Superheroes and High Gear - Thoughts About the Legion

Now I'm flipping into high gear. I have repairs to do on deadlines, and I have to get my holiday cards completed and into the mail. I suppose I'd better buy some stamps too ... LOL. Rather hard to mail things without stamps. I haven't seen any holiday postage stamps that I've really liked for this year, so I may have to look through the US Post Office website and see what might be available for mail order. I rarely actually use a "holiday" stamp, preferring something fun instead. Maybe Disney villains? Or not. I'll figure something out. 

Using Disney Villains for my holiday stamps had possibilities, but
I decided against it. They're really fun, though! 

The month of November is wrapping up and that means my friends doing NaNoWriMo are also wrapping up their daily writing schedules, looking at their word counts and either celebrating or growling, and generally looking at what they have accomplished in the previous 27 days with a bit of amazement. I've been there, and it's a pretty good feeling. I have found that I need to have a relatively open schedule and a very clear idea of what I want to write before diving into NaNo. Since I had neither of those things, I didn't participate this year. I have cyber-friends who are writing for NaNo and as they come down to the stretch, I'm there in appropriate cheerleader attire waving those pom-poms for you as you cross the finish line. Well done to all - 50,000 words or not. It's a lot of fun and a great experience and there are no real losers - even 800 words written for NaNo is a win if it's the 800 words you really needed to write. 

How are you doing on your NaNoWriMo goals? I've
been cheering you along, and I'll be at the finish line
at the end of the month to say "Well done!". 

Creativity can get under one's skin. I get a bit anxious if I'm not doing something creative every now and again. Writing can scratch that itch sometimes, but it's things like my annual holiday card that really help me get grounded again. Of course, most years I don't have a bunch of jewelry restrings and repairs waiting for me, so this year is a lot harder, I'll see how far I get tomorrow, but I may have to switch my pearl restring back to the shop or it won't get finished on time. It's a 42-inch continuous strand, knotted between each pearl, and those are time-consuming to do. I may have to fold it in to slower times at the shop instead of tackling it in one swoop. 

The Legion of Superheroes were the kids - the teenaged versions
of the adult heroes. For a long time Superboy was a member on and
off, until 1980 when he left for a while. Different editors at DC Comics
put different takes on the League, but it's been on and off again since
the late 1950's. 

One of my friends mentioned the "Legion of Superheroes" in a comment to yesterday's post. Oh yeah! LSA first appeared in DC comics when I was too young to be reading comics (or anything else, for that matter), but they appeared sporadically in "Adventure Comics" and "Action Comics" throughout the late 1950's to early 1960's, getting their own legs in 1962. It would be a lot of fun to see the LSA in movie format - campy and angst-ridden since these were teen-aged heroes and heroines. 

I've always been a fan of "The Phantom Stranger". Wth
the mystic necklace, perfect hat, tailored suit,
mask, gloves and that cape - oh yeah. Demons, watch
out! Phantom Stranger has no fear! 

What comic book character would you love to see on the movie screen? You can pick one that's already had a part in, or starred in a movie before, you can go Marvel or DC or alternative publishing house, but I'm curious. What superhero would you enjoy watching for a few hours of movie entertainment? Me? I'm a "Phantom Stranger" fan-girl from the very beginning - that mystic totally rocked! 

Happy Tuesday to all. I'll be bringing the next stage of my holiday cards to the shop with me today - I can hear the clock ticking and I'm totally running out of time to get these addressed and sent out! See that blur around the corner? That's me in "Flash" mode - LOL. 

Childhood Loves - Cartoons

While driving through rush hour traffic to get to the eye doctor yesterday, I saw something that lifted my heart. Since traffic was going nowhere fast, I was able to take a phone photo of this: The Mystery Machine. It was perfectly painted and decorated all around, but I was only able to get this shot of the rear of the van. I kept expecting to see Scooby Doo sitting in the front seat, or several of the other characters, but there was only a single driver. He continued going south as I exited.

I never expected to come up next to the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine
heading down Interstate 35W towards my eye doctor appointment.
What a pleasant surprise! 

Seeing such an iconic image of a cartoon I had loved when I was younger got me to thinking. What cartoon characters have you loved while growing up or are you watching with your children/grandchildren now? There's certainly a long history of cartoons and I grew up watching the entire spectrum.

Mighty Mouse and Merrie Melodies were what I grew up
with when I was a small child. 

I always had a thing for flying, but Superman wasn't a TV cartoon when I was growing up. Mighty Mouse, however, was my hero. I would pin a towel to my shoulder and jump down from the bed, climbing back up to do it again and again, and singing "Here I come to save the day...". I'm quite sure I drove my mother completely crazy.

Underdog was quiet, unassuming, and ignored, but he always
saved the day. My hero! 

Although I wasn't wearing the towel any more, I fell in love with Underdog. The Superman take-off hit all of my buttons - a flying superhero, a victim in distress, and a secret hero in disguise. It was about as perfect as I could ever imagine. I was watching early Superman on TV by then, but Underdog was my hero.

What a cast in Rocky and Bullwinkle. You had Snidley Whiplash, Dudley
Doright and Horse, and of course, Boris and Natasha. Fabulous cartoon
characters that actually sometimes made kids think! The horror of it all - LOL. 

Of course, I can't forget the third flying hero of the bunch - Rocky the Flying Squirrel. The zany bunch of Rocky, Bullwinkle and their friends (and enemies) entertained me for hours on end. I actually think I own the entire set on DVD and still pull episodes out every now and again to watch.

Warner Brothers had a gold mine when they had Bugs Bunny and friends. Here
is a small assortment, and I'll bet most of you, no matter where you live, know
at least one of these characters. 

But the giant in the room when I grew a bit older was Bugs Bunny and his friends. I learned opera with Bug's rendition of "The Barber of Seville". I pulled statements into my lexicon like "I'm hunting a wabbit," without even thinking. The Warner Brothers stable of characters was rich, varied, and beloved. I have these on DVD also, because they're absolutely classic.

"Tttttttttthat's all folks!"

What were your beloved cartoon characters? I could go on forever, but I have to get to the gym, and I'm sure your comments will allow me to remember others from my own past. Please dive into your childhood memories and share. Happy Thursday. Oh - and no surgery necessary on my eye! Happy, happy me!

Sunday Was Fun...and Wet

Sunday was a fun day for DH and me, as well as a wet one. We started the day out with breakfast at McDonald's - Egg White McMuffin for me - YUMMY! If you haven't tried this one yet and don't stay away from Mickey-D's on principle, I recommend it. Very tasty.

One of the things at the props exhibit were
these varied ID cards used in different films.

Then we were off to Comic-Con. The Spring Comic-Con took over the Grandstand at the State Fairgrounds with a multitude of artists, vendors of comics, costumed attendees and one guy with movie props that I couldn't resist taking photos of. So...these are the photos I'm sharing today - props used in Indiana Jones and in Star Wars - they were really wonderful to look at up-close and personal.

Facing me are props from Indiana Jones, behind them facing the
other way are props from Star Wars. I think I fell in love with
this table and exhibit.

We looked at a lot of the artwork, as well as watching the techniques of many artists who were sketching and inking while we were walking by. After spending a couple of hours there we left, walking across the Fairgrounds to the Art building where there was a watercolor exhibition and sale. After a while we felt we had looked at too many flowers and landscapes, so we escaped. To be fair, there were a couple of artists doing marvelous work but most of it was *yawn*.

A selection of props from Indiana Jones including weapons, Dr Jones' diary,
a sword, the mummified head and the goblet from The Last Crusade.

We then decided to go to The Source, our favorite store for gaming, minis and comics. Since we had been at Comic-Con and had our wristbands on we would get 20% off any purchase, so we went shopping. We've known many of the guys working there for years, so it's always like coming into a place with a lot of friends. They moved to a new location last year and it is huge and packed with stuff. We had fun looking at everything and each walked out with comics in hand. Yippee! Yes...I am a Geek!

I loved Indy's whip. The maker actually made several for the movies, but
this was typical. It's really a lovely thing and the passport on the
right was rather fun too...

Coming out of the store, the weather was starting to look threatening, but we still had to fix the toilet. So we went home to tear the toilet apart and take the part we needed to the hardware store. We managed to get the part out and headed to Hardware Store #1. They didn't have what we needed (and their employees are not the greatest with actually helping people) so...

Moving on to Star Wars, these two are Darth Vadar light sabers. I assume they
are from different times in the Lord's career. They looked like they had some
serious weight, but it was a no-touch exhibit so I couldn't tell for sure.

This light saber belongs to Luke Skywalker. I loved the differences
between the weapons.  

We went on to Hardware Store #2. I really like this store because the employees are super nice and friendly and usually know what they are talking about. But our toilet is more than 50 years old and toilet technology has improved since ours was made. We did end up with something that we thought we could make work, and then went across the street to ... Wet Paint - one of my favorite local art supply stores.

There was a proportional mock-up of the Cantina scene from Episode 4.
I couldn't resist taking a photo - it's always been one of my favorite
parts of that movie along with the sand people...

I needed some specific pens that I use and they are one of the few stores who carry that brand in the Cities. I also knew that they had a pen and marker sale going on until the end of the month. I had penciled a trip here ontp my Wednesday schedule, but here we were - so close. It didn't take a lot of effort to talk DH into spending a bit of time looking at art supplies - LOL. I was good, though, and only walked out with the pens that I needed. Yeah Me!

There was a wonderful model of Boba Fett, everyone's
favorite bounty hunter. The detailing was exquisite - everything
looked appropriately worn and well used. He stood about 18 inches tall.
Very nice.

Then back home through pounding rain and flooded roads to deal with the toilet which also sprayed us with water while we tried to get things to work. Nothing like getting wet and wet and more wet. After an hour or so we finally have a toilet that works - kindof. The handle has to be held down because the flapper isn't retracting fully unless we do, but everything else works somewhat. At least it functions. And that's the point, yes? We'll continue working on this, though. Eventually we will probably have to replace more parts, but at least it is working for now. So, all in all, it was a good, if very wet, day.

Farewell Opus

I can't claim to be a massive "Opus" fan. In fact, many books and even musical compositions are more important to me. But my comics (both daily and Sunday) are a part of my daily experience and many of these I have grown up with. Opus is one of those long-term comics that sometimes left me wondering what pharmaceutical Berkeley Breathed took, and other times brought me to laughter or tears. Yesterday, the last panels of the 28-year journey, brought me to tears. If you want to see the final panels, they are available on the website: humanesociety.org/opus .

Sunday was the first of eight Sundays during which we are open from noon-4 pm at the shop. It is one more aspect of why I hate this time of the year. One less day to decompress. And the election ads are really getting to me also - it's like there are no products to sell in commercials anymore - only politicians. Last night it was campaign after campaign after campaign. I think I'll be quite happy to be in line at 6 am tomorrow morning if it will mean an end to this election madness after Tuesday night. Apparently our Senatorial election - Norm Coleman (incumbant) vs Al Franken is one of the nastiest battles in the nation. It doesn't surprise me. The candidates had their final debate last night and came close to actual physical blows. Although Norm is not necessarily one of my favorite people, he has been voting more and more liberal and more and more away from the Bush platform over the past four years. And I simply can't trust Al Franken. So I'll vote for Norm. But either way, I think I will be wishing I would have voted for the Independent party candidate because I will hate the outcome no matter who gets into Congress. POLITICS - ICKY!!!!!