of course, would mean he's going to kill himself, which would mean he wouldn't go from Doomsday to Doomslayer, but if he doesn't become Doomslayer because he killed himself, how does he come back to kill himself? Head...spinning... Oh, and a character died at the end of issue 901, but what does it matter since the great DC reboot is coming?

Superman 712: Here's the description of the issue from DC's website: "Meet Los Angeles's newest super hero in the latest chapter of 'Grounded': Sharif! But Sharif discovers that in today's current cultural climate, some people don't want his help – they just want him gone. Can Superman aid Sharif and quell a prejudiced public, or are there some problems too big even for the Man of Steel to solve?" Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Los Angeles. This story was replaced at the last minute. This means that Superman's walk across the country has been interrupted three times now for unrelated stories, and with only two chapters left now before the reboot, this walk is limping to an end. Something in the story of Sharif (could it be that he has powers but hey, he's a Muslim so people think he must be a terrorist?) was deemed too controversial, and so the story can never see the light of day.

Then again, the story that actually appeared in the issue was also missing in action. It was originally slated to appear a few years ago. For reasons that weren't made entirely clear at the time, it was similarly pulled on short notice. I guess it was an emergency and something had to come out on Wednesday, so here it is. "Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto the Superdog" is set shortly after "Infinite Crisis," in which Superboy died (until "Final Crisis" brought Conner Kent back to the land of the living) and Superman went missing after losing his powers. It deals with Krypto's reaction to these events, so it's mostly wordless (except for some flashback scenes), but Krypto's expressions -- and one long, loud, glass-breaking super-howl -- effectively tell the tale. It would have been better had it arrived on schedule, but it was worth the wait.

Why I'd Be A Bad Husband

Sure, New York state now has marriage equality after the state's Assembly and GOP-controlled (really? Really!?!) Senate passed legislation to allow same-sex marriages and the bill was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo last night.

It's a great day, it's annother step in the right direction, and it'll make for a helluva fun Pride parade tomorrow in New York City. But I've learned that I am not good marriage material. Why?

It seems I'm capable of forgetting to acknowledge anniversaries.

Such as the two-year anniversary of the creation of this very blog.

Even though I have a calendar nearby and "blog 2 yrs." is written on the box for the 22nd.

Once again, as the kids say, SMH.

Happy anniversary to me. Thank you for reading. Thank you, New York state, even though clearly I won't be taking advantage of your new law any time soon. (Although perhaps, if you're planning to get married, I can help. A long time ago I went through the process of becoming an ordained minister online. I never did anything with it, but I figure that, as same-sex marriage becomes more and more common, all the other ministers might be too busy and need my help...)

My Week In Comics 6-15-11

I was considering not buying the two DC books I picked up, with the coming reboot and all, but ended up doing so anyway -- one out of some loyalty to the character, and one because I looked at it in the store and decided I might like it.

Supergirl 65: With the last story arc having been completed, this is the first of the final three issues before September's relaunching. The description of the new Supergirl leaves me cold. So I wasn't going to bother with this, but decided to anyway. This new tale sends Supergirl to college (incognito, of course), at the request of Lois Lane, to try and learn why some college students are going missing.

Superman/Batman 85: Hadn't bought this book in a few months, because I was tiring of the stories they were telling, especially since they mostly weren't connected to the current events involving either title character. This story (again a three-parter, and this is one book that is actually gone come September), is, like the others, a flashback tale of sorts. It's set in the early days of the continuity that's about to disappear, a time when Batman and Superman were still a little distrusting of each other. The body of a reporter from Gotham City is found in Metropolis and Batman is the prime suspect in the murder. Sent by the Daily Planet to look into it, Clark Kent finds some evidence that actually could prove it. I enjoyed this -- the characterization hits the right notes.

Simpsons Comics 179: I get a weekly email from one of the stores I frequent, listing the new books coming out on Wednesday. This was not on the list. The fact that it was in the store and I didn't know it...disturbs me. Anyway, in this issue Lenny is taken in by a Scientology-like organization. There's also an ad for Simpsons Super Spectacular #13. "On sale in May!" it says. It's a little late, apparently.

Quick Review: Super 8

Here's the last of my writeups on the four movies I've seen recently. I'm caught up! (Except for two weeks' worth of comic books. And the Flyers suddenly went and blew up their team. And Roy Oswalt seems to be really hurting and might be out of the Phillies' rotation for an extended period. But more on those later.) "Super 8" is set in 1979, and in a small Ohio town we have a group of kids who are making a low-budget zombie movie. One night they're filming at a train station as a freight train is passing, when it is derailed, causing a massive crash. As the U.S. Air Force moves in, ostensibly to clean up the wreckage, strange things begin happening in the town. Dogs (and a few people) begin disappearing, there are power failures, and things turn a bit more sinister. The kids, while still making their movie, end up deeply involved in these events.

The trailers, with hints of some sort of creature, gave off a bit of a "Cloverfield" vibe, but fortunately "Super 8" has nothing in common with that overrated film except for camera footage being involved. "Super 8" is basically a Steven Spielberg mashup -- a little "E.T." here, some "Goonies" there -- directed by J.J. Abrams. Really, he's paying homage to Spielberg's early successes. However, Spielberg is a producer of the film. So does that make it an officially sanctioned homage? And is that a good thing? Might it have been more interesting if there were some twists in the Spielberg formula? It's well-done, the acting from a mostly unknown cast is fine, but it felt like I'd seen it before. And I did. In "E.T." and in "The Goonies" and... My grade: B.

Quick Review: Green Lantern

I was worried about "Green Lantern," based on the DC Comics character. Face it, once you get past Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman you're dealing with DC's second string. And look at the trouble DC's parent company, Warner Bros., has had turning their properties into films. They had to go back to basics with the Batman films after what Joel Schumacher did to them (and struck gold, to be sure). Their first Superman franchise reboot took forever and was not as successful as they wanted, so now they're trying again with a different director, star, etc. And Wonder Woman's been stuck in movie and TV limbo. So a Green Lantern movie would have to be done right to cross over to the public at large. The box office may ultimately tell a different story, but for me, it wasn't a huge success.

Ryan Reynolds isn't terrible as Hal Jordan, the test pilot who is chosen to become the newest Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (that would be the one that includes Earth, of course) and receives the green ring that grants him superpowers. (And, as you can see, he's pretty, although he doesn't show much skin in this movie.) But the plot is splintered, veering between Hal's getting the ring and learning how to use it and meeting other members of the Green Lantern corps, and the threat of an entity known as Parallax (the essence of fear, which is represented by yellow, although the entity itself seems to be a smoke monster), and the relationship between Hal and Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), and then to Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), a scientist who gets a piece of Parallax inside him and mutates into a villain himself, although he doesn't do all that much, really -- the character and actor are both pretty much wasted here. And to explain the history and mythos of the Green Lanterns and the Guardians who created them, and how green is the color of willpower, able to confront fear, and so on, took a lot of narration. I didn't dislike this movie as much as others, but it's still a disappointment. My grade: C-plus.

Quick Review: X-Men: First Class

Here's a combination prequel/franchise reboot. "X-Men: First Class" revolves around how Charles "Professor X" Xavier and Erik "Magneto" Lensherr (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as younger versions of Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen) became friends who eventually end up on opposite sides, while forming a team of mutants to help the CIA deal with the threat of other mutants. They're led by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), who is instigating what turns out to be the Cuban Missile Crisis (and also has a past history with Erik). It's a solid enough film, and has one spectacular cameo that I won't spoil here. But as Shaw's fellow evildoer Emma Frost, "Mad Men" star January Jones is a weak link. Granted, it's 1962, but that doesn't mean we should be seeing Betty Draper with superpowers. My grade: B.

Quick Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

I'm behind in writing my movie reviews again -- two movies I saw over two weeks ago and two more I saw this week -- so I'm going to try and do four short posts over the next day or so, starting with the animated "Kung Fu Panda 2." For some reason the box office figures for the first weekend weren't as high as those for the first KFP (even factoring in money from 3D showings), and I really don't know why because the sequel is right up there, quality-wise. Our hero, Po (voice of Jack Black), the Dragon Warrior, and the Furious Five are tasked with stopping the evil Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), who has developed a powerful weapon that seemingly can't be stopped even by the most skilled kung fu practitioners. But Po is troubled by flashbacks of his mother, and needs to achieve inner peace before the fight is hopelessly lost. Lovely animation and, rare for a sequel, real character development. My grade: A-minus.

My Week In Culture

Before we get to my main topic, I just noticed...well, actually, I noticed it yesterday...that my last post was number 777. I do like the number 7, as you can guess from various email/screen names of mine. I'd like it to live up to its reputation and actually be lucky, though.

So this week I ventured away from my usual movies/sports/TV show morass. Twice. But hey, I have a good excuse: I was supporting my friends.

First up was a visit to the Shubin Theater, a very intimate -- okay, small: it seats just over 40 people -- venue around the corner from 4th and South Streets, for "All in the Timing" by David Ives. It's the inaugural production of the new WAG Theater Company, and the company's founder Brian Sell is on my softball team, so a bunch of us took in the show. "All in the Timing" is actually six short plays, very loosely connected by a theme of communication (and miscommunication) and its effect on the lives of people -- and, in one play, chimpanzees. (No actual chimps were harmed in this production.) One or two of the six plays were, for me, a little off-target, but overall the show was quite witty and at times hilarious.The actors (including Brian, who played one of the chimps) did very well. And the good news is, you can still see it, with three more shows June 23, 24 and 25. (Read more about the show and the company here and here.)

Then, tonight, it was time for "Mmm Bop: Best of the Boy Bands," the season-ending concert by the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, at the Temple Performing Arts Center (formerly called the Baptist Temple) on the Temple campus. The entire show consisted of medleys of songs made famous by "boy bands." They use that term a little loosely, in my opinion, but it's technically accurate. Every song was by a duo or group consisting of males only. So while there was

My Week In Comics 6-8-11: A DC-less Preview

It was an interesting week in a couple of ways. First of all, I bought no DC comics. None of my regular books were out, and I wasn't interested in any of the "Flashpoint" tie-ins. Considering DC's pending reboot and my disdain for, and concern about, much of it, this could happen much more often come September. Perhaps even weekly. Since my last post, DC put out its word on the Superman books, and at least two of them -- the books starring Superboy and Supergirl -- are very likely off my purchase lists. I haven't decided on the Action Comics and Superman books yet. There's also been confirmation that the Lois Lane-Clark Kent wedding will no longer exist in the new order.

And there was this piece of information that is just going to lead to a lot of confusion some day, when future stories are being planned out. Many of the events that have happened in recent years are still going to be considered to have taken place, in the timeline that DC has built for itself:

DC confirmed that stories like Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Identity Crisis, Death in the Family, and Killing Joke are still part of the DCU history. In fact, editors said, some events in those stories are specifically referenced in September.

So they will have to explain how Barbara Gordon is no longer paralyzed, I suppose? The thing is, if the characters are supposed to be younger (after all, they want to try and get young people to buy into the new continuity), how can so many of these events have happened in such a brief period? Word is that while most books are set in what the story calls "contemporary times," two books -- "Justice League" and "Action Comics" -- are set at the "dawning of the age of superheroes," which, from one report, is only about five years earlier. And "Identity Crisis" was, in part, about superheroes' families being in danger after one wife is murdered (and their actions as a result). A major plot twist turns on a past event that some characters kept secret from others. If at least some of that history is gone, if some of those relationships (such as the Lois/Clark marriage) don't exist now, then how does the rest of the story make sense? I'm just not sold on any of this.

So on to the two books I did buy...

Around Town Yesterday/Boy Bands Saturday

I took a few photos while I was downtown yesterday picking up my comic books. Before I got to the comic book store, I saw something funny. It forced me to declare this man in the Kobe Bryant jersey as the Very Minor Dumbass of the Week. Why?

Well, he walked up to the door of the Borders at Broad and Chestnut and grabbed the door handle, attempting to go inside. He failed. After all, that Borders closed last month.

I guess the fact that it was dark inside and there were no books or anything in the windows was lost on him. On the other hand, it also seems to be lost on Philadelphia Weekly, or at least on its delivery person, who left a bundle of papers sitting by the door. So PW and/or its driver is the Not-So-Very Minor Dumbass of the Week.

So then I met my friend Kurt, got my comic books and

The Pride Festival Burns Me

As I previously mentioned, I worked the table for the City of Brotherly Love Softball League at this year's Pride Festival at Penn's Landing. This was a unique thing for me, since I'm usually the one going from table to table instead of sitting behind one.

We signed up people who were interested in playing, as well as those who were interested in volunteering for the Women's World Series coming here in August. And we sold some raffle tickets as a fundraiser for the Women's World Series and the league. (Buy them here if you'd like. The grand prize is two round-trip Southwest Airlines tickets, and the second prize is four tickets to the Phillies-Marlins game on Friday, August 26th (which happens to be the 9th Annual Gay Community Night). I actually sold the first ticket of the day. Yay me!

I wasn't sure how long I was going to volunteer my time, but I ended up staying at the table for most of the afternoon. I got there around noon, just as things were beginning to get under way. The Pride parade itself was making its way through the Gayborhood and along Market St., so most of the crowds hadn't arrived yet. So it was slow at first. But once the parade floats began arriving, the people watching the parade followed them and we had a steady stream of visitors.

Many of them were more interested in the free candy we had, but as the day went on quite a few people put their contact info on the sign-up sheets. How many of them will actually end up playing (either in the fall league or next season) or volunteering to help at the Women's World Series, I don't know. There must have been at least 50 or more names on the sign-up sheets to play -- at least 60 percent from women, from my unscientific observation. Fewer people signed up to volunteer, but they got to at least the second page of that sign-up sheet.

Since I stayed at the table most of the day, I didn't really get to see everything that was going on, and I didn't see any of the entertainment at all, except for some of the performance by Dawn Robinson of En Vogue (see first picture). I was happy to help, but I kind of feel like I missed out on the fun stuff a little. Actually, what I think I'd like to do next year is march in the parade itself. I'll have to get myself on a float somehow...

Every Dad's A Phillies Fan

The latest Entertainment Weekly has a few pages devoted to a Father's Day gift guide. Each page is devoted to a different "type" of dad. As you can see, it started out with movie-related gifts...

...then there was a music page, followed by this...

I know there are alternate covers on magazines all the time, but I'm not sure publishers are sophisticated enough to change a team logo in one illustration on one inside page based on where the magazines are being shipped. If someone elsewhere sees a Yankees or Red Sox or, heaven forbid, Dallas Cowboys logo in their issue, let me know. Otherwise, I'm assuming that either the illustrator credited by EW, Jude Buffum, or Jude's father, is a Phillies fan.

By the way, the Phillies still have the best record in baseball. And I'm still just as convinced that, come the fall, if they aren't able to score some runs their own superior starting rotation won't matter.

More Comcastic Customer Service

Just before Memorial Day I got a letter from Comcast saying the modem I've had for some years now "may not be able to handle the increased speed" they're supposedly providing, so they wanted to give me a new modem at no additional cost. I called to have it sent to me, and got it on Thursday. I hooked it up and at first I was unable to connect to the web. Then I finally was directed to a page on their website to activate my service (which really meant to activate the modem). I went through the process and seemed to be going okay, but then it stalled out and I couldn't do anything. I hit the Back button on Firefox and it took me to the very beginning instead of to the previous screen. I tried to start the process again and got an error message.

This would have been a problem as my phone service is VoIP and if I don't have the Internet, I don't have phone service. (It's a very good service, by the way. If you want to try it, send me an email so I can refer you and we both would get a $10 credit.) Since my cell phone signal is just about nonexistent where my computer is located, it would have been a problem calling them from upstairs, running back and forth to follow their instructions (the predictable "unplug it and then plug it in again/reboot the computer" merry-go-round). On a whim I picked up my phone and was surprised to find I had service. I called Comcast and was on hold when I discovered that, while I was still being directed back to that Comcast activation page every time I opened Firefox or tried to go to my home page, I could actually visit other websites. I tried various bookmarked sites with no problem. It was only my home page I couldn't access. So, since I was hungry and tired of waiting on the phone, I hung up and sent them a message through their website:

I installed the new modem I received. I tried activating it and something is screwed up. Every time I open my browser, instead of going to my home page it goes back to the Comcast page to activate my service. I can go to any other websites with no problem, I can get my email, but if I try to go my home page (Yahoo.com), either by clicking the Home icon or typing the URL, it always takes me back to the same Comcast page asking for my account number to start the activation process.

Later that day, when I went online again, I got to Yahoo just fine. Whatever the problem was had been corrected. The next day, however,

Mr. Ignorant (Note: some NSFW language)

I had a little run-in on the subway today.

After softball practice I made my way to the Temple campus and hung out for a while with my friend Kurt and a friend of his. After we parted ways, I took the subway back into Center City to make my way home. It was a bit crowded, being a Saturday afternoon and with some people beginning to make their way to the 4 p.m. Phillies game, so I didn't get a seat. I was standing near the door, then moved away from it a bit when we got to the next station and more people were about to get on. Suddenly I felt my backpack being shoved into me. I turned around and the angry black man standing there began yelling. The conversation, such as it was, went like this:

"MOVE YOUR FUCKING BACKPACK."
"Oh, sorry -- "
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU, JUST MOVE YOUR BACKPACK."
"Did it brush into you?"
"YEAH. MOVE YOUR FUCKING BACKPACK"
"I'm sor--"
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK, JUST MOVE YOUR FUCKING BACKPACK."

At that point I just moved away. I wanted to tell him he needed to learn to accept an apology but I knew if I said anything more, the situation would escalate.

First of all, if my backpack brushed against him I didn't feel it. Normally, the backpack is up against my back and if it bumps into something I feel it. I felt nothing until he shoved it.

Secondly, this is why racism will continue to exist in this country for a long, long time. This asshole was so rude and ignorant that if it had been someone else instead of me, either there would have been a fight and a bunch of n-words dropped, or even if that didn't happen, the other person would have basically confirmed to himself all of his bigoted views. Sure, we've made plenty of progress, but as long as people act like this, those who are prejudiced will not change their minds.

While I do sort of believe in good karma -- if you're a good person and are good to others, I like to think you'll get good karma back from the universe -- I have no problem wishing ill of nasty, hateful trolls. So this is my message for Mr. Ignorant from the subway: you are a fucking miserable, rude, obnoxious, ignorant and possibly racist piece of garbage. You're scum. You're a waste of DNA. If you die tomorrow, the world will be a better place.

Oh, and for fuck's sake, before you die, PULL UP YOUR PANTS! YOU'RE NOT A TEENAGER AND NO ONE WANTS TO SEE YOUR DULL GRAY UNDERWEAR!

The Blog Is Mobile, And Other Stuff

Now and then I check out a website using my cell phone, and it's not a pretty experience because there's no mobile version. My blog was once one of those sites. However, Blogger added a setting for a mobile template. I'm no expert but supposedly if you visit the blog from a mobile phone you'll automatically get the mobile template. Apparently, though, it doesn't work with certain phones or browsers or whatever. So here's a link to the mobile version.

So, what else is going on?

It's been wicked hot the last couple of days -- 97 and 99 degrees were the highs, breaking one record and tying another. We had one official heat wave already (3 or more days of 90-plus temperatures), and if we make it to 90 one more day we'll have another. I've been trying to make do without my central air, just to cut down on electricity usage. I finally put it on for a few hours today, mainly to make sure it works for when we have a really extended period of hot weather.

One thing that's not hot? The Phillies' offense. But that's nothing new. Everyone's back in the lineup now, though. So now it's time for them to produce. Part of me tries not to worry -- their pitching has carried them to the best record in baseball before their loss tonight. But as this goes on, more and more I think that they're never going to regain the hitting prowess of past years, and that will continue to strain the pitchers, and this will lead to an epic failure in the playoffs. And considering the expectations coming into this season, it could get ugly.

Oh, and our Pride Parade and Festival is Sunday. It looks like I'll be working at the City of Brotherly Love Softball League table -- signing up people to play Fall Ball and/or to volunteer with the ASANA World Series (the Women's World Series) in August, and selling raffle tickets. You can win two free round-trip Southwest Airlines tickets, or Phillies tickets. So stop by and say hello!

The Voice -- Over

I tried, I tried, I really tried. But it's over. I've removed "The Voice" from my DVR series recordings. I liked it at first -- the drama of whether one of the celebrity coaches would turn the chair around as a contestant sang was fun -- but it's just boring now. I tried watching the first live show (well, it was live last night; I recorded it and only got around to watching a little while ago).

From about the 30-minute mark on I fast-forwarded through most of it, and only stopped near the end because I had somehow learned (via commercial or maybe a story I read) that Frenchie Davis was covering "When Love Takes Over," my favorite song of summer 2009. And by the way, she wasn't that great. Nor were one or two others that I heard. They weren't awful, but they weren't incredible.

Yet every comment from the coaches (at least those I heard -- as I said, I did a lot of fast-fowarding) were on the order of "you're amazing, I love you" and so on. Christina Aguilera -- I just find her really annoying now, especially after she chose a song by that horrible Ke-dollar sign-ha for one of her girls to sing.

I'm sorry, but if I'm going to watch one of these singing shows I need Simon Cowell or someone like him, and "The Voice" just doesn't have it. So with Simon and Paula Abdul both on "The X Factor" it's obvious I'll be giving that show a try in the fall.

I'll say this, though -- we need to get Patrick Thomas (pictured) out of his clothes right away...

This Town Needs An Enema

I'm just saying...



I love that line from Tim Burton's "Batman," and I was listening to my summer playlist and "Batdance" came on, so here you go.

Actually, I think the whole damn nation needs that enema. The budget disasters at the local, state and federal level continue to wreak havoc on people's lives because of politics, as the rich and powerful continue to become more rich and more powerful at the expense of the working class, the poor, the elderly, etc., and people just allow it to happen. More time is spent on sideshows -- Sarah Palin and Donald Trump and Anthony Weiner -- than on the real issues. And by the way, Anthony Weiner should resign from Congress, not because he did anything illegal or wrong, just for being so utterly STUPID and playing right into the right wing's hands.

On the other hand, he'd probably get a show on CNN or MSNBC, which is all we need. So maybe he should stay in Congress after all.

Last week, I made a last-minute decision to go chasing after Sarah Palin when she stopped by Independence Hall and visited the Liberty Bell on her stupid little bus tour, but she was already gone by the time I got there. I just wanted to boo her the way she was booed when she dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff before the Flyers game back in 2008. Alas, I missed my chance. I did visit the Liberty Bell, though.

The renovations of Independence Hall are continuing, as you can see in this picture. One thing I wasn't aware of is how much the bell used to travel around the country. So, unlike Sarah, I actually learned something on my visit.

My Week In Comics 6-2-11 (With Bonus Rant)

Okay, let's get right to this so I can rant.

Flashpoint 2 (of 5);
Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance 1 (of 3): The newly altered universe Barry Allen finds himself in is very much different. Much of Europe is under water, flooded by Atlantis under its ruler, Aquaman. And England is now New Themyscira after being attacked by Wonder Woman and the Amazons. But probably the biggest reveal of the first issue of the main series is that instead of Bruce Wayne seeing his parents killed and eventually becoming Batman, it was Bruce and his mother who were killed and his father, Thomas Wayne, who becomes Batman -- but this Batman is not out for justice, but revenge. In Flashpoint #2, Barry Allen tries to persuade Batman to help him re-create the accident that gave Barry his super-speed, allowing the Flash to find a way to restore history and get the world back to where it was. The Batman tie-in miniseries focuses on the changes in Gotham City: Thomas Wayne is a casino magnate and has privatized the Gotham police force, but while many of the city's worst fiends are dead (thanks to Batman), the Joker is still around, and has kidnapped the twins of Judge Harvey Dent. Not that all of this will matter in a few months...

Superboy 8: The strange mysteries that have been building in Smallville since the start of this series -- the "broken silo," Psionic Lad, Lori Luthor -- are all coming to a head in part one of "Rise of the Hollow Men." Not that it will...

...okay, you get the idea. What I was hinting at in my last comic book post is the news that came out of DC Comics last week. Essentially, "Flashpoint" is serving as the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" of today: when it's over,

Philadelphia's First Skyscraper?

When I was downtown the other day I was fascinated enough by an old building on Walnut Street to take this picture...

According to some websites I looked at, the Witherspoon Buidling is Philadelphia's first skyscraper. Not sure how official that is. It was completed in 1897. As you can see in the photo, it housed the "Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work."

I was fascinated by the fact that this building, with its intricate front, is sitting empty, at least at street level (note the sign in the window). It's close to City Hall, just down from Broad Street, and right across from IHOP. :) Seems like a great location. I wonder how much money it would take for a business to make a go of it there, especially in these hideous economic times.

My Summer Playlist Needs 2011 Additions

Welcome to summer, even if it's actually going down to the low 50s tonight (after we just had a heat wave end). That means it's time to start listening to my playlist of summer music. You may remember from my posts last year that I have some rules, and each song has to adhere to at least one of them. First and foremost, they include only songs that are in my iTunes library. In addition, they either had to be released during the summer, be popular during the summer, have a title and/or lyrics referring to summer, sun, heat, etc., just sound summery, or I identify them with summer in my mind for some reason.

To refresh your memory, here are my original posts: Part 1 and Part 2 are the original list, and here's my followup that gave me an even 100. Sometime after that, I actually added a 101st song: a track from the "Despicable Me" soundtrack called "Fun, Fun, Fun" by Pharrell Williams.

With a new summer upon us, I'd love to add more songs. Suggestions for songs from the past that aren't on my list are welcome. (I thought I had some comments on those posts that gave me some possible additions, but nothing's there.) I also have to decide what 2011 releases can go on the list. The last two years featured collaborations by Kelly Rowland and David Guetta ("When Love Takes Over" and "Commander") so perhaps I need to find out what Kelly and/or David have got for me for this year. There are certainly some tracks from the new Lady Gaga album that will go on, although I'm not sure which ones just yet.

This is your chance to sell me on some artists and/or songs that you think would be ideal for my summer playlist. I thank you in advance. (That's Mark Salling of "Glee" in the photo above, by the way. A nice summery photo, don't you think?)

My Week In Comics 5-25-11

This week I bought two DC books and two from Bongo Comics. However, after some news broke today, I'm not sure I should even bother writing about the books of one of these companies. (I will, of course, but not in this post. If you follow the comic book publishers' doings, you already know what I'm talking about. If the news hasn't gotten to you and you don't care to go searching for it, I will enlighten you in my next comic book post.)

Action Comics 901: So "Reign of Doomsday" has actually turned into "Reign of the Doomsdays." There are four of them now (plus the original, who's incapacitated at the moment), thanks to Lex Luthor. Each has powers similar to the Super-person it went after (for example, Superboy's Doomsday has tactile telekinesis). A new character is introduced, and some of Superman's dialogue is off. Can you ever imagine him answering a question with "Ha! What can I say? Busted!" And now this whole thing, dumb dialogue and all, is threatening Earth. Not that it will matter in a few months...

Gotham City Sirens 23: The Joker and Harley Quinn are reunited...and it feels so good, unless you're in Arkham Asylum with them. As chaos reigns, Poison Ivy arrives to break up the happy couple, while Catwoman tries to stay out of it. Bonus: both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in costume. Two Batmen for the price of one! Not that it will matter in a few months...

Simpsons Summer Shindig 5: Let's see...we have the Springfield Bear Patrol in action. Remember the "We're here! We're queer! We don't want any more bears!" chant? Apparently this was an outgrowth that hasn't been explored