Any news on the site re-launch, Ace McShumskas?

I need something to live for.

What do you know, it is just like our constitution!

As soon as I find a spare $50 bill, I'll be getting this -- the 2006 Alamanc of American Politics. Excerpt:

Where did Bush gain most (6 percent or more)? In districts that can be characterized by the following labels: Italians, Jacksonians, Latinos, and Asians.

Where did the Bush percentage decline most (3 percent or more)? In districts that can be characterized by the following labels: Universities, Episcopalians, Changing Neighborhoods.

I have no idea what "changing neighborhoods" means, but I do know what Universitites means, and I'm fairly certain that the Episcopalians (Anglicans in the U.K.) are the party of old Southern aristocracy and rich folk in general. Which is interesting, because it seems to hint that Bush didn't quite carry the "Plantation" vote as I would imagine. The fact that the author mentions "Jacksonians" -- which is to say, middle and lower class white Southern and Appalachian Protestants, seems to bear this out. And of course W's gains in Italians and Latinos means that he did better among coastal lower class folk than usual. Ah, 2004 looks stranger and stranger.

Anyway, all this "analysis" is basic extrapolation on my part, and I am a bit worried that if I get this book, much of its number-crunching will be invalidated come 2006, where I'm thinking that the Dems will pick up a handful of House seats, more state legislatures, and break even on the governorships (I actually think the GOP's going to gain 1 Senate seat).

We know the Democratic Party is nog ood at selling itself and, as a whole is pretty spineless and easily cowed by the GOP. I believe in compromise and consensus but I also believe in keeping your eyes open and understanding when "compromise" is just another word for "I totally fucked you, your wife, and your high school girlfriend." Anyway, I think it will be hilarious if in the 2008 Presidential election the candidate who really speaks out against the Iraq debacle goes to the White House, and it turns out to be Republican Chuck Hagel. That would be hilarious. Because lord knows all the "serious" Democrats won't do it. Because they're scared of big scary Bush and his big scary 36% approval rating.

Oh Howard, where are you when I need you?

Ever wonder why witches ride broomsticks? The answer is stranger than you can imagine. (And Asa and I can imagine a lot.) Here's The Straight Dope.

Maybe I've become disappointed with Jim Lee's work because he hasn't done the art on anything well written since, well, maybe ever. Do we count that X-Men run as well-written? I'm also a bit dismayed at the number of extraneous lines he puts on everything: check out Zombie Dr. Light on his Infinite Crisis cover.

But then there's George Perez's alternate cover. The Jim Lee cover is good, I like the battle stance and all, but in no way conveys the epic scope that Perez manages. Granted some of that is sense memory of the original Crisis, but there's also just so much more detail, legacy, and pathos in the Perez cover.

Which is a long way of saying that I'm glad they're doing these alternate covers, because I can't really imagine having to buy Lee's cover to Infinite Crisis #2. As Adam says, it looks like the cover to the issue of Power Girl where she gets into some wacky dating misadventures.

Yesterday morning I took Emily to the airport, and we drove past "Nude Nudes" which is a pretty good name for a strip club, although for my money not as good as "Nud Nudes" which is how the sign read before they went and added that wandering 'e'. I was always dissapointed by that correction, but I suppose you should never give up hope in a strip club. They've gone and reduced the size of that top "Nude" and filled the empty space with the statement "Here Be Vagina."

Thank you, Nud Nudes, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.

Ah, the war comic. That's a genre we haven't seen since my grandpa's generation. Anyway, this is now out. And it looks interesting.

What do we think of the new season so far? I love it. All of it. Even the stuff with Cally, who I find annoying and unsolider-y.

I've been watching a lot of Star Trek: TNG lately (it's on every afternoon). I'm struck by how bad the bad episodes are. In my mind's eye, TNG eps always look really crisp, with great effects. But when you see some of the first and second season ones again, you're struck by the hokiness of it all. Which is really strange considering that at the time (circa 1990) we all remarked upon how "realistic" the show was compared to the "corny" original series. In short, all Star Trek series are cornball to some degree.

Of course, the Meyer Films remain awesome to the awesometh degree.

TV Land has finally gotten Night Court, which I had remembered really liking but was not in reruns (even on USA!). They're starting off with a weekend long marathon, and hey awesome, I'll watch a lot of Night Court. But right now they're showing part 4 (oh yeah) of the 4 part epic where Harry gets fired and then rehired but he doesn't know it and Dan has to impersonate him. 4 parts! That's Night Court: The Movie my friends.

Oh man, I love Night Court.

... Alright, Dan just referenced how he always wanted to be a judge and when he was a kid he used to sentence his pet turtle "Marcelle." Earlier tonight, in an episode when Dan's hick parents came to town, it was revealed that Dan's pet turtle was actually a potato, painted as a turtle. Now that's a callback.

... Now Bull is talking to witnesses in court with a hand puppet of himself. And Dan has sold his soul for $100. I love how insane this show gets in the later years. Family Guy owes them.

So Jack Ambramoff was arrested for dealings with a Casino Boat Operation? What is this, 1910? I hope in 100 years big political figures are getting caught up in shady dealings aboard space-Casino Boat Operations. Space can be the new "International waters."

We haven't discussed this, but there are super-duper special editions of all four Batman films coming out in October. Thank the Lords of Kobol.

Well, for the first two at least. Anyway, Asa doesn't get excited for special editions, but I'm happy just because Batman and Batman Returns will be on my shelf in actual keep cases, and not those snappers from 1998.

My opinions of organized religion and the Catholic Church (hit and miss at best) aside, I will say that I really respect the recent Popes' (plural AND possessive) stand against the Iraq war. There are a lot of times when I find Christians to not really be following the teachings of Christ, but the Catholic Church really took a stand on that one. But that's not really the point of this post.

No, the reason I'm posting now is because Pope Ratzinger (recently featured in Cash Milliondollars!) had this to say about the war: " today we should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a 'just war'.'"

Frankly I'm just amazed that "licit" is a word. I always assumed "illicit" was one of those words that was a negative with no positive. Like "contraband." Have you gone out to purchase any "band" materials lately? Tonight the Pope is 2 for 2 in my book.

Alex and I are fond of saying that Jeph Loeb is probably a great pitch man, because all of his stories sound pretty good when loosely described. But when he actually writes them they just fall apart. He's like 30's Studio Exec: "Maybe! Maybe Superman and Batman are criminals! And they have to fight all the other heroes! And maybe President Luthor blames them for everything!"

"Oh great Jeph, go right that."

Flash forward two months: "Hey Jeph, what's all this crap about kryptonite heroin and giant Composite-Superman robots? This sucks."

Well now we have the ultimate proof. Friendly Meltdown man whose name escapes me right now explained a heretofor unknown facet of the "Hush" tale to me this morning. You see "Hush" wasn't Loeb's idea. It was in fact pitched by Jim Krueger (current writer of Justice with Alex Ross). The idea (get this, the title is about to make way more sense) was that "Hush" referred to Batman's darkest secret: After Jason Todd's death, he took the body and dipped it in a Lazarus Pit, but it didn't work. The body was buried and everyone moved on with their lives. Except that it did work, eventually, and lil' Jason clawed his way out of his grave and decided to fucking tear Batman apart. So the story was basically the same (probably minus Tommy Plot Device) up until the Jason Todd reveal in the graveyard, at which point Loeb's story becomes irretrievably stupid, and maybe Krueger's was pretty good. But the powers at DC thought Loeb-Lee looked better on a cover than Krueger-Lee and thus crappy comics history was made.

Now I've always stood firmly against bringing Jason Todd back, but if you've got to do it (and DC, fuckers that they are, eventually did it anyway) then this is probably the best way. If ever there was a time Batman would bend regarding the use of the LAzarus Pit that was it. And the laws of drama would indicate that he would eventually pay for that moral lapse. And it would have been, if not as good as just leaving Robin dead, at least better than making him the fucking Red Hood. Fucking Judd Winnick.

So there, I hope you're all happy now. Jeph Loeb is a fucking hack.

Emily was telling me how she used Star Trek as an argument against genetic modification in a recent verbal match, and we realized that for the most part, Star Trek is just one long argument against technology. I mean, they obviously want us to get to a certain point, but then after that point pretty much every invention seems to cause a lot more trouble than it does solve problems.

Other examples: Nanites, anything above Warp 5, the Genesis effect

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present that classic 1980 time travel yarn, The Final Countdown, in 1:350 scale.

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Speaking of time travel...

I watched Primer the other day. Anyone seen it? It's definitely from the Donnie Darko school of "Let's intentionally confuse the audience" time travel logic, but it's a great example of lo-fi sci-fi. Or as Asa and I call it, "Two men in a room sci-fi."

That would be Asa and myself.

Not coincidentally, we've also become terrible at being friends. Seriously, I haven't seen that guy in weeks. Asa, if you're out there, I miss ya buddy.

(Any chance JS 3 and 4 will be finished before the Earth crashes into the Sun?)