Time to Take a Stand!

I just had a brilliant idea. One of the major complaints that older people make, especially those who grew up in the sixties, is that my generation (X) and subsequently the batch of kids running around today (they get a new name every time you turn around...I prefer "Infants"...you know who you are) is that we don't care about anything. Sure, we grumble about things like injustice and various political ideals, but compared to those who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., those who held sit-ins or those who were eventually shot at during the Kent State fiasco...we're not even playing the same game.

That's when it hit me. You see, there are just so many causes, so many things that need to change, that it's hard to find something to really get behind.

That's why I suggest we all get behind no cause at all! We take part in what I have labelled "Non-objective Activism". We'll stage marches and protests. We can have sit-ins and letter writing campaigns. We'll finally make the older generation proud of our effort by protesting...stuff! We'll have slogans on our signs like "Boo!" or "Down with that!" or even "Things gotta change!" It doesn't matter what, because something will! The problems with objective activism is that sometimes you don't get your way and eventually the cause dies because people give up. Not so with non-objective activism. When you protest nothing in particular, you protest everything! If something you're not happy about gets fixed, hooray! But keep protesting because surely something else isn't right, eh? Non-objective activism is the ultimate answer to those who claim that nothing is being done because you're always doing something about it. Whatever it is. Which doesn't even matter!

So, grab some posterboard and giant markers! Start a petition! Picket something! You don't need to be mad about anything in particular, you just need to be mad enough to desire that something changes! Or, as my all-purpose sign will read: This ain't right!

My Evil Plan to Save the World!

FYI, I've almost finished penciling the first comic of the My Friend Sylar mini-series.

"But Adam...you started that, like, three weeks ago!"

Shut up and die.

In other news, it would appear that El Grillo del Caos took me seriously about my fear of losing my old schedule days, because there hasn't been a new comic since. In fact, it would appear that I've scared him away from all the other days, too.

He is a cautious one.

I am curious where the all-purpose sauce thing is going. I mean, that's a pretty deep mine, if you dig it right. Should be fun.

In Mah Skedewlz...Tayken Mah Daiz!

Not Tuesday/Thursday, Cricket!!!!

Sure, it's not like I'm USING them, but they were always there for me. Like a dog, waiting patiently at the door for my return. Not like MY dog, who would be hiding the tv remote, peeing on the carpet and destroying any paper goods the cat flipped onto the ground, but a GOOD dog.

Actually, if it'll make him post comics, Cricket is more than welcome to use the full range of days, letting them fall where they may, like pennies from the top of the Empire State building. Apparently, I'm in the mood for simile today. I'm all over them like Sylar on mutant Hero brain.

That one wasn't very good.

One small step for *kshk* man...

Aaron took his first steps yesterday. Crawling is still the preferred method of locomotion, but he is growing to appreciate the convenience of what he can reach from an already standing position. Should he be able to chain more than a couple together...God help us all...;)

The Iron Cliche

Let me preface this by saying that I really like The Iron Giant. I'd managed not to see it until this weekend, but having remedied that, I'm pleased to have watched it.

Ok, so what's up with single mom's working in diners. Almost every tv/movie mom who is without husband (for whatever reason) works in a diner. Do they hand these things out at the hospital? When some girl who gets knocked up by her boyfriend who skips town comes in, do they hand her, along with prenatal vitamins, a handful of applications to Waffle House and such? Is there some arcane law I don't know about? Should something happen to me, would this be Andria's fate?

The diner, as a source of income, seems to be an especially poor choice for a woman on her own with child. First, the hours, as put forth by tv and movies, are inconsistent. Apparently, they only ask the woman who has no one to take care of her children to cover extra shifts. On one hand, I could see that being helpful...more hours = more money. On the other hand, the kid is probably burning the apartment down while she's at work. That or befriending an over-sized robot and bringing nuclear holocaust to your small New England town. Whatever.

The second issue is that, apparently, people who eat at diners are either apt to sexually harass their waitress or they're up to no good in a way completely unrelated to anyone else in the diner but will end with someone driving a truck/bus/SUV through the wall. Or they're carrying a bomb. This isn't what you would call favorable working conditions.

Lastly, no one gets paid well at a diner. The kind of people who eat at diners, according to movies and tv, are not the kind of people who leave big tips. They may even end up robbing the place, only to have Samuel L. Jackson, in his underwear, to force them to return his wallet bearing a rather distinct, expletive filled label embroidered on it. But still, no tips.

If I were Hogarth's mom, or any of the others in the army of single fictional moms, I'd start looking for employment elsewhere.

Alive and Awake

It's rather disconcerting. This morning, when I woke up....I woke up. I've been more awake today than I've been in a while. I didn't get more sleep. I didn't eat better. I don't know what the difference was, but I was awake. Here's the run-down of my early morning...

6:00 - My alarm goes off. It's set to radio and, unfortunately, that means that sometimes I don't get good enough reception to wake me up.

6:10 - The wind shifts (or something) and suddenly the radio gets enough signal to wake me up. I hop out of bed and make Aaron a bottle, put the dogs out, change his diaper and begin feeding him. During this time, I continue a project I'd been working on for my Dad.

7:10 - Aaron's finished his bottle and drifted off. I've successfully convinced him to stay asleep (for some reason, if I set him down, it's a lot of work to make sure he doesn't jump up awake when he should be sleeping). I give the cat food and fill the dog bowl before hopping into the shower. I'm aware that I'm running 10 minutes behind and need to make up a lot of time.

7:25 - I'm out of the shower and dressed. I'm also quite happy about it because I managed to get out of the shower at about the same time as mornings I am not behind. This puts me back on schedule. I put a pop-tart in the toaster and refill the empty "gravity pack" from the unopened variety pack box. I comb my hair, deodorize and do the last few getting ready things.

7:43 - I'm sitting in the car, looking at the clock. I've kissed my wife goodbye, grabbed my pop-tart and a can of Mt. Dew Game Fuel, run out to the car, run back inside to grab a card I'm sending to my brother and I'm still five minutes AHEAD now.

I still have no idea what I could've possibly done different to make up 15 minutes of time this morning. I was afraid, for a while, that I'd forgotten something, but I'm fully dressed, so that isn't it. I even had time to finish my pop-tart IN THE CAR parked on the upper lot. I didn't have to walk (or run) up the ridiculously steep hill. I just strolled right on in.

Crazy.

In other news, I've been working on characters for My Friend Sylar. I'm good with Sylar and Mohinder, but Peter's face isn't doing if for me yet. I don't know why I'm bothering to do this ahead of time. It's not like they'll be in more than a couple strips each before I move on from it.

Things Impermanent

I've been watching Reaper. That is, I've watched the two episodes that have been on. I don't see it lasting, though I really have to way of gauging how long things like this would have to live on a lesser network like the CW. That's not to say I'm not enjoying the show. I think it's funny enough. I like the concept. Even the Devil is a likable enough character. The problem is, I can still see this scenario taking place.

It's the day Reaper comes on. Tuesday, I suppose. I don't know. It shows up on the DVR. Anyway, just before it airs, the power goes out and doesn't come back on until after the show ends. Elsewhere, I'm...I dunno, shopping at Wal-Mart (that seems to be the thing I'm usually doing when I'm not at home). There, the power flickers, momentarily, but comes right back on. Later, I get home and notice the power has been off for some amount of time because the microwave needs to be reset. Again (I swear, that thing needs to be reset if a stiff breeze comes along). Anyway, I get everything back to normal and plop down for some tv. And I have no idea I missed the show.

That's what makes me think it won't be around for long. I get invested in things pretty easily, but, even though I like it, I don't feel invested in it. If it went away, I don't know I would notice. Not for a while, anyway.

And it doesn't help that they've made their episode format so obvious. Every episode, towards the end, the Devil will take Sam someplace. While there, someone will die. Every episode, Ben will be injured by the bad guy. There are some other things that slip my mind. Probably something about Sock and his ex trading insults while she offers Sam some kind of information. Oh, at the end of the episode there will be some longing looks shared between Sam and Andi and the Devil will have something to do in that scene.

That's one part that bothers me most. The relationship between Sam and Andi is like Jim and Pam (The Office...duh), except Andi isn't engaged to anyone. Or even dating, from what we've seen. The only thing keeping them apart is that they're both too stupid to ask each other out. Grr. Needless. It's tension for tension's sake!

Get Out of My Head!

Some people just don't take kindly to telepaths...

Of course, I'm referring to last night's episode of Heroes. I'm really enjoying the new season. I was a little disappointed by how short last night's episode seemed (I was spoiled by the longer premiere, I suppose), but if I'm so into it that I didn't expect it to end already that must be a good thing.

I am, in no small way, intrigued by the new big bad guy of the season. Mostly because I don't have any idea who it could be. A character we haven't been introduced to yet? Possibly. Based on some spoilers I read on line (which are hardly 100% reliable, but pointed at least to things), I had a theory on who it was (a new character, but one we met before he offed Nakamura). That theory, based on some things from the newest episode, lies splattered on the pavement beside Kaito.

In other news, I inadvertently sent an email about chapel to the chaplain instead of to my mother. Fortunately, it makes absolutely no sense at all out of context. Anyway, I wasn't (even in context) saying something bad about it, just that I was surprised by what wasn't happening. Long story.

Don't Forget to Set Your Alarm!

This is a friendly reminder for Chaos J. Cricket.

HEROES IS ON TONIGHT! DON'T FALL ASLEEP!!!!

Ok. So I've watched the Heroes premiere no less than thrice in the past week and, this morning, I watched The Office premiere for the second time. I feel good about all that. I'd probably feel better about The Office if I hadn't slept through my alarm for half an hour, causing me to watch the show into my "get ready for work time" (the "feed Aaron time" and "watch tv time" in the morning are one and the same...if I'm late to one, I'm late to the other). Still, funny episode. I'm glad I'm into that show.

I'm hoping that today will pick up. So far, it's been pretty crappy. Locked myself out of the house and had to wake up Andria by yelling through the window. Hopefully she was able to get back to sleep, but that doesn't usually happen when I yell through the window. At least, it didn't the one other time I did.

I'm working on a comic. Not an ongoing series like Vapor Lock, but something that I'll probably do a couple one-offs for. The working title is "My Friend Sylar", so I'm sure you can guess what it's going to relate to. It'll have little to do with the source material, except for characters, but I thought of a couple things that should make it fun for a couple comics. The thing is, a couple characters, the title character for one, are pretty much one-joke characters. So, it could be the next Garfield.

Also, today is my brother's birthday. If you happen to see him, unlikely, wish him a happy one.