"Rants...Comments...Etc."

As usual, it's been a while since I've blogged. Just not a whole lot going on in my life and I really rather post when I have something "interesting" to say. But then again, I don't want to get completly out of the habit of posting, so here goes.

One of my current peaves has been with items I've won off of on-line auctions. I've had just really some terrible luck. I mentioned on a previous post the various books that had gotten "lost" in the mail, or were late, or just not received at all. One item I won back on Oct. 8th. A few weeks later I emailed an inquiry to the seller and he gave me this hardluck story about being ill, and promiced he'd FexEx the item right away, so I promiced I wouldn't leave him a neg'. Finally, last night here on Dec. 1st., I decided after other numberous inquiries to finally leave him feedback. I was going to leave a neutral since I promiced no neg', but wasn't allowed to due to him no longer being a registered user. (Figures.) Oh well, at leave I got a positive FB from him, so I guess that's one feedback I simply "bought" for seven bucks.

I'd really be better off just saving up my money and visiting my local comic book specialty shop during their twice-a-year 25% off back issues sale. No postage costs there; just the gas back and forth to the shop. Maybe then I could also afford to buy up some backing boards and bags for all these books I've yet to add to my collection boxes that have been piling up here in the computer/collection room floor. I just added another 100 boards today and what I have simply "swallowed them up"! I have around 3 short comic boxes crammed full, around 1/2 of which is bagged and boarded and another 25% bagged, and yet another 25% without either bag or board. Gets expensive buying all these comic book supplies, and I'm sure I'd be better off looking into purchasing such supplies wholesale, say, 500 at a time.

I'm seriously thinking about growing grapes next year, and have already bought a book on that subject. Was at my cousin's place out in the country on Thanksgiving and he has grapevines which is what gave me the idea. I could maybe make some homemade jams or jellys or even wine (if I have the patience). We have such a short growing season here in kentucky for such things, but my cousin has been fairly successful growing them, so it's a thought.

Work is its usually hecticness here especially during the holiday season. We were as expected very busy November 26th. and the following weekend, and every day has been very steady with fairly large sales figures, but perhaps a bit lower than last years. I haven't had time to buy much of anything yet. (I'm always late on picking up Christmas gifts.)

I was finally able to get my mom a pc and have to have my local "computer guy" clean it out and just reload what little stuff she really needs in it. All she needs one for actually is sending email to her sis in Indianapolis, or maybe looking for sewing patterns. And I have finally gotten a DVD player at long last. Actually, I got a DVD/VCR combo due to the fact that 99% of my videos are on tape and so far I only have around a dozen on disc. I'm going to obtain copies of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Hellboy and Spider-man II in a few days tho', and they will be exciting to rewatch with all the extras. Never seen Spider-man II, so that'll be the first I'll view. Probably I'll be writing a review of some sort on that flick here later on.

And, let's see now..."what else"? Oh, yeah. My glasses broke here the other day. Not the lense, but the stem right where it connects at the side of the left lense. Took it to the optometrist to see if it could be repaired (it couldn't), so now I'll be having to get a new pair sometime after the first of the year since, well, I really can't afford a new pair at the moment. It's not like I didn't know that's eventually happen to them; I haven't had a new pair in a good 5 years or better. I did dig out my old pair, but they're only for distance (I am required to wear corrective lense when driving a vehicle), so whenever I read or am at the computer I have to take them off, or I just see this blurry image. My boss was nice enough to offer to loan me the funds to purchase a new pair, but I really hate getting into a personal debt and my last pair cost me around $450. due to having to have bi-focals. Think I'll shop around a bit before I go to any local eye doctor this time.

Also I may shop around here after Christmas for a good little color t.v. of some sort so I can connect my old VCR into it and have something to play tapes while I'm here at the computer or working in this room. Would be nice. All I currently have in here is a little B&W set w/a 5" screen and that only picks up a couple channels. May look for a good used one, but I certainly wouldn't want to pick one up at a flea market unless they plugged it in first. Electronics are not a wise thing to buy at such places unless you can see it operate first, since, most things are bought "as is". Then again, small color t.v.'s are cheap enough I could probably pick one up at Wallyworld fairly inexpensively and it'd have somesort of warrenty.

Re: the above mention of "wine", I keep trying to complete my set of Eddie Campbell's BACCHUS, the god of wine, but am always getting outbidded on a set (which just goes to show me I am not alone in my admiration for his writing). Trouble is that there's 60 issues in a full set, but---I don't need a full set (only about the last 20 issues of so). Although I enjoy the series, still they're only worth about a buch each to me so I usually have bidded $20-$25 on a full set, although that'd still give me around 40 issues that I'd have to turn around and re-sell. Usually a full set goes for at least a buck and issue and the final bid's around $60. That'd be $3. per book for what I need, so each time I just let them go to some other bidder. It'd be nice to see just the issues I need at around $25., but that just probably isn't going to happen, and the only other issues I usually see are priced per issue at $2. or $3.. Maybe I can find them in a back issue bin ("somewhere"- "sometime") 'cause I'd really like to finish reading that series one day.

'Been watching the Teen Titans Go! animated show (whenever I can remember it's on). I've gained a bit more respect for this series than I had originally. I'm just not much on the manga-type animation, but later episodes don't seem to play up that style as much and I've enjoyed watching several of them. There's been some interesting guest-appearences, like "Terra" and "Nightwing", and one episode had both Aqualad, and Green Arrow's old sidekick, Speedy, which was sorta neat. I think the one that I disliked the most was the oine where "Beastboy" went inside of "Cyborg" in the form of an amoeba; that one was just a bit too childish even for me to like.
The episode where "Raven" was somewhat possessed by a character in a fantasy book was pretty decent; there's been episode I've liked, didn't like as much, and some I just didn't care for at all, but, overall, it's gotten better, I think.

I still was Justice League Unlimited, but I believe I've finally seen all of the episodes released thus far. The one with "Booster Gold" is a favorite. I thought it was pretty funny when he wasn't picked as a part of a team during a battle, but "Elongated Man" was instead and "Plastic Man" was already helping as well. He made a comment something like, "Two rubber guys? What do you need TWO rubber guys for?"
Gee. For a person without a lot to blog it certainly seems like I've got a lot to say this time, but really I'm just "catching up" for the past couple of weeks.

Well, someone recently asked me "why" I didn't do any new artwork anymore? Why I didn't create new comic strips or self-published small press stuff like I did years ago? You know...it's not like I don't want to do such things again, but back around 1990 I stopped doing them for a myriad number of reasons. You can take your pick: Ran out of ideas...The copier a friend of mine was letting me use broke down...Just got tired of it....But I think more to the true reasons I stopped was simply because there are no new ideas to explore that aren't something someone else at sometime hasn't already tried. On top of this folks, I'm getting on in years. I'm not ready for the grave, but "if" I was was ever going to make it in the comic book business I feel that'd been a long time ago. Writers/Artists working in that field today are a third of my age, twice as fast and three times as talented; those are the simple facts. Really, I have tried to do new work in the past 14 or so years since I stopped putting out small press stuff. I do them now and then, just 'whevever" I feel like it and have the time or have something that I think's a fresh idea, but I can never seem to get past that dreaded seven pages of any one strip before I lose interest, or decide someone else has already explored that idea (and better than I) or just get bored with it. IF (and you'll notice that that's an awfully big IF) I had tons of money, then YES, I'd go back into small press but in a much larger way. I'd publish things at least comic book SIZE. Maybe not in color, but B&W format with a 3 or 4 color cover and I'd probably start out with collecting a lot of short strips into somesort of format that are already finished but no one besodes myself (and maybe a couple others) have ever seen. For the time being, tho', such plans are on an indefinate hold.

Chat Boards: I post sometimes on The Comic Book Chat Board on EBay, but not as much as I once did. Dunno. Maybe the novelty of such a thing has worn off a bit. Maybe I feel like some of the people that post on them have been doing so a lot longer than my three years doing so, and have formed some clique groups and I feel like an outsider. None of them have ever met me personally. To some of them I'm just this eight-eyes mutant that lives in Nowheresville, Kentucky, and I can understand that. I've always been a bit of a loner. Well, maybe not "always". When I was 25 years younger I buddied around a lot more, but all my friends were younger as well and we didn't have the complications of life, or the problems that I'm certain we all share today in common. Not that I don't post anymore at all, but I just don't sit here for hour after hour chatting back and forth, sitting on the edge of my seat and reloading the Board every few seconds to see if I got somesort of reply. I've made an utter fool of myself on such boards more than once anyway, and once In print, always so, and really I don't need anyone to think of me as any bigger an a$$hole than I really am. (On top of which, the two weeks all of the chat boards were flooded with Every Joe's political statements--- many of such showing signs of lunacy--- during our last president election rather turned me off. During that time I tried to avoid making comments like the plague simply because I knew it'd make a lot of unneeded and unnecessary enemies.)

And, I just checked my mailbox for the day, and once again an item I won on an auction is way overdue in arriving. So, I guess I give the seller yet another week then email his sorry behind ask ask him "where" is my merchandice? Yet another reason to stop bidding on such auctions at all. You pay them for priority mail, then they wait three weeks to mail your item. Could have drove to the comic shop, bought the blasted thing and saved postage and had it immediately instead of this day-by-day waiting just to see if that's an honest and reliable seller. Maybe I'm wrong in this, but when I sold on auctions, I'd mail the item out either that same day or the next, plus I'd always email the buyer and let them know it's been mailed. Is it really too much to ask a seller to give one the same courtesy? If they want to give you the excuse that they have a LOT of auctions and it takes time to mail everything out, then they're doing well enough on sales that they can hire some extra help. Either that or just not list as much. (*sigh*)

I've ranted enough. For what it's worth, here's my post (maybe for the next several days). I'm not even gonna proof-read it; you can just have me typos and all.