[  Mood: Very Sad ]
… and allow that gnawing thing called Real Life to take purchase.

Today, I woke up at seven of the a.m., and leapt online, the start of a perfectly normal Sunday. Saturday-morning cartoons airing a day late on the CW, coffee steaming up my glasses as I waded through my piles of e-mail.

At about 9:30, I cleared the backlog, and decided to reward myself by wasting a few minutes in YouTube. Watched a couple of videos, favorited a couple more, then decided to clean out my friends list (roughly half of them have had their accounts suspended, probably due to abuse of some form).

When I finished that, I saw a comment from someone who, by name, appeared to be a longtime friend who had changed his username. I decided to friend him, and leave a message to see if he had in fact done that thing, for safety’s sake.

So, upon going to his page, I saw nothing there but three comments and the basic user info. I thought nothing of it, started to leave my message –

When I saw that two of those three comments were exactly the same, and the second had been the comment I’d posted several days earlier, in reflexive response…

That made me look at the second name to post the same words.

Here, I should say (without hesitation, because I know that this world isn’t nearly as info-secure as we might like) that my YouTube username is Fred13B, because of the confluence of babysitting several young children during an episode of "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" that featured a Frozen Caveman of Some Renown and my first registering for YouTube. I’ve considered taking up Truthseeker013 as a name later, but never did bother.

So, seeing Truthseeker013 as a username really shook me.

I knew right away who the most probable suspect was, and I reported the occurrence right away. Still, four days had passed with me none the wiser f this, and I don’t know ow much damage may have been done by the person using this. I’ll speak no more of him, save that I am dealing with him, in my own way. My concern is the harm my reputation may have been done.

Those who know me as Truthseeker013 know me to be a man of honor, and I don’t want that sullied on a whim. I ask of anyone who may read this and frequent YouTube to any degree that, if they encounter any posts there under that username (which I do consider mine, even though I have as much legal right to it as I do to the atmosphere) to pass that information on to me, that I might act on it with haste.

I thank you for your time spent in reading this, and any aid you may be able to render me in this endeavor.

[  Mood: Confused ]
WHY????

Coming in the door, I read the Comics Screed article, noticed that there are a few new X-titles about to walk in the door.

Again, WHY????

I’m a semi-regular at one comics emporium, and occasionally poke my nose into another, if I’m looking for something that my usual place doesn’t have, and one constant can be found, among all of the devotees of books from New Avengers, Final Crisis and other fun books to be had.

No one reads X-titles.

Everyone I speak to when I’m there passes them by. My last time through, when I picked up the final ish of the Dan Dare mini (which I fully recommend, along with a box of hankies), I did find one fine gent who had something to say about All Things X. He was from out of town, on vacation, making a pitstop for something to read while he longed poolside at his upscale hotel.

The words he had to say about The X were, more or less, these.

"I stopped reading them when I was a kid." (For him, about ten years ago.) "They just seem to have lost the way. It’s almost as thought they’re making it up just before they send it to print."

Frankly, I can’t agree more. There have been few bright spots in the X-titles these days and, IMO, the swansong of the franchise is the introduction of yet another Summers brother. Corsair either made multiple donations to the sperm bank, or his ship must’ve had a lot of bedrooms…

Whatever. I ramble. I end this with a plea, to any X-writers who may be reading this.

Stop. Just stop. Give your ink to the guys writing the new Guardians book.

[  Mood: Happy ]
POSSIBLE SPOILERS

I haven’t been to my local comics store (Oxford Comics in Atlanta, if I may give it a blurb) since mid-March, owing to car trouble.

So my being able to squeeze out forty minutes there yesterday, after a long afternoon of riding buses and trains all over the Metro ATL, was nothing short of joy.

The place was uncharacteristically busy for a Shelving Wednesday, but I found myself not caring a whit about this as I steered through my fellow shoppers, looking at all of the covers for anything new and/or interesting. What I did find during my all-too-brief stay was a bit of both.

The new (for me) was Captain Britain and MI-13. Second ish, unfortunately, but no matter. Paul Cornell proves, to me at least, that he knows more than Doctor Who. I’ll be into this, as long as it’s around.

Also new was the new version of an old fave, Guardians of the Galaxy. Again, color me snared, because they’ve done me the great service of already having the best team for the job in place, that of the strike force that Nova used, to devastating effect, during the Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest minis. Star-Lord alone is worth the three bucks. Throw in Rocket Raccoon, and oh, *mama*…

As for the old…well, the first old is actually a new, in that it’s a restart of Dan Dare, courtesy of Virgin Comics. (Right now, I want to build shrines to Sir Richard Branson, Deepak Chopra and Shekhar Kapur, listed in the frontispiece as "Chief Visionaries".

Folks, this is *not* a comic book.

This is a cry from our collective subconscious, that there is a need extant in this world.

And that need is a man like Dan Dare. Someone who sees past the political BS of war and just does the job. I haven’t cried while reading a comic since Strikeforce Morituri #4. And twenty-odd years is too danged great an interim. Again, thank you, sirs. And buy this comic, if you haven’t.

The other bit of old for you is my Absolute Favorite Comic of All Time.

In four words, Reed, Sue, Johnny, Ben.

This time, as presented by the Brilliance That is Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.

What did they do?

In so many words, they put the WOW back in this book. (Right here, d*mn Marvel for what they did to it during Civil War. D*mn Marvel for Civil War *period*, for that matter.) Where else do you get a husband who, for his beloved wife’s anniversary gift, travels to the other side of the Universe to *shrink and entire galaxy* in order to fit it into a ring for her, and give it to her while at dinner *thirteen years in the past, to commemorate the day they first met*?

I’m done now. I’m going to reread these great books. Then I need to start on those shrines…

[  Mood: Neutral ]
I’ve been watching "The Sarah Jane Adventures".

Check that- *trying* to watch.

I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since 1978. I remember that it was basically a kids’ show, flights of fancy across time and space with wondrous monsters and aliens, a funny guy with a scarf who traveled in a blue police box- heck, you all know the story. And you all loved it as well. Right?

Well, "Sarah Jane" is basically the same deal, only without the police box or the funny guy. Does have Sarah Jane, though, and that’s still not a loss, even after thirty years. Right? But it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s because it’s still for kids, and I’m older. (*Physically*, anyroad. The emotional factor is still out with the jury.)

But I don’t think so.

I think that "Sarah Jane" is suffering from "writer-itis", a writing staff overextended from working on three shows more or less at the same time. Maybe a new staff for it alone might be best. I hear noise from down the whisper-stream that the show’s being retooled for an older audience next series. Don’t know if I entirely want that, either. I think that kids need something to capture their imagination, as DW did for me all those years ago. This could be it.

So, what happens at the close of the day? I don’t know. Just needed to put this down for the record, and since they give me this wonderful place to rant in, why not?

[  Mood: Sick ]
Same as before, kids. Read my past stuff, because I so will it.

Today, I sit here, thinking about the Knight Rider movie. I won’t even deign to review that pile of cinecrap, because The Rage builds wi’in my breast. Best to leave such daemons play with the entrails of others.

Whatever happened to creativity?

Why does H’Wood continually shunt aside potentially grear stories and offer us pablum based on old TV shows r novels that have been so butchered as to be unrecognizable? (I’m looking at you now, You Rat Bastiches Who Gave Us "Jumper"!)

I know that it can be tough to craft a story. Right now, I’m fighting (and losing) with a story that’s been my life’s-blood for close to two years now. I’ve put it down gently once, and thrown it across the room in anger once. Ideas are tough to mine. But these guys aren’t trying. They’re parked on their fat a$$es in the luxury offices, getting pedicures and eating sushi that my friend Carolyn deserves much more (message me, and I’ll route you to her web site. Not sure if I can advertise here) while they feed us "KR" and "Jumper" and worse ("Roscoe Jenkins", anyone?).

Okay, I’m as done as I can be. I’ll only begin recycling the words from here. If anyone has an answer that makes sense, please leave me a message.

Truthseeker (still insane after all these months)

[  Mood: Neutral ]
Just popped in, as per my usual habits, and I took in the latest poll. And a fine one it was. Only one problem with it, in my mind.

One vital horror was left off.

A lonnnnnnnnnng time ago, back when Cro-Magnon was petitioning for recognition as a viable species, I read a science-fiction mag, the name of which escapes me since the day after I read it, in which was listed the 10 Biggest Safety Violations on the Death Star. Unfortunately, I can only remember two of them. One was radiation-exposure concerns (in the scene where the Death Star weapon is fired, the energy beams that combine to form the main weapon are seen passing within inches of the heads of system operators. That just can’t be good for those poor guys. But it pales next to the other reason I remember.

Lack of safety railings (which, I must point out, Seth Green acknowledged n a "Robot Chicken" sketch). In Ep 4 alone, I can think of four Stormtroopers who, after being winged by blaster fire, fell spinning to their deaths because there were no safety rails around mile-long drops. Now that would *bite*…

[  Mood: Very Sad ]
I learned that Robert Jordan died yesterday.

I’d known that he was ill for sometime, and plugged into his own website solely to keep up with his condition, and to hope for his recovery (a thing I knew was nigh unto a miracle in scope). Alas, it was not to be, and so I’m left with this sadness. And guilt.

For, to my eternal shame, I have yet to finish his first WOT novel. And I bought it the year after it was first published. Last week, I picked up "New Spring", again chastising myself for not even finishing the first.

Now, in his honor, I finish this with the only tribute I can offer toa great author.

I’m going to read all of his books, no matter what may come. Forgive me, sir. And in peace may you rest. I’ll be by in about thirty years to serve you and Misters Zelazny, Asimov and Heinlein.

[  Mood: Neutral ]
Just breezed through the place, and caught the Ineffable Mister Crowe’s piece on the upcoming Futurama product en route.

ZOIDBERG roolz?

Good Sir, I beg to differ.

Futurama is populated by many fine and diverse characters, from the hapless, mindless Philip J Fry to the hapless, clueless Amy Wong. But, left in the dust of forgotten memory, is The One True Star of this show, he without whom this show would be merely a slapstick parody of itself.

I give you- Scruffy.

An emigma, wrapped in a riddle, cloaked by a Warbird’s cloaking device. Scruffy. We see so little of him, and he appears to do so little when we do see him. I think that he is a major linchpin in the show’s future development. Just as Fry was the Chosen One against the fury of the Brains, Scruffy is due for true greatness.

That, or someone lost several pages of script with his name on them…

Truth (rarely on, always around)

[  Mood: Sick ]
As in lovesick. But that’s another story, which none of you are ever gonna get.

Spoilers, as the Esteemed Mr Crowe challenged, is the subject at hand. (Note to self- ask if he’s any relation to that Maximus guy.)

Spoilers.

We’re whacked with ’em every day, especially if we’re respectable genre fans. Wanna know what’s gonna happen on BG next season? I already know, and I never even tried to find out. Same with Atlantis, Heroes and that new NBC time travel show. Well, not that one, because I deleted the e-mail that had the promised spoilers. That I kinda regret doing.

Overall, I’m copacetic with spoilers now. I used to hate the things. Even a hint of what I didn’t know would incite the Red Rage, driving me to send the giver loads of spam. And that stuff doesn’t smell great when it’s sitting around by the truckload for a few days. Especially when the new Doctor Who kicked off. I really wanted to come into that cold, get every jolt for myself.

But I also made the mistake of being in a DW fan site, and there they were, all around me. "The Time Lords are gone!" "The Doctor’s got this horrific accent!" (I disagree with that entirely, for the record. My friend Roger is a North Country guy, and the accent’s cool.) And I steamed. I sulked. I trolled for addresses to send spam. Nothing, and the spoilers continued, late into S1, then for S2 while I was still digesting S1. (Pausing to get my Corporate Fix…) Okay, back. After awhile of innundation (sp?), I began to get used to the idea. Spoilers. They exist. We learn to live with them, or we walk around with dirty socks in our ears. Or we belt anyone that tries to give us one. (That last isn’t advisable. Jail’s not fun. And no, I know nothing about the Inside, man!) Or we can turn off our computers. (Sorry, folks. Please stop screaming.)

So, what have we learned here today? That spoilers are all about us, and we have to learn how to live with them, much as we have to live with the notion that Skiffy’s keeping Paincauser Jane around to punish We the Faithful? That whoever let me have this blog should be taken out behind the barn and fed to starving pigs? That I loathe Paincauser Jane? Yes to One and Three, no to Two. (Only because the guy owes me fifty.)

Peace in, folks. Trust me- I got it right.

Truth

[  Mood: Neutral ]
Meh…

It really coulda been better…

FLASH!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHH!

I’m gonna stop doing this…

Promise. Never again will I riff on the Queen classic. Freddie Mercury’s ghost wants royalties.

I’m watching Flash The Series for the third time as I type this. Not because it’s really good, but because everything else on TV is really bad.

This isn’t bad either, IMO. It’s just- incomplete. It feels as though the writers just used the sketch notes for the air-draft. Where there could eb more substance, we get- air. The last book I read similar to this in structure was John DeChancie and David Bischoff’s "Dr. Dimension: Masters of Spacetime", and I felt ripped off by it. I remember wanting my four bucks back. I’m surprised that I don’t feel more ripped off by this.

The effects are garden-variety. Not surprising, this being the Spawn of Skiffy. I’ll hope for more. The action- again, okay. Nothing to leap out of your seat and roar over. As a guy, that bothers me somewhat. I like to leap and roar. I want more carnage. Am I wrong for that?

Frankel (sp?), the Chief Scientist. He’s miscast. Should’ve been the Chief Interrogator, IMO. If I’m a scientist, and someone lands in my part of town, claiming to be from another planet, I’m going to ask a few sciency questions. He didn’t, just pressed Flash abut the "Imex" (nice touch, BTB, though I admit that I saw it coming at first shot). And, when he had Flash on the torture table, he *enjoyed* that. (Hope the CIA wasn’t watching.) I still don’t know whether Aura’s shot killed him or not. Hope not, because that would make for a nice plot point, him having a serious beef with Ming’s daughter.

The acting. Okay, I’ve seen better in high-school productions. I’ve *done* better. And that was as a dead body. (Sorry, no recreations.) But the actors, as I said before, didn’t get much to work with in the way of a story. They managed well enough. They all look nice.

Karen Cliche (wonder if that’s her real name, or just something she picked for effect?), as the bounty hunter-type, is too Starbucky for my taste. One hot, macho babe per generation should be it.

Aura? Dale says to her, early on, that Flash "wouldn’t touch her if" she was "the last woman in the Universe". Allow me to agree wth that in totis. She’s- meh. Take her or leave her, preferably leave her. She’s a catch for some guys out there. Not for me. Dale, however, can interview me anytime she likes. And I don’t even like reporters. Character-wise (forgive me for the slip into Looks City. I’m a guy, okay?), both are exacly true to form.

Flash- he’s a little slow for the world-saving type, at times. Again, this could be due to the script, so I’ll let him go. Zarkov gets a bit of a knock by me. He’s a geeky Crazy Eddie from "First Wave". Can’t even shoot straight. Back to the boards for him.

I want an Imex. (Repeat this forty-three times, and you understand my lust for power-through-knowledge.)

Overall grade? Meh. Make it a C+ But it is just the pilot. Room for improvement, and Skiffy will give it that. Look at Paincauser Jane, still chugging along, clip show after only seven eps. (stopping self before PCJ rant escapes).

Thank you for your readership, all seven of you. I now return you control of your minds and souls. (Didn’t even know I had them, did you?)

Truthseeker013 (now weeping, because nothing’s on TV. Thank Deity for the Internet. Witch Hunter Robin, here I come…)