the stuffs inside my head that must get out
archives
Wed, 30 Apr 2003
disturbing trend
I've been noticing a disturbing trend on the referrer list on my stats
pages the past couple months. I guess this is a new way to generate
links from sites that list their referrers to porno sites.
Guess I'll have to see what I can do about that...
update:
I think I fixed it, so that it won't show the offensive stuff. I used this:webalizer -rshemale -rblack -rebony -rgay -rsex -rslut -rvirgin -rxxx -rcasino -rhound22 -rlesbian -rsan-fran.net -rtriconex -rwickedsearch.com -rsemenyak -rifxforum -relbe1.com -rtriplespace.com -rmyezsigma -ryellowpage.ws
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action
What is action?
Go ahead, check out that link and come back. I'll wait.
That pretty much sums it up, right? Wrong. They forgot about the most important definition for action, one every gambler knows. Action, sometimes also called juice is that feeling you get when you risk something with the chance to win big. You don't even have to win, you're in it for the thrill, the juice, the action.
What is it? There's no doubt your conscious mind and your innermost emotions are all wrapped up in there, much like other major players in the human psyche like love and hate. Some might say it's pure greed, but most gamblers know they'll eventually lose more than they win, so that's not the entire story.
Action has crept from the once exclusive den of compulsive gamblers and into the hearts and minds of children in the form of trading cards. Where once the hobby was about having a complete set or even one's favorite cards, the new mindset is purely focused on collectible value. Price guides are required reading for any 6 year old kid buying Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, or whatever it's called this year. There's no doubt that it's a money-maker for me, but that doesn't mean I can't be intrigued by all the action going on...
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Tue, 29 Apr 2003
better late than never...
Just in case you haven't read them yet, here's a
link to the
2003 Eisner Award nominations.
I haven't decided on every category yet, but I'm definitely voting for Jason Shiga's Fleep for best one-shot.
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free as in speech and/or beer
I finally got around to putting up a software section of the main site.
Check out the software page for releases of my
various comic retailing software. They are all Free Software,
written in Perl, and of course, inadequately documented.
Why release this stuff for free? Because the industry needs it, and I want as much feedback on it as possible. Also because I'm dumb.
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Mon, 28 Apr 2003
warspying
Warren Ellis had a nice link about how to have a little fun
with things you get at Fry's Electronics.
wondercon 2003
I just showed up for the tail end of this convention. Apparently
lots of people bailed out when the venue changed to San Francisco from
Oakland. It's always a trip to see so many people in your same
business gathered together. It seems that the one thing every comic
store owner shares in common is that they are all very unique. I
have to say by far the nicest guy I met was Dick Swan, owner of Big
Guys comics. Of course, he might have been so happy because he recently
sold his store and got out of the business...
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Fri, 25 Apr 2003
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Now that most of my major store improvements are done, I can finally
spend a little time digging through the 21 years worth of accumulated
inventory. So far, my favorite find was America's Best Comics #13. Besides having an unapologeticly racist caricature, this comic
is notable for being the inspiration and namesake for Alan Moore's
ABC imprint. In fact, these guys are all about to make a comeback in
the upcoming ABC book, Terra Obscura. I just did a quick
google search on it, and came up with this timeline of the characters.
If you think kids see a lot of violence today, howzabout our "hero", Doc Strange incinerating that Japanese soldier with a flame thrower right on the cover?! Keep watching that upper left corner of the main site for other cool old comics to appear! |
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Thu, 24 Apr 2003
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I just started getting back into posting auctions on ebay. I'm just
sort of dipping my toe in, but you loyal customers might as well
get in on the auction action. Click on the pretty picture to check out
the details. or check out these other auctions of mine:
action comics 215 f/vf superman 10 cent cover
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finally, a formula for deriving artistic greatness!
 Van Gogh a no-go |
I actually received an interesting spam today. By interesting, I mean it didn't offer me viagra, a high school equivalency certificate, or any Nigerian investment opportunities. It was from artprice.com. What made it stand out were the cool graphs charting the average auction prices of various artists. I'm a sucker for a good graph. Geeky I know, but I also read Edward Tufte books for fun. |
 Probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn, this map by Charles Joseph Minard portrays the losses suffered by Napoleon's army in the Russian campaign of 1812. Beginning at the Polish-Russian border, the thick band shows the size of the army at each position. The path of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in the bitterly cold winter is depicted by the dark lower band, which is tied to temperature and time scales. Exquisitely printed in two colors on fine archival paper, 22 by 15. buy it here |
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linky-linky!
There's a nice discussion about indy comics over at slashdot.org.
Plus, you can ask Warren Ellis something while you're there.
Speaking of Ellis, check out artbomb and Die Puny Humans. Both have some really good reviews and such.
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Sun, 20 Apr 2003
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Mario told me I haven't been reviewing enough "mainstream" comics, so
here we go. I really enjoyed this comic. I read the first collection
of issues 1-9, and found them to be a fun read. I especially liked
the Rick Jones issue. Rick Jones is kinda like Marvel's version of Jimmy Olsen. He's been a staple of the universe since Hulk's first appearance, and each time he hooks up with a superhero his schtick gets wackier. Personally, I think he deserves his own book, a la Superman's Pal... |
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Sat, 19 Apr 2003
blog system upgraded
I just switched over from plain Vim editing over to the blosxom weblog
system. You can click on the little "powered by" logo on the lower
left of the page to learn a little more about it. I switched over for
a couple of reasons:
- I can still use Vim directly on the webserver to post entries.
- It's written in perl.
- No DB required. It uses the file system to keep track of things.
- I just need to keep busy.
| Before I discovered the magic kingdom that is Fry's Electronics, Radio Shack was there to fulfill my geeky tech fantasies. They used to give away dorky comics that were so bad, they're good! I especially like The Computers That Said "NO" To Drugs. Sometimes I think my computer has been sniffing glue... |
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 |
P. Craig Russell rules. Not only did he draw my all-time favorite
issue of Sandman (#50 Ramadan) and the best non-Ditko Dr Strange story
ever (What is it that Disturbs You, Steven?) but he does the best
literary adaptations around. He's done Salome, and the entire Wagner
Ring Cycle with style and aplomb, and Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book
is in the same tradition. Check it out!
$16.95 - NBM Publishing |
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|
Another day, another graphic novel review. Bill Plympton's Hair
High is a comic preview of the upcoming feature film animated by
Plympton. The work is quirky, distinctive and a damn fast read. The
figure designs are full of energy, and you can almost imagine them
in their full animated glory. You may have seen Plympton's work in the
Spike and Mikes festival, but those are just little tidbits compared to
his complete feature works. $10.95 published by NBM |
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nice rack!
Get your mind out of the gutter and into the store to see the new comic
racks I scored at a Super K-Mart liquidation sale! Apparently Big K
has come upon hard times, and has been closing stores left and right
across the country. They can't seem to compete with Wal-Mart any better
than small local businesses, I guess. Wal-Mart is amazing to me
because they're expanding exponentially into new markets and eating
everybody's lunch. They'll never get comics though, I've instituted my
own sinister protocols to assure of it.
Speaking of sinsister, check out little green men, a fun little webcomic I read about on boingboing today.
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believe the hype
Sometimes people ask me where I get some of my more esoteric bits of
nerdly trivia. I just casually chalk it up to a natural affinity for
useless information. The truth is I do my homework. One of my best
sources just gave a nice plug for Free Comic Book Day. It's a
linky love-fest!
FCBD is sure to be a big hit this year, and the promotional machine is just shifting into high gear. I don't want to give too much away about my plans, but does anyone know where I can rent a fog machine and bat-signal?
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who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?
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I just finished Days Like This by J. Torres and Scott Chantler, published by Oni Press. A nice
period piece set in the 60's in a fictionalized Motown. It ends rather abruptly, making me think sequels are intended. I really enjoyed the
light tone and upbeat pace of the comic. I highly reccomend this comic
for anyone looking for an alternative to people in tights beating each
other up. We've got copies in stock at Hijinx!
Here's the blurb from Oni's site: J. Torres, who used memory to great effect in The Copybook Tales, now casts his eye back to the early '60s, when pop music ruled the airwaves. Days Like This follows the formation of "Tina & the Tiaras," a new girl group, as they rise up the charts and overcome personal obstacles to become stars. Featuring stunning art by newcomer Scott Chantler that's reminiscent of the clean lines of vintage graphic design from the period. Price: $ 8.95 US,$ 13.50 CAN |
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I'm a lazy blogger, but I'm trying to get current. I don't use one of those fancy blog generators, heck I don't even use a word processor! I use vim, a text editor with some cool history. Vim stands for "VI improved", and is my favorite modern incarnation of this old unix sysadmin standby. Did you know that the original vi was written by Bill Joy of Sun Micro fame? It's true! The same guy who predicts that artificially intelligent nano-bots will take over the earth invented the text editor people love to hate.
originally posted 4.7.2003
my ears are burning!
The
Master List reviews Hijinx! What's the Master List? I didn't know
either until I stumbled across this review.
originally posted: 4.13.2003
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