I've Given In

I had to. I just couldn't take it any longer. I finally succumbed to satellite radio.

Let me say that, first of all, I love the medium of radio. Like most radio lovers, I have a childhood where radio played a very large--perhaps too large--a part. From listening to 'Dr. Demento' to surviving night terrors by huddling close to a transistor radio for company (as a child, I had horrific nightmares, made only worse by waking up in a darkened house, with only a transistor radio to keep me company until the blessed dawn would arrive), I have seen radio not only as a comfort, but as a necessity. I adore the medium. Sadly, many of those who work in radio today don't.

I have tried to listen to the CBC, but had to give up. The CBC seems aimed at self satisfied yuppies who only want to be comforted, and not challenged. Terrestial radio is ruled by advertisers on the AM dial, with conversations never being allowed to build up steam before being slit at the throat to allow for a commercial break. FM radio is falling over itself to appeal to the lowest common denominator, with DJs trying to ape Howard Stern's outrageousness but without actually offending anyone, or showing an ounce of his courage or integrity.

So I said goodbye. I bought Sirius radio, and haven't looked back.

Now I have Howard Stern on the drive in--uncensored and funny as hell. I have BBC Radio One. I have 'Left of Centre', with real alternative music that isn't just Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots. And I have my beloved NPR.

There are still great people working in London terrestial radio--Mike Stubbs at CJBK remains a treasure,for example, a man as dedicated to good radio as any I've seen. And I'm not just saying that because I do 'Geek Corner' with him. I do 'Geek Corner' because of Mike--he's a friend, and I enjoy talking with him, and doing 'Corner'is just an excuse for Mike and I to geek out together. I don't get paid to do it--when Mike leaves CJBK, so does 'Geek Corner'. But he's a gem among the trash. But with the exception of Mike's afternoon show, I'm all about the satellite, man. And if you love radio, you should be, too.

John M. Ford

'm not sure how I missed this, but John M. Ford passed away recently. I remember reading one of his Star Trek novels--How Much For Just The Planet?--and remember being just in awe of his brilliance and courage. Not many Trek novels, for example, are based on Gilbert and Sullivan plays, involve golf games between Scotty and Klingons, or use pink milkshakes as a plot device. Check out Wikipedia to learn more--for some reason, Blogger won't take links today.

When Robert Jordan and Neil Gaiman say you're good, you know you've made good use of your time on this planet. John made very good use of his short time here.

Best Thing To Do On A Rainy Day

Okay, second best thing: Read new comics!

Knights of the Old Republic #9

Damn, but this is getting good. After a little wonky beginning, John Jackson Miller is slowly showing how smart he really is. The set up of this story--that a cadre of Jedi Masters slay their own Padewans to avoid some horrible galactic fate sort of thing--seemed a bit forced at first. But over nine issues, Miller has spun that into a new Mandlorian War, delved into the whole idea of Jedi Seers, and also managed to tie this series into Tales of The Jedi, a comic that came out nearly twenty years ago. This issue deals with the leader of the murderous Jedi Masters, and we learn that his mommy didn't love him very much. Awww. Those Jedi. Everytime they have some sort of parental problem, off they go murdering people and ruling the galaxy...



Ultimate Spider-Man 101

This is Part Five of 'The Clone Saga', and unlike the original Saga over in the 616 Marvel Universe, this one doesn't blow goats. Brian Michael Bendis has either some masterplan or is trying to really fuck over the next writer to take over for him: we have several clones of Peter Parker, a transformed MJ filled with Osbourne chemcials, Parker's dad back from the dead, and an apparently resurrected Gwen Stacy turning into Carnage. Oh, and we have Nick Fury about to execute Parker with a gun to his head. Oh, and Aunt May dying from a heart attack. And the last two issues take up about ten minutes of comic book 'real time.' Man. Remember when J.Jonah Jameson yelling at Parket to get some pictures was high drama?

Ultimate Fantastic Four # 35

Part Three of 'God War'. Still smart as hell. The FF are in space, and we get to see why the Ultimate Sue Storm could kick the bejeezus out of the Original Flavour Storm any day. And it looks like the FF are going to run into the Ultimate version of the God of Death. You geeks out there will know who I'm talking about. Rhymes with Thanos. Oh, wait, I just gave it away.

Ultimate Power #1



Okay, I only got this because Greg Land draws a gorgeous Sue Storm. The other women aren't bad, either, but I'm all about Sue. In this new mini-series, the Supreme Universe is set to crash into the Ultimate Universe and apparently all hell will break loose. Bendis writes it very well, even if I feel a bit of fatigue at yet another Ultimate mini-series. Easy on going to the well once too often, Marvel. Still, Sue looks great.

The Authority #1

It's Grant Morrison on 'The Authority'! And it's....boring! Yes, after dropping the better part of five bucks, I read this in less than four minutes. And no sign of the Authority. Just a lot of preamble with characters who wandered out of a Tom Clancy novel. I love the Authority, I love Grant Morrison, but I just took one for the team here.

Runaways #21

This was the concluding chapter to 'Dead Is Dead', the follow up story arc after the death of Gert. The title got it right. No resurrections here, no magic do-overs. Gert is dead, and the Runaways have begun to move on with their lives. Or at least, most of them.

Daredevil #90

It's Daredevil in Europe! Looking for vengeance, and wondering why a mysterious woman reminds him of a dead lover. Daredevil ends up in Paris and Portugal, and gets into a tussle with Tombstone, the guy the size of a mountain with skin like cement. Upon seeing Daredevil bounce over a car, Tombstone asks him 'What are you? Frogger?" Hee.

Robin #155


Still adoring this book. It reminds me of Spider-Man back when Spider-Man was about a guy trying to balance a teenage life with that of an idiot who runs around in a costume breaking laws. The rather irritating wannabee hero Dodge (a kid who can teleport with a rather cool effect--I'm not sure if this was penciller or colourist who nailed it, but it is quite fine) lands himself in a world of hurt here. Robin--like Parker--feels terribly guilty, especially since he kinda put him there without meaning to. I also like this new father-son dynamic between Bruce and Tim. It's being explored the most here of all the Bat-Books. It gives the book a balance, and for the first time since the Seventies, there is a sense of family about these books, instead of a shared need for vengeance.

Trials of Shazam #3

I like each issue better than the last. This series is focusing on Freddy Freeman--nee Captain Marvel Junior--as he faces the challenges to become the next Captain Marvel. Or Shazam. Or just some super dude. I still don't know why Judd Winnick insists on having monsters and wizards give their 'level' all the time ('I'm a fifth level wizard!' He's an eighth level goblin!'). Perhaps he misses D and D. Bit of a nod towards Neil Gaiman's American Gods with some of the new magic set up in the DCU--okay, more than a nod--but it is nice to see the world of magic being made more contemporary, and not just being dusty seances and Zatanna in her fishnets. Not that I would ever complain about the latter. And what's with Zatanna being in the Justice League video game? Geeks--just couldn't resist.

Social Therapy

Some days, you just have to blast Social Distortion's 'Ball and Chain' real loud when you come home. That is my wisdom for today. Do with it what you will.

They Had Me At The Cheerleader Autopsy

I wasn't really going to give Heroes a chance when I first heard about it. Even though I adore Supes, I don't think I've ever made it through an entire episode of Smallville. The whole 'Krypton Creek' approach to the mythology just left me cold. So when I heard NBC was going to try its hand at a 'superhero' series, I just labelled with the Crap Brush before actually watching it. Life is so much easier if you just prejudge.

But I sat through the Heroes marathon last night--and now I'm hooked. What I really liked was that this series has more in common with Vertigo than it does with mainstream super hero books--it's dark, it's surprisingly violent, yet still manages to have that geek adoration of the material. And when we saw the invulnerable cheerleader wake up on an autopsy table, her chest splayed open and her internal organs surrounding her in sterile little metal bowls--well, I was sold. With that scene alone, Heroes waved goodbye to any family audience it might have courted. No surprise NBC is putting it late on their prime time schedule.

There's a lot to like about this series, and a lot of courage. Having a porn star as a main character won't play well in the Bible Belt, nor will what appears to be an incestous father. This series really seems to live up to the promise that I saw in Unbreakable, before M. Night abandoned that project altogether.

Well,the next episode is on tonight at ten. If you love comics and edgy entertainment, check it out.

Clever Girl

A friend of mine has come up with a great way to assert herself at work. She wrote a ten letter word for her screensaver, then converted it to 'Botanical', so each letter becomes a flower. So deep in Corporate London, her computer screen shows nice little flowers flowing across her screen. Everyone adores her, as she smiles her workaday smile. Only she knows that the ten letter word is COCKSUCKER.

From The Vaults #2: The Adventures of Captain America, Sentinel Of Liberty

This four issue series came out fifteen years ago, waaay back in 1991. Written by Fabian Nicieza and gorgeously illustrated by Kevin Maguire, Adventures told the story of Cap's first adventure, told through the prism of a retro-40's approach. Nicieza and Maguire framed the story very much as an over-the-top movie serial, so pulpy that only one issue alone will give you enough Vitamin C for a week.

In this story, Steve Rogers becomes Captain America only to find himself being used more as a propaganda tool than the 'super soldier' he actually is. Of course, it isn't long before Cap is out there fighting Nazis (or 'Ratzis'), alongside a very eager Bucky Barnes and various gorgeous pin up women. And yes, this being a Forties homage, there is a woman being fed into a grinder, saved at the last second by Cap. It's an actual law that such scenes must exist in any aforementioned homage.

Nice touches abound: Cap uses the triangular shield he began his career with, and not the circular icon most people are familiar with; in lieu of his cowl, Cap wears a modifed helmet, and in one of the book's oddest scenes, German villians speak to each other in broken English ('But still ees there more vhich must be akkomplished, Herr Blitzkrieg.') but they leave messages for Cap in German.

Nicieza also slides in a nice Raiders of the Lost Ark nod, which is also law in these homages, but only in homages made after 1982.

Nice to compare this title with the work being done by Ed Brubaker in the current Captain America
title: this giddy fun alongside Brubaker's more dark approach, his 'conscience of America' Captain with this young hero flying by the seat of his pants.
And it's hard to see this title's Bucky standing alongside Brubaker's 'Winter Soldier'--this Bucky would pee his pants if the Soldier so much as glanced at him.

A good, fun read, even nearly twenty years later.

Aww, Shucks

Honeypot--whoever this mysterious blogger is--had these nice things to say about widdle ole me:

`I like Sean's writing, not just because he doesn't give a damn, and not just because it is so easy for him. I like it because he has the ability of telling people to fuck off in such a sweet manner, and then they applaud him for it.'


That's so sweet! Aww! If I ever publish The Chronicles of The Magic Sword What Saved The Kingdom And How It Got The Hero Laid By That Usually Frigid Princess But A Girl's Gotta Do What A Girl's Gotta Do When The Dark Lord Of Evil Land Is Finally Vanquished, I may put that on the back.

Funny how the publishers aren't pounding down my front door...

That's It. I'm Done With Talking To Foreigners!

Best line from this week's 'The Amazing Race'. May actually be the funniest line in all of televisual history.

Other random thoughts and observations, written by a man who has had eight hours sleep in the last three days:

--Watched Doctor Who. When Billie Piper runs her hand down her backside and says, "Nice rear bumper", I admit to agreeing.

--Read Civil War: Frontline, which was the Comic of The Week. Makes sense of the action-o-rama that is Civil War proper, and is just damn fine writing.

--I was reading the latest issue of Dragon, and was nearly finished it (a thrilling article on the core beliefs of Vecna, some horrible curses to inflict on players, and the much anticipated 'Ecology of the Wight') but now it's gone. Vanished. Been all through the house, but it's vamoosed. Weird.

--Made Level 7 Jedi in Galaxies. I now have Force Lightning, so watch your mouths.

--waking up with cats curled all around you rates as one of the best things this planet has to offer.

-- a 41 year old man needs more than eight hours of sleep in three days.

Asshole Writers

It really is a pet peeve.

I despise writers who somehow think themselves above the common herd. Who adopt 'tones', who create epic dramas to coincide with their own books, who somehow manage the amazing trick of not only piling up amazing piles of bullshit, but somehow *believe* it themselves. Writing--to me--is no more amazing than bricklaying, or fixing a broken toilet. It's a function that is tied with art. I know plumbers who have a deep fascination with how a plumbing system works, of pressures and pipes, of a design that allows the removal of waste and brings in fresh water, and how this system works on a city-wide scale. Grunt work, yes, but still an art. The same rings true with writing. I cannot build a house, so I would never think twice about castigating a builder because he doesn't appreciate Heinlein. Each one of us serves a purpose on this planet, and no one purpose is any more important than another. Some may tell you their purpose stands above others (teachers, lawyers, ad nauseaum)but if your toilet doesn't flush, who'se the genius then?

All I'm saying: just because you write, doesn't mean you're any better--or any more interesting--than anyone else. Sure, maybe this will get you laid, but so will two hundred bucks and a motel room. So, honestly, are you really that special?

If you write, write. Just shut up about it.

Twenty Six Years Ago Today...

...Gen X released a new single--'Dancing With Myself'--which only made it to #62 on the UK charts. Singer Billy Idol would have a bit more success with the song a few years later, adopting a cheesy Road Warrior look and naff video.

As well, Adam and The Ants put out 'Dog Eat Dog', which would sail all the way to #4 on the UK charts. Lesser known Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls also put out their debut album on Illusive Records, with songs 'Dream Sequence' 'Screaming In The Darkness' and 'Mr. X.', among others I've never heard.

And if that wasn't enough, you could see Echo and The Bunnymen playing at the Cedar Ballroom in Birmingham, while the Dead Kennedys rocked the Lead Mill in Sheffield.

Yeah, I've been reading my Post Punk Diary again. It was that kind of day.