A Nightmares End.

I don't buy as many comic books as I used to. The biggest reason is I am not a fan of the direction that they're using for superheroes today. Someday soon I will talk about the titles that I do buy, but one title that I have been getting just came to the end of the tale. Marvel Comics has finished a 31 issue adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. I will do a full review of it at a later date after I have reread it. This adaptation was very well done and I have enjoyed revisiting the story.

I was first introduced to The Stand by She Who Left in the Middle of the Night. My introduction was the TV miniseries. After watching that I bought the revised edition of the book that King put out, the one where he added 400 pages. I'm a big of Stephen King and this is my favorite of all his works. A few years ago, when I heard that Marvel was going to adapt the book, it immediately went on to my pull list. For those of you who are not familiar with that term, each month, the comic book store that I go to, Fantasy Factory in Dalton, saves for me the books that I want. That is call my pull list. Now that The Stand has ended the only Marvel title that I am buying is an adaptation of Stephen Kings Dark Tower. There is talk that the next adaptation will be Salem's Lot. If they follow through with that I'll be getting those.

The thing that I am not enjoying about today's superhero titles is too many titles are being tied into one major story, or in the case of DC comics, they have restarted everything. I don't have a problem with characters being refreshed, but I have read too many restarts and really don't want to go there again., Heroes have also gotten darker which just isn't my cup of tea. A lot of my friends of been enjoying what's going on and I'm glad that they are, but I'm going back and rereading the tales from the time that I like best. One great thing about fictional characters is that you can pick and choose the tales that you prefer. If you don't like a certain story, you can simply ignore it.

SHHH.

Someone is reading. He has waited for over a year for this to come out in paperback. Posts will be light for the next few days.
The adverb was yesterday.
Today's question is Grade 2/Geography.

The Ganges River is the longest river in what country?

• A) Europe
• B) North America
• C) India

I knew this one. 118-21.

A Magical World.

In a couple of hours I am going to go to a theater and revisit the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To prepare for it, this past week I have watched the previous five movies. I find the world of Harry Potter a fascinating place. I own the first six books. The only reason I haven't bought The Deathly Hallows yet is it is not out in paperback. It was supposed to be out recently, but I haven't seen it yet. I didn't get into the books until the movies had started coming out.

I have enjoyed everything that I have read and watched. To me the movies and books are two separate entities. You can enjoy the movies by themselves, but by reading the books you gain so much more. I have read complaints about certain things being left out, but unless you make a five or six hour movie you have to. I have been impressed with the adaptations that have been done. In my opinion they have been faithful to the spirit of the books, which to me is what makes them successful. Tomorrow I will give you a review of the movie.
The Punic Wars were fought between Rome and Carthage.
Today's question is Grade 2/Grammar.
What is the name for the punctuation mark used to form a contraction?

I knew this one. 112-20.

The Dark Half.

I am a Stephen King fan. I like most of his work, but for me this novel fell flat. I think I would have liked it better except for the fact I am also A Dean Koontz fan, and this novel reminded me a lot of Koontz's writings. The premise of the story is an author, who has written under a pen name, reveals his true identity and "buries" the pen name, complete with a tombstone. If you can't figure out what happens next you haven't read much Stephen King. Of course the pen name comes to life and the story is on. The book is very violent and the ending was confusing. The violence doesn't bother me, but that ending was a disappointment.

This book was inspired by the revelation that King wrote books under the name Richard Bachman. Overall this is not a bad book bit not spectacular, either.

The Last Days Of Krypton.

When Jerry Siegel and Jerome Shuster first created Superman they told us only that his home planet Krypton had exploded and that Superman had been rocketed out of there when he was an infant. Since then comic book writers have created several different versions of what happened. Now we have a novel giving us yet another story of the events leading up to the destruction of Krypton.

With a character like Superman, who has been around for 70 years, you have the option of choosing what stories fit your mold of what Superman and his universe consists of. If you don't like a story, fine, it never happened. There are a lot of Superman stories that I have done that with. As for this book, in my Superman universe this is what happened to Krypton. This book is heavily influenced by the movie Superman II, but that doesn't hurt it in the least.

Kevin Anderson kept shifting things around on me. I thought I knew what direction he was headed in with the story but he went another way. My only complaint about the book was I didn't want it to end. All the elements of the Superman story are here. We learn how his parents Jor-El and Lara, met. We learn why Zod hated Jor-El. The answer to why Ursa and Non from Superman follow Zod is here. I knew what the ending would be, but the cause of Krypton's destruction was brilliant. If you are a Superman fan, I strongly recommend you read this. Obviously there can be no sequel, but I would love to read a prequel involving the Kryptonian warlord Jax-Ur, who plays a role in this book. that is quite a feat for a man who had been dead 1000 years.

The book I am currently reading is The Dark Half by Stephen King.

Reading Time.

I love to read. When I was in grade school my Dad told me that I should get much better grades than I did because of my reading ability. He was right, but I wasn't interested in reading what my teachers wanted me to. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't do better in school.

When it comes to reading I don't have a favorite genre, although if I had to pick one mysteries would top the list. Some time soon I am going to post my ten favorite detectives, one at a time and in reverse order. I have the list made, I just have to write the entries.

I keep a book in my locker at work and read on my breaks and lunches. I mentioned a couple of days ago about reading a book of newspaper columns. I finished that book last night and then I started a book my friend from Illinois gave me for my birthday. It is The Last Days Of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson. I only read a couple of chapters last night and I like it so far. It is a novel that takes the Superman legend and tells the story of his home planet. A lot of comic book stories have been written about Krypton and this book tries to give a definitive history. When I finish it I will write a review.

I also listen to books on tape when I am in my car. Currently I am listening to The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I mentioned this book earlier. The movie Gettysburg is based on it. The tape is the unabridged version, which I found at a Salvation Army Thrift Store for only $1.99. My inner Jack Benny did cartwheels over that deal. My friend in Illinois always claimed listening to books on tape does not count the same as reading them, but I disagree. A lot of the books are abridged, but you still get the main story. Since my work commute is only 5 minutes it can take some time to get through a book.

I also usually read for about half an hour before going to bed. That usually consists of several comic books or magazines. Future posts will talk about the books I collect.

eBay Winnings.

Last week I won an auction on eBay. I got these 4 cards. They are from the 1956 Topps set. My dream is to put this set together because it is the year I was born. Time will tell how far I get, but here is a start.




I would have placed the bid regardless, but having a Cub in it made it sweeter. Don Kaiser only pitched 3 years in the major leagues, all with the Cubs. His lifetime record was 6-15 with a 3.86 ERA.




Joe Frazier only played 4 seasons and was a reserve outfielder. In his four years he played with the Indians, the Cardinals, the Reds and the Orioles. He hit 10 home runs, drove in 45 runs, and had a lifetime batting average of .241.




Jim Brady only pitched in 6 games for the Tigers. He was a bonus baby which meant he had to be kept on the major league roster instead of going to the minor leagues. It really hurt his career. In 6 and 1/3 innings he gave up 20 earned runs. He had no decisions and his lifetime ERA was 28.42.




Bob Nelson was another bonus baby and it also hurt his career. He played 3 years for the Orioles and saw very limited playing time. He only played in 79 games, hit no home runs, drove in 11 runs and his lifetime batting average was .205. He was out of the major leagues at age 20.



One other thing I received in the mail today was this book and a Supermarket Guru tote bag. I don't remember how I found this site, but I signed up for the weekly newsletter and have been getting it for some time now. One thing I enjoy is reading reviews of new products. In the most recent newsletter they reviewed the Hormel Completes line and stated they could be found in the dairy section. I am familiar with the product and it needs no refrigeration. I sent him an email telling him about the mistake. I received an email back from Phil Lempert thanking me for letting him know that. He told me if I would send him my address he would send me a tote bag. I did and when the bag arrived today the book was with it. Not only that Phil also autographed it for me. It made for a very nice surprise. Check out his website and if you are interested sign up for the newsletter. There is a lot of interesting information there.

Tuesday Night At The Movies

Every Tuesday night I go to my lady friends house where we watch a movie and spend some time together. We work together and are fortunate enough to have the same nights off. Both of us have large DVD collections, so we take turns providing the movie. Last night was Vickie's turn. She has a ten year old grandson so she has a large part of her collection is animated. That works for me because I am a 51 year old kid. I haven't grown up yet and I am too old to do so now. Barnyard reminded me of the Gary Larsen Far Side cartoon where the cows were standing in the pasture until a car comes along, then they get back on all fours until the car is gone. It is the classic coming of age story where the irresponsible son has to grow up fast and learn how to be a man. Sam Elliot voices Ben, the wise cow who runs the barnyard. Kevin James voices Otis, the irresponsible son. The story was very predictable, but well done. I really liked the gag where the cows get revenge on a young boy for cow tipping. Sam Elliot is a personal favorite so any movie he is involved with gets bonus points from me. The Internet Movie Data Base rated this movie 5.4. I am a member and I voted on it giving it a 7.

On a personal note, Dad is still in the hospital. They have moved him from the hospital in Lincoln, Illinois to one in Springfield so he can be closer to his heart doctor. His blood pressure is too low. They took him off his blood pressure medicine, but it still is too low.

I had been reading two newspapers every day, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Chattanooga Times Free Press. as of Monday, the Journal-Constitution is no longer available. due to higher gas costs they are no longer delivering this far north. I had been reading the papers on my breaks and lunch at work. Since I now only have one I am now reading a book plus the paper. My current book is one my buddy Tom recommended to me. It is The Twilight Of Courage by Bodie and Brock Thoene. It is a historical novel that takes place at the start of World War 2. In fact the opening chapters were set in Warsaw. I have enjoyed what I have read so far and will do a full review when I am done. I also listen to a book on tape while I am driving. My current book there is A Cooks Tour by Anthony Bourdain. This a book version of his show with the same title that can be seen on the Food Network. I love the show and this book is a perfect companion. If you want to see the show it is broadcast every Tuesday night on Food Network at 10:30 P.M. EST.

On A baseball note, I am a die hard Cubs fan. The Cubs came into June with the best record in baseball. The last time they had the best record in June was 1908, which is also the last time they won the World Series. I am hoping that the cliche history repeats itself is true.

Today's baseball card is from 2008 Upper Deck Series 2. I have 2 more cards in this subset featuring Hillary and McCain. I will posting them in the next few days.