The Sala-Blog

For my last blog post of the year, I'd like to thank those of you who actually read the crap I post here. Cheers. May 2011 be the stuff dreams are made of.

TV is will rot your brain, and these are the ten shows in 2010 that made brain rot awesome.

The Daily Show
Bored to Death
Modern Family
No Ordinary Family
Dexter
Fringe
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
Community
Stan Lee's Superhumans
Sons of Anarchy

I also really like a bunch of British shows, like Misfits, Being Human, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and No Heroics but it takes some work to get them here in the US. Well, HBO shows old Call Girl episodes a year later, SyFy is about to ruin Being Human, and ABC botched a remake of No Heroics so bad it will never air...

2010 was a year in which formerly pretty good shows started to suck pretty bad. I'm sorry, but even sacred cow 30 Rock wasn't as good this year. Weeds? Why in the hell did I keep watching? It was like doing homework. Same with Entourage. I used to really like Chuck, but I think even the writers are out of ideas. I loved the first season of The Big Bang Theory. They should have stopped there.

I think there's better writing going on in television than in feature film. At least in TV shows that get made versus movies that get made. Of course, I like full length films better than short films. So possibly I just prefer long form story telling. Still, most of the movies I've seen in the last few years kind of sucked. For the purpose of these year end lists, here are 10 that actually didn't suck. In no particular order.

The Runaways
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Greenberg
Cyrus
Red
Wall Street 2
Easy A
The American
True Grit
Howl

Friends tell me that Inception, Black Swan and the Social Network need to be on this list, and I say, "Get your own freakin' list!" But seriously... Inception was alright, but it wasn't the mind-f*ck that everyone said it was. The special effects were cool. But really, the story wasn't that deep, people. Read a book every once in a while. Whoa. Blow your mind. And the Social Network? I'll go to a nightclub if I want to hang around douche bags for 2 hours. Boring. Black Swan? Totally hot. Yeah, Black Swan should have been on this list. But it's going to win a bunch of awards, and I'm afraid of it getting so popular that I won't want to watch it again. And I totally want to watch it again. Alone. With candle light and massage oils.

I like web comics almost as much as I like full form comic books. I RSS over 20. These five delivered in 2010 more than the others.

1. The Adventures of Superhero Girl
I just adore this simple, sweet, evolving story about a young superhero encountering the world. Thank you, artist Faith Erin Hicks.

2. Indexed
Simple. Funny. True. Jessica Hagy's doodles make me happy.

3. Amazing Super Powers
This web comic has nothing to do with superheroes, despite it's name. It's one of those really popular web comics, like the Oatmeal or xkcd that I should be too cool to tell you about. But I like it enough to tell you about it anyhow. Wes and Tony seem alright, for hipsters who never tell us their last names.

4. Channel Ate
Ryan Hudson's irreverent web comic is pretty popular & awesome, dudes.

5. Journey to Mt. Moriah
Scott Startling makes weird and artful, illustrative web comics. I like them.

We need a little break from media and list something nobody else will over the next few days, and so I give you the very dark list of...

my top 10 favorite people who died in 2010.

10. J.D. Salinger

9. Greg Giraldo

8. Dino De Laurentiis

7. Captain Beefheart

6. Malcolm McLauren

5. Lynn Redgrave

4. Dennis Hopper

3. Gary Coleman

2. Teddy Pendergrass

1. Leslie Nielsen

This comic book was so bad, that after I read it, I wrote an entire blog about it. Superman appears only once in the issue, to basically offer to kill someone for Perry White, who the issue is based around, because Perry apparently likes young hipster boys in skinny jeans.



The only thing worse than Perry White crushing on hipster boys is the entire year that Geoff Johns made us spend on New Krypton, before undoing the whole thing anyhow. All of Superman's character was stripped away as he became one of Zod's soldiers and YAWN. OMG, I'm so grateful it's over. Way to ruin DC's signature character for an entire year.



Yeah Marvel, we know that you know that we all love Deadpool. So, now that you're owned by Disney, why don't you beat him into our skulls with a new series where Deadpool teams up with every version of himself from every other alternate universe. Whereas one wise-cracking assassin adds comic relief to most stories, 5 of them makes you want to burn the very comic book you're reading.



I'm very good at blocking out painful memories, and so I can't even remember what they called the whole Return of Bruce Wayne storyline, where Batman was trapped in time. This COULD have been a cool story, exploring Gotham's history. Instead it was a weird, convoluted story that dragged on and on with no reward. It was Quantum Leap starring Batman. For real.



Grant Morrison is currently taking a giant dump on the beloved character of Batman. Not even in a Chris Nolan, create your own Batman, sort of way. Morrison is doing it with the REAL Batman, in the real DC Universe. Bruce Wayne tells the world he's been funding Batman, and now will hire other Batmen around the world. The only way he can finish this steaming pile of crap story is if the Joker kills Bruce Wayne, after every government in the world sues Wayne for vigilantism. A broke then dead Bruce Wayne. Way to ruin Batman forever, douche.

I've been praising this comic run for the last several months to anyone who will listen. Our universe. One girl, breaking the 4th wall to try and convince you to join her in her revolution to put down corruption in our country. Anarchistic, violent and yet somehow heartfelt, Scarlet has some of the best writing and artwork happening in comics today.



A 27-year-old musician makes a bargain with dark forces to regain use of his hands, but it goes haywire. Guest starring the most amazing artists and musicians who ever died at 27, it's full of creepy and beauty at once.



This beautiful one-shot based on the cult favorite Joss Whedon space cowboys universe was based on a Mountain Goats song. It's poetic while putting a great feather in the cap of a universe's story that ended too soon.



There's a reason that Morning Glories #1 and all its reprints keep selling out at record speeds. It's that good. Creepy and addicting, readers are dying to know what the hell is going on at this boarding school, and what makes these kids so special, besides their birthdays.



Penny for Your Soul is one of my favorite series to start in 2010, and the best issue is the first, where we learn all about how Satan's grand-daughter and her lesbian lover Mary Magdalene, have opened a casino to alter the balance of heaven and hell, pissed at the ruler's of hell, and former lover Jesus Christ's new talk radio program.



This comic has nothing to do with the upcoming NBC series. I can't tell you much without being a spoiler though. All I can say is that this issue has the best ending to a comic book in many, many years.



Technically this is a trade paperback, or graphic novel, but it has to be on this list. Cat Woman is somehow one of the most compelling characters of the superhero genre in 2010, and recently this work put a giant exclamation point on that statement. Writers have really given Selina quite a bit of depth of character this year, and this story is an easy one to love.



Chew is easily one of the best series going on right now, but I particularly loved #15, the Thanksgiving issue. I mean, Thanksgiving in a world with a poultry prohibition? Plus we got a little character back-story on the leads, which is always a treat.



It is sort of hard to pick just one issue of the DC Legacies series as a best, but you do need to start at the beginning, so there you have it. Told through the eyes of a Metropolis police veteran, recounting through all of the newspapers he's saved over the years since the first superheroes started showing up, this is one of the best tie-togethers of the DC universe ever penned.



OK, I just read this issue. But it was really, really good. Especially because this is the Batman we know and love, and not the current DC universe, Grant Morrison penned "Batman Inc" crap. I need me a dark Batman, in Gotham, fighting crime. Thank you DC for green-lighting this series to counter balance the steaming load of poop happening across the Bat titles right now.

I was fortunate to try lots of yummy new adult beverages in 2010. These were the best.

Root is an 80 proof whiskey type liquor made from Sarsaparilla, made by an arts collective in Philly. It tastes like root beer. It's fracking delicious. I've had a billion cocktails made with it. The best? Boozy milkshake. (ala root beer float) But chilled over ice is perfect as well.

Up until yesterday, Stranahan's was Colorado's best whiskey. Now it's been bought and will become America's best whiskey. Clean, delicious, Stranahan's reminds you why people choose to drink the brown fire water.



I love good porters, and rarely like it when people experiment with traditional porter flavor, but this smokey deliciousness from my local Great Divide Brewing house hit the spot every time I could get my hands on one.

I've going to crank a few more of these year end lists out over the next 48 hours or so, and this is one I feel is important to share, because this is the internet and that's how things work. We share links, which people navigate to, as we all absorb ideas and information shared by others. Groovy. (snaps fingers a bunch of times)

1. Law & the Multiverse
Now, I'm just a simple caveman, I'm no fancy lawyer, but I deeply enjoy reading this wonderful examination of U.S. Law as it would pertain to superhumans and comic book heroes. And I'm LEARNING. Whoa. And they said those funny pages were going to rot my mind.

2. Topless Robot
From Cylon toilet paper dispensers to wacky contests and wonderful comic book coverage, TR embraces nerdcore and celebrates geekdom. Heck, one of the most viewed posts on THIS blog was a response to a post on TR about female characters in comic books. What was I saying about the way the internet works?

3. Comic Book Resources
CBR is the internet bible for what's happening in the world of comic books, and thanks to the wonders of RSS readers on every device I own, I read every single post. I can't make a list of favorite blogs without including them, because frankly, they help me decide what I'll read each week. Especially with the superhero titles which I'm growing increasingly bored with. Oh, whatever happened to character development and good writing alongside an asskicker in a cape?

4. Hi Lo Brow
Another RSS favorite, sometimes I feel like the posters over at HLB are programming specifically to my interests. What a great fantasy. Somewhere out there, there are folks striving to keep me informed and entertained.

5. Guess Her Muff
This blog has been around forever, is NSFW, and is completely piggish. It's not like I'm even attracted to very many of the women. I just giggle every time I play the game. Simply put, the blogger posts a picture of a woman. You guess how she grooms her lady bits. Then you click on her to see the answer. I know that it's pretty immature that I find this funny, but I do, and laughing is fun.

Happy 88th birthday to Stan "the man" Lee, a true icon and hero.

Stan grew up in NYC living in a 1 bedroom apartment with his parents and brother. He took just about every job he could ever find before getting a job at Atlas Comics. (which later became Marvel) At the age of 19, he became the editor of this comic book company.

Besides creating Marvel's most beloved characters, Stan has done lots of voice acting, television show hosting and movie cameo acting. Since he started professionally on a WPA theater grant, and served in WWII as an Army playwright, he certainly has it in him. Even now at 88 he hosted one of my favorite shows this year for Discovery Channel.

But it's his comic book work that we love him most for. Stan brought drama to the pages of superhero comics. Heroes were no longer just goody-goodies. They had financial troubles, woman troubles, dealt with issues like prejudice and drug abuse, and family dynamics with real depth.

While his counterparts at DC were running superhero stories like this:



Stan Lee was at Marvel doing stories like this:



So here's to Stan Lee for an incredible 88 years. Many more to you, good sir.

Excelsior!

It's come to my attention that some folks that visit the blog, don't know about the website, at http://michaelsalamone.com

That site, links here and to all my various homes on the interwebs. Also, there's a ton of music to download, home made by me.

Right now, there's a holiday appeal on the MP3 downloads main page, that I hope you'll consider. With over 2,000 downloads last month, it seems lil ol' MichaelSalamone.com is getting a lot of traffic, but not much support. So, I'm doing a little holiday begging.

Thanks, friends.

Oh, also... Please consider adding my blip.fm page to your RSS reader, so we can share music. If you use blip, add me as a favorite, and I'll do the same. Then we can really share. Cheers!

it seems that today, CNN and bloggers are all talking about how a member of the Fantastic Four will be killed this month. As someone who reads four or five comic books a night to fall asleep, (Ah, single life...) I feel qualified to comment on this "story."

First, it's likely to be Sue, the Invisible Woman. She's rogue from the group right now, trying to broker a peace treaty in Atlantis that just went sour and bloody. Second, she'll be dead for like 4 issues. Whoever it is, they'll be dead for about that long. Shorter than the average superhero death ritual, before they come back.

There used to be a saying in comics, that they all come back from the dead, except for Bucky. (Captain America's WW2 sidekick) But we don't use that saying anymore, because they brought Bucky back from the dead too a few years ago. (Actually, he's currently Captain America.)

See, Marvel has a big cross-title jam coming up, and you better believe all four of Marvel's first family will be there for it. So it's just not news. Marvel keeps saying they'll kill off Spiderman in early 2011 too, but he's also in the leaked art for the big summer event. So, he won't be dead long either.

DC recently did this with former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. They did this whole run-up to "The Death of Oracle." (Her current super-name) It culminated in her faking her death. Basically she's just going to end up with a new super-name. Yawn. But at least it was better than this year's Death of Batman saga which ended with him being trapped in the time stream, ala Quantum Leap.

Meanwhile, also at DC, they'll be bringing Doomsday back to Metropolis. This is the beast that actually bested and killed Superman (dying at the same time) nearly 20 years ago. Nobody stays dead in the funny pages.

I read all of the titles referenced here each month, (Well, Amazing Spiderman is weekly) but to be honest, only out of habit. If you're looking for comics that actually interesting story lines are occuring in right now, check out my blog from last month running down the best in current comics:

http://michaelsalamone.blogspot.com/2010/11/sometimes-i-lose-myself-in-funny-pages.html

Thanks for indulging my nerdiness.

My favorite YouTube channel of 2010 was Pomplamoose's. This "band" multi-tracks their music and videos for YouTube. This is my favorite song of theirs. But you should check out the one they did with Ben Folds, the one with Allee Willis, and their many awesome covers too. They're fun!

Michael Salamone - A Drinking Man's Lullabye

Rough mix of something I've been working on for years. Will go on the new album. For your consideration: http://michaelsalamone.com/mp3-downloads

Michael Salamone - I'm Not Superman

I'm not Superman, so I'm asking for help.
My deepest gratitude to anyone who can.
Please visit:
http://michaelsalamone.com/mp3-downloads/

I did a little experiment on Facebook over the last 12 days, parodying the 12 Days of Christmas with random pictures of Darth Vader that I found online. I posted one with a caption each day for the last 12. This is the result:



On the 1st day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 2nd day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: Proof the Force is Love, and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 3rd day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 4th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 5th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 6th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 7th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 8th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: Asian Maids for Bilking, a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 9th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: a Shy Guy Necromancing, Asian Maids for Bilking, a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 10th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: Head Poured for Drinking, a Shy Guy Necromancing, Asian Maids for Bilking, a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 11th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: Purple Paintings of Me Pimping, Head Poured for Drinking, a Shy Guy Necromancing, Asian Maids for Bilking, a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's Me & Fett a-slaying, ...MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love and a Picture with Elvis Presley.



On the 12th day of Vader-mas, Emperor gave to me: Swell Papers for Dumping, Purple Paintings of Me Pimping, Head Poured for Drinking, a Shy Guy Necromancing, Asian Maids for Bilking, a Friend Named Hans Who's Winning, It's me & Fett a-slaying... MY LIBERTY... a Dork's Ironic Shirt, a Sweet Benched Vet, Proof the Force is Love. And a Picture with Elvis Presley.



--FIN--

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Every year, I make a list of my top 10 favorite albums. This dates back to my years as a music critic, and I'd review 150 records a year. While I'm not listening to that many new albums any more, I do feel like I'm still keeping up with new music, and am as welcome to continue making these lists as anyone else on the internet. Of course, it's all subjective. These really are just the top 10 titles that popped into my head when sitting to make a list. Truth be told, I enjoyed a ton of new music this year, new bands and new records. Maybe you'll consider checking out my blip.fm channel at http://blip.fm/michaelsalamone where I've DJ'd a lot of it throughout the year.

While I put this list in an order, there's really no order. These are just 10 albums (12 actually) that I loved listening to all the way through, as many times as I could since they came out this year. There were A TON more great albums this year, many that belong on a list like this. This is just mine.

#1: Let It Sway by Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin



I found this album, their third, to be seriously addicting. The more I listened to it, the more I needed to listen to it again. For a cute, pop influenced indie folk band, this is their most produced record, one where every track could have been a hit for a band more on America's radar. Yet there is poetry and complexity to every track as well, which gave this record a firm hold on my heart. While there isn't anything revolutionary about my favorite album of the year, there is something quite soothing and romantic, and don't we all need a little bit of that?

Sample Track
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Critical Drain


#2 Everything Under the Sun by Jukebox the Ghost



Like my favorite album of the year, my second favorite captures poetic and pop with artful persistence. Jukebox is easily one of the wittiest bands out there, and though I may pigeonhole them into an indie-pop categorization, they definitely experiment with different genres throughout their interesting compositions. Interesting compositions which will haunt you for days, like their name, Jukebox the Ghost, implies.

Sample Track:
So Let Us Create - Jukebox The Ghost


#3 Strange Weather, Isn't It? by !!! (Chk Chik Chick)




The minute I heard this band, I started dancing, and I haven't stopped since. Well, not literally. Figuratively speaking though, just thinking about them makes me WANT to dance. So that's something... !!! is so very much fun, and this album is just one big collection of fun. Just listen to the sample track and boogie.

Sample Track:
!!! - AM/FM from Strange Weather, Isn't It?

#4: Brothers by the Black Keys


This record is going to be on most music critics' lists this year, because anyone who listened to it all of the way through fell in love with it on some level. The dark, blues influenced indie rock sound that the Black Keys gave us touched on just about every love-torn emotion anyone could muster. Gone is the fast paced, high energy Black Keys of albums gone by. This thoughtful, laid back sonic mind-fuck brought the band to a new level of cool.

Sample Track:
The Black Keys - Howlin' For You

#5: Seu Jorge & Almaz by Seu Jorge & Almaz



I struggled with putting a genre behind this record. The best I could come up with was psychedelic Brazilian jazzy indie rock. I don't care what you label it. I loved it. Seu Jorge & Almaz provide an amazing sound-scape of poetry and jazz elements on this self-titled album. Like most, I best knew Seu Jorge from the Life Aquatic soundtrack. I'm grateful that I gave this album a shot, because as you see, it's one of my new favorites.

Sample Track:
Seu Jorge and Almaz - A1 Everybody Loves The Sunshine

#6: Wake Up! by John Legend & The Roots



I'm a Roots fan boy. I've never made a list in a year that they put out an album that the album didn't make the list. I watch Jimmy Fallon just for his house band, the Roots. I heart them. This year, they teamed up with John Legend to put out my 3rd favorite Roots album yet. It's hip, it's political, it's funky, it's sexy, it's everything you want in a record. Thanks again, Roots crew.

Sample Track:
John Legend & the Roots - Wake Up Everybody (Feat. Common & Melanie Fiona)

#7: Together by The New Pornographers



In full disclosure, I need to also admit that I'm a total New Pornographers fan boy. Every one of their albums is one of my favorite albums. In fact, I weighted this record down my list because of that fact. It maybe is in the top 3. Anyhow, it's ANOTHER masterpiece from this Canadian super-group. On first listen, I always think that the newest New Pornographers record isn't as good as the last. By the 5th listen, I always think it's their best record yet. And it gets better with every listen. I love this band and wish everyone else did too. I think that might be as Utopian of a society as we're capable of.

Sample Tracks:
The New Pornographers - Valkyrie In The Roller Disco
The New Pornographers - We End Up Together

#8: New Amerykah Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh by Erykah Badu




Erykah Badu's most R&B album to date still has her Billie Holliday of our generation sound, with even bigger and badder production than ever. Everything that made her an instant sensation is true about her, and this was easily the best R&B record all year. If you like soul music, you should own this record.

Sample Track:
Erykah Badu - Can't Turn Me Away (Get Munny)

#9: Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates by The Bird and the Bee



I'm a little embarrassed that a tribute album made my list, but it just goes to show the power of Hall and Oates and the talent of the Bird and the Bee. When they were big, I made fun of Hall and Oates a little. I mean, they were white guys doing soul music in the 80s. But their music has stood the test of time. I appreciate it more and more each year, and actually credit them for keeping horns alive during the New Wave era. On THIS record, the Bird and the Bee recreate those great songs in a new, fun, indie way that works yet still preserves the magic of the originals. It's a beautiful album. Really.

Sample Track:
the bird and the bee - I Can't Go For That

#10: Before Today by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti



I've been aware of Ariel Pink for about a decade, but this album grabbed me in a way that I didn't expect. It's kind of haunting, kind of psychedelic, all old-school alternative. I don't think anyone who actually lived through 80's alternative (not you hipsters who were born in 88 and think you know the 80s from watching VH1 specials) can listen to this record without at least respecting it. I respected it enough to want it on this list.

Sample Track:
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

Honorable Mentions:

I'm Having Fun Now by Jenny and Johnny

Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis and singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice teamed up to make a beautiful record this year. Included are some of the most beautiful harmonies ever recorded, in my humble opinion.

Sample Track:
Jenny and Johnny - Scissor Runner

Lisbon by the Walkmen

Lisbon is the Walkmen's sixth album, but my favorite of theirs yet. I highly suggest it, especially if you like vintage instruments playing beautiful American rock and roll.

Sample Track:
The Walkmen - All My Great Designs

Of course this list doesn't do any justice to these bands, these albums, or the the wonderful year in music that 2010 really was. But it might make you remember or check out some stuff that I really liked. And it helped me remember all of the great music I heard this year. So, it's all good. Have a Happy Solstice Everyone.

Above is the cover to the latest issue of Superman comics. The crappy artwork almost sums up what is inside. No, Superman doesn't become a vampire, who tramples the entire US, which this cover nearly implies. In fact, he barely makes an appearance, in what is possibly the worst issue of the comic book ever published. And that includes that far-out, campy Silver Age stuff.

This issue gives the reader very little, except for lots of hacky artwork to go along with a very hacky story.

The issue revolves around Perry White hiring a hipster to infiltrate a blog, which claims to have a photo of Superman and Lois Lane kissing. Perry ends up dissuading Superman from "stepping in" (which read sort of like Superman was issuing a death threat to me) and eventually hires both the hipster and the blogger. The end.

Exciting right? (sarcasm)

Being the first issue since J. Michael Straczynski stepped down, Superfans were all curious what direction the book would go in, and especially curious as to how Superman's current storyline, where he is walking around the country, seeing "real" America would be handled. Apparently the direction of the book is headed down the toilet.

Straczynski flubbed up Wonder Woman big time, but he was doing great writing in the pages of Superman. A lot of fans didn't enjoy the walkabout story, but I really think that's because we just finished a whole year with Clark off planet in a crappy story. The walkabout story was just getting interesting, when Straczynski was removed from the title and moved over to Earth 1.

Now we've got cheese with no meat in the pages of Superman. A pretty unfulfilling sandwich. This issue of Superman is the worst thing to happen to the character since Tim Burton designed that God-awful black laser suit, which we thankfully never had to see Nick Cage wear on the screen.

Please DC, I'm begging you. Continue the character exploration Clark was going through under Staczynski. Do something similar in Action Comics with Lex Luthor. Let's REALLY get to know these characters again. And then bring them back together in an epic battle of morality. Superfans need this. We need it soon. You're ruining the big blue boy scout. Please make it stop.
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I mentioned this when the trend started, but now it's amplified. Does anyone know anything about China and the internets? For about 2 months now, a song of mine called Allen’s Last Request, has averaged 20 downloads a day from China. It’s been downloaded over 1,000 times since Halloween, all from China. Is there a way I can find out if they like me or are making fun of me? Am I the David Hasslehoff of China? I’ll totally run down a beach in slow motion if so.

PBS will be airing a documentary on my hometown in January!

A friend just posted this quote on her blog, and well, it kind of spoke to me on a couple of levels. A couple of you will get the humor in regards to me, but we should all think about the inability of Americans to be romantic. For shame.

Whenever I meet dynamic, non-retarded Americans, I notice that they all seem to share a single unifying characteristic: the inability to experience the kind of mind-blowing, transcendent romantic relationship they perceive to be a normal part of living. And someone needs to take the fall for this. So instead of blaming no one for this (which is kind of cowardly) or blaming everyone (which is kind of meaningless), I’m going to blame John Cusack.

— Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs