Have you ever read this blog? The answer is no, obviously. I don't even read it. And if I wasn't the one writing it, I would avoid this place at all costs. But if you did, you'd know two facts: (1) I don't post very often, and (2) the writing here sucks. So why did I opt to write a fucking dissertation?

Writing this thing is grueling. It's probably one of the worst experiences of my life. I churn out pages of garbled bullshit that wouldn't pass for rational discourse at a teabagger rally attended solely by 12-year-olds suffering from recent, severe cranial blunt force trauma.

If it wasn't for spellcheck, I'd be completely fucked. I don't bother to turn on Word's grammar check function. Who needs to see all of those green underlines?

On top of all of that, it isn't even that great of a project.

What the fuck was I thinking?

What the fuck, indeed.

The boots aren't even that old.

Fuck.

Last week was a slow week in comics. Thanksgiving also pushed back comic book day to Thursday. I bought the following shit:

The upside of the past week was that I didn't have to spend so much money. This is a damn expensive hobby sometimes, so I've been thinking about titles to drop. The hard part with dropping titles from my pull list is not picking up other shit to fill the gap.

Batman Confidential has been really boring lately. When I first got back into comics, this title was in the first batch I bought. These first subscriptions were all Batman related. Currently this is the only Bat-title featuring Bruce Wayne as Batman. As always, the Batman Confidential focuses on stories outside of the main Batman continuity. So in some regard, it's irrelevant to everything else DC is doing. Unfortunately, the stories haven't been compelling enough to read alongside every other Bat-title. It's not that the stories are bad, it's just that they're not very interesting. I can't wait for this arc to finish and that has been my mindset for a while now. So after this arc, Batman Confidential may be on its way out for me.

Blackest Night: The Flash #1 & Blackest Night: Wonder Womam #1 are tie-ins to Blackest Night. Both are solid enough tie-ins, I guess. They're certainly not worse than the awful Titans tie-in. Since Wonder Woman can only be read about in Wonder Woman, it was nice to read something else that featured her and which didn't deal with the mess going on in her main title.

I really don't care about Barry Allen so much, or any other version of the Flash, though I'm reading Flash: Rebirth. This three part series may be worth it for Rogues. Honestly, the Rogues are way more interesting than the Flash.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep #6 is just a graphic presentation of the book by the same name. You know the one that inspired Bladerunner? If that's your kind of thing it's worth reading.

Superman: The World of New Krypton #10 was decent this issue. Adam Strange shows up and there's a murder that must be solved. So, Strange and General El team up. There are only two issues of WoNK left. How is this entire series going to resolve and what has been the point? I guess we'll have to wait. I'll probably re-read them all when #12 final ships. I'm not convinced this series has told us anything interesting or new about Superman. I would have liked for WoNK to have include more culture shock for Superman and more tension and uncertainty on his part. Oh well.

One issue brought up recently in regard to New Krypton has been the labor guild's underrepresentation within (New) Kryptonian society. They have no representation on the council and essentially an oppressed class whose only role is to labor for everyone else. This is an interesting idea and could have been expanded upon in this title. So much more could have been done with this opportunity to discuss class relations, labor, etc. Instead, the issue is acknowledged by Kal-El and others, but is then ignored. I would have loved for a labor rebellion to have occurred and Supes to have sided with the working class. Hell, wouldn't it have been more interesting if Superman choose to join the labor guild instead of the military? I think so.

So anyway, those are the comics I bought and read.

One day I'd like to write something about ideological representations within the DCU, though that sounds like a lot of work.

Looks like we're getting sold out on the public option.

Two Democratic sources said that the deal includes proposals to replace the public option by creating a not-for-profit private insurance option overseen by the federal Office of Personnel Management, much like the current health plan for federal workers, and another allowing people 55 and older to buy into Medicare coverage that currently is available to those 65 and older.

[From Senate Dems agree on how to handle health bill's public option - CNN.com]

We should be getting single payer healthcare. Instead we're going to end up with a bill that does very little to help anyone except for the insurance industry.

Great job Democrats!

DCU IN 2010: WELCOME TO EARTH ONE

That major publishing event we mentioned earlier today? Well, here it is.

Original stories featuring Batman and Superman in graphic novel form from the biggest creators out there. But these aren’t one-offs. We’re talking ongoing series of OGNs in a new continuity, on a new Earth.

Sound appealing?

Starting next year, DC Comics will unveil SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE and BATMAN: EARTH ONE, two graphic novels spotlighting the most powerful heroes of the DC Universe, with their first years and earliest moments retold in a standalone, original graphic novel format, on a new earth with an all-new continuity.

There's a word I'm looking for here, but I can't seem to find it. It starts with a u, I think.

Unnecessary?
What the fuck, DC? Final Crisis opened up the possibilities of the Multiverse again. So what's the first thing they think to do?

Oh! I know! Let's do origin stories for Batman and Superman, because nobody has ever read that before! --Some douchebag at DC

Yeah, I know. Superman and Batman move books. They're classics. You know why? Because everybody knows their fucking story already! And before you jump in to remind me that I'm reading Superman: Secret Orign, I just want to say "shut the fuck up." There are issues that need to be set straight with New Earth Superman in light of various changes, crises and whatever crap they're going to pull next year with War of the Supermen. Or at least, that's how I'm justifying it.

Look, create some interesting new characters. Use the Multiverse to create different worlds and different heroes. Yeah, the Legions of 3 Worlds were cool and it was cool that an assload of Supermen showed up at the end of Final Crisis. But do we really need more stories dedicated to exploring these characters' origins? What is going to make Earth One special that will differentiate it from New Earth? Is changing the tone of the basic story enough to justify publication?

Maybe we'll see some exciting new tweaks and changes.

Superman catches kryptonite mutated herpes and has to explain it to Lois.

We learn that Batman spends his off-time trolling the internet using the Bat-Computer because he's a /b/tard.

Ultimates?
Or, is it just that DC really wants to create its own Ultimates line?

I understand to motivation to bring in new readers. But do different continuities really do that or do they just get existing readers and collectors to add more shit to their pull lists?

I want something new to read.

I haven't read anything yet, but here's what I bought.

This is small town politics at its finest:

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government - but he doesn't believe in God. His political opponents say that's a sin that makes him unworthy of serving in office, and they've got the North Carolina Constitution on their side.

Bothwell's detractors are threatening to take the city to court for swearing him in, even though the state's antiquated requirement that officeholders believe in God is unenforceable because it violates the U.S. Consititution.

[From Conservatives threaten to sue city over atheist councilman | Raw Story]

...

"My father was a Baptist minister. I'm a Christian man. I have problems with people who don't believe in God," said Edgerton, a former local NAACP president and founder of Southern Heritage 411, an organization that promotes the interests of black southerners.

I know there are decent ones out there, but religious people tend to be fucking scum.

Why do the Democrats continue to associate with this pile of shit?

Washington (CNN) -- Dashing the hopes of Democratic lawmakers Sunday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman signaled he would oppose a health care bill that includes a proposal to expand Medicare to people as young as 55.

[From Lieberman opposes Medicare at 55 - CNN.com]

Kick him out of the caucus already and take away his committee chairs!

Fuck yeah.

So it isn't the highest quality repair job ever, but it does look better in real life than in the picture. Well, it looks better except for the part that looks like wet snot. It's still cheaper than a new pair of boots.

Now you too can revel in the tedious minutiae that is my life.

I'm on Twitter now: http://twitter.com/genericlife

Why? I don't know.

Why not?

Put that Bacinator down...

For over 30 years bakers in Zanesville, members of Bakers Local 57 have produced all the buns for Wendy's. They've had a decent relationship with management and have supported their families with good paying jobs, health care and have retired with real pensions. They've been a solid support for the Zanesville community, paying taxes, supporting local schools, etc. When Dave Thomas started Wendy's, it was a local, family owned business, with decent food at fair prices that treated its workers decently. Now all that is changing, due to an epidemic of corporate greed.

Recently, Wendy's was taken over by another corporate giant; Arby's. Not content with the massive profits they're now making, Arby's has issued demands that the workers in Zanesville give up their health care, one vacation week and job rights. Even worse, they are stealing the retiree's health care and wiping out all pensions for new retirees.

"This is just outright corporate greed at its most vicious, and this at holiday time," stated Bakers Union Business Agent Vester Newsome. "We need to stand together and draw a line somewhere to protect regular working families. We're going to stand up for justice and we ask the public to stand with us!"

[From Boycott Wendy's! » peoplesworld]

More Info: Justice for Wendys Bakers