My work here is done...

So I get the following email from a dear, feline ninja friend of mine. It is completely true as I understand it. No names have been changed to protect anyone. And it brings a ridiculously huge smile to my face every time I read it:

Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2007 21:37:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ninja El Gato
Subject: It's CLOBBERIN' TIME!
To: Jonathan Mazur

Good GRIEF, what have you DONE to my CHILDREN!
Fantastic 4 this, Fantastic 4 that, I spend my days as
Reid [sic] Richards to Sammi's Sue, with Quinn alternating
between Ben and Johnny Storm....  sometimes I get to
be the Thing, but Quinn usually claims that role.  A
few weeks ago they spent the day with the team emblem
on their chests, done with face paint.  I feel like an
underpaid actor. (But it's all good!  S calls our
family the Fantastic 4.)  It's all they ask for to
watch right now.  Although has asked for her own
Spider-Man costume...  Quinn's loathe to share, it's
still his favorite.

Got yer message (oops, now I'm typing like Ben talks),
sorry I haven't called yet (and sorry to hear about
your voice, I hope you've reclaimed it!), finding
phone time remains a challenge.  

Sincerely,

Mr. Fantastic

I seriously cannot tell you how funny I found the first line.

Comic books... capturing children's imagination since 1939...

(Granted, some people think it's "corrupting the morals of youth," but I think we know that those people are idiots...)

So happy to be passing on the fun to future generations. And now waiting for JADO's and my cousin's kids to be old enough.

* * *

So much other stuff to report. Perhaps when I have more time...

No, I haven't seen it yet...

...but SQ sent me this article which was kinda funny, since Transformers mania is sweeping the nation.

(For the record, I did see LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, and it was really good...)

Some of you may find this dry...

...or boring. But I think sometimes people forget the importance of the 4th. And this was a fascinating analysis that MLW found.

Attention car people...

(...so that would be like Dad and JADO....)

This site which explains how to treat your non-hybrid car as a hybrid sounds like a marvelous idea and a great way to help the environment. Tell me why I'm wrong. Do I need to worry about damage to my engine? What about the battery? There are some traffic lights down here that can last for two or three minutes or longer.

This, of course, is all while I save up for my new dream car, which sounds positively awesome.

Hee-hee

I so enjoy seeing Bruce Campbell working. He's in a new series (in a supporting role) called BURN NOTICE on USA. Looks like it could be funny, and it seems quirky and somewhat original. Therefore it will probably be cancelled after 3 ep's, but hey, I can hope, right?

Bruce has a series of video interviews (short clips) that he did promoting the series, featured on the website for the show. Check 'em out.

Pay attention this week...

...Dear Reader, as I feel a posting mood coming on...

In the meantime, it's nice to know the Japanese are working on the prototype for my Mind-Control Helmet...

Ah, Japanese scientists... did anyone ever figure they maybe have too much time on their hands...?

Do you think if I chase myself...

...long enough, I can ever actually catch up?

So, lots and lots of stuff -- nothing super-exciting, but if I don't post I'll never be able to close all these open browser tabs! (Damn you Firefox for your tabbed browsing efficiency!)

SQ sent my this piece on the new Speed Racer movie.

In Japan, the Army is poised to attack... um... wild animals, apparently.

I don't even remember who sent me this article on the proposed Avengers movie (for the record, I can't imagine how that would work), but conceptually it's a neat idea.

More info and photos on our trip to Wizard World Philly coming shortly. Also, maybe some complaining about having to move my cube at work...

When describing...

...the town where I grew up in New Jersey (insert your own joke here), I often refer to it as "a small Midwestern town, transplanted to the Northern New Jersey woodlands" -- which I have always felt was a reasonable description of West Milford Township (still "my hometown" at least in my head) -- at least when you factor in the notion that it's more my IDEA of what a small, Midwestern town is like, anyway.

Never has that been more true than today. I give you this piece from the Bergen Record:

Cow still running wild in W. Milford

Friday, June 1, 2007

By MICHAEL J. FEENEY
STAFF WRITER

For one evening, it was the Wild Wild West -- West Milford, that is.

There was the swarm of true-grit horse riders in Stetsons. There was the trail boss with a lasso and a gun. It was like an old-fashioned cattle drive.

The only thing missing -- again -- was the cow.

Despite the best efforts by about 20 riders combing woods and fields, a black cow continued to run wild through the township as night fell Thursday.

The escapee from a cow-herding horse competition has been out there for almost a month, getting fat on the foliage and posing a potential danger to motorists. And the posse had saddled up with one goal in mind – bring 'er in.

The cowpokes, looking smart in their western hats, doused in bug spray and astride their personal horses -- many specifically trained to herd cattle -- started out by cantering gently down a heavily wooded area, just off Gould Road and Union Valley Road, where the cow has been spotted numerous times.

But after a nearly two-hour search of the rocky and wooded terrain, it was time to admit failure.

"It was disappointing, but we'll try it again tomorrow," said John Macellaro of the Passaic County Sheriff's Department Auxiliary Mounted Unit, who organized the townshipwide cow hunt.

"It's becoming a nuisance," he said of the elusive bovine. "You just don't want the cow running out into the road and killing somebody."

Past searches have failed to get close to the wary animal. Police say one motorist has reported hitting the nearly 600-pound cow, which likely has gotten bigger since being out in the woods. Driver and cow were reported to be OK, but the car sustained significant damage.

Macellaro, who is certified in search and rescue, had made up a map grid to help strategically plan the search. The riders split up into four groups with high hopes that this time someone would locate the cow, which had been spotted as recently as Thursday morning. If they did, they would call in Macellaro, who had the goods to bring the critter in.

"There's more power in numbers," said Macellaro, riding his horse Snorty like a true cowboy, wearing spurs and a cowboy hat. "I got a rope and a tranquilizer gun. We really just want to catch him for the guy [owner Frank Battipaglia]."

Macellaro hoped the horses could find the cow and chase the animal around until it is tired and then he could move in with rope or tranquilizer.

The cow has been on the loose since May 6, when she jumped a fence during a cattle-herding horse competition at the West Milford Equestrian Center, owned by Frank and Ella Mae Battipaglia.

The all-black bovine with a cloth number zero tagged to its hide has been nearly impossible to catch, despite many close encounters with Frank Battipaglia, who has said the cow runs away when it sees him.

The cow doesn't belong to the Battipaglias. It's actually one of a small herd they rented from a Monticello, N.Y., livestock competition for the penning competition held in an indoor arena at the equestrian center.

Each of the cattle are tagged with a number, and competing horsemen use their skills to drive the cows into a pen at one end of the arena.

Kathy Leaver, who also organized the search, said, "We've been going out two or three times a week looking for the cow, just for fun. She needs to be caught."

Leaver said all the riders rode their personal horses, which are kept at Echo Lake Stables, a small ranch community in the Newfoundland section of the Highlands township.

Leaver and Macellaro own the stable.

Leaver, riding Aspen, was optimistic their biggest search would turn up with some positive results. She shouted, "Let's go guys, mount up," while reminding the riders the sun would be down by about 8:20 p.m.

Despite the results, Marta Samsel, riding Midnight Sky, was still smiling after the search ended.

"The cow was an excuse to go and have fun," she said.

Although the search didn't have a happy ending, Macellaro concluded, "We did see a lot of cow manure. Now we have a pretty good idea where she's been hanging."

And, naturally, just as everyone was parting ways and the horses were being loaded into trailers, another sighting came in.

Reason for another cattle drive, soon.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

So, um, there you go. We have some traffic lights now too, you know... (Freebird!) Thanks to my mom for sending that along.

Happy Trails!

By the Power of Greyskull!

This is the sort of thing that SQ normally forwards along, but this time MLW beat him to the punch. Sure, why not another 80s show to film? Read to the end of the article to see what else is in process...

Two weeks behind...

...(at least) on seemingly everything. Hell, that may just be my epitaph... All I can say is, work is keeping me super-busy. Don't really know why, exactly... doesn't seem to be one thing I can point to, just seem to be busy all the time. (Truly, it's a struggle to get to the gym or read.) It's not "bad busy" but it doesn't leave time for much else.

Anyway, at the risk of giving up my lunch or getting further behind in my email, here's at least two weeks worth of bloggables at once...

So it turns out that French and Austrian scientists (who apparently decided, you know, that all the rest of our problems had already been solved) were studying animals, and learned that petting them reduced their stress as well as our own. So score one for, um, science?

My mom sent me this piece like back at the end of February (Did I say two weeks behind? Clearly I meant months. Make that three. Months.) -- some sort of in memoriam of Mr. Rogers. Utterly random, but worth reading, I thought (presuming, of course, you can since it's in the Bergen Record, which probably requires registration...)

Here's a really cool site (and when I say "really cool" I realize, OriginalWebb, that not everyone will agree with me...) that debunks or sets straight many comic book urban legends. Didn't know their WERE comic book urban legends? Me neither. But I found out I believed some of them, and so this site helped me learn the truth.

For local folks, I found the Virginia Renaissance Festival (we always hear about the Maryland one which starts around August and runs through late October, but never a VA one), which sounds interesting. Maybe we'll go if it doesn't get too hot... They do have a Pirate weekend... (Arr!)

And speaking of pirates (see what I did there?), I have YET ANOTHER bone to pick with my high school Guidance Department -- NO ONE ever told me "professional treasure hunter" was a viable job choice! How cool would that be?! Answer: pretty damn cool. And apparently profitable!

What else is up? Saw Spiderman 3... I'm sure at some point I'll have an interesting conversation with JADO about that. Um... I'm not sure that's there's any other news of excitement. Oh, other than the murder up on the next street. (MDFA's parents don't read this blog, right?)

Back to work now. Thanks for reading...

I don't want to spoil it...

...or otherwise prejudice people, so I'll just say this about Spiderman 3*...

• Bruce Campbell rules!
• The redhead works as a blonde
• Yes, there's a lot going on
• Toby Maguire (and for that matter, every other young actor in Hollywood) needs to learn if you're playing a superhero, people want to see the superhero, NOT the superhero with his mask off (or half off or three quarters off or whatever). It's getting weak, Toby.

Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled work day...

*=What? No, I didn't leave the office for 3 hours with 3 coworkers to go see a movie across the street... That would be wrong. (Actually, no it wouldn't. It would be fun. Charging the customer for it would be wrong, and I'm not going to do that.)

I wanted to quickly...

...acknowledge both the premiere of Spiderman 3 and the fact that tomorrow (May 5) in addition to being Cinco de Mayo is also Free Comic Book Day! I know I've already mentioned that it's Spiderman week in New York.

So I figured I'd give you this link to Marvel's page summarizing the history of the conflict between Spiderman and the Green Goblin and also the link to the current Rotten Tomatoes on the new film (because I know if one film is dependent on good reviews for success, it's this one...)

So get out there, get some free comics, and see Spidey numero tres, because Hollywood needs the money...

Clear your calendars

MDFA after some subtle prompting was kind enough to look up the summer movie release calendar for me. Now that we're nearing the end of April, when for all intents and purposes the Summer movie season begins. So make notes, True Believers! We're soon headed to the cinema!

May 4th - Spiderman 3
May 18th - Shrek the Third
May 25th - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
June 8th - Ocean's 13
June 15th - Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer
June 15th - Nancy Drew (for MLW)
June 27th - Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4)
July 4th - Transformers
July 13th - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
July 27th - The Simpsons Movie
August 3rd - The Bourne Ultimatum
August 10th - Rush Hour 3

I'm sure this doesn't represent ALL the movies coming out this summer, nor all the ones we will see, but hey, it's a start. If you haven't see the trailers for some of them, do check them out (the Simpsons' one had me laughing and laughing.)

More as we get closer to each individual one...

Hmm...

...interesting.

Turns out...

...Kryptonite is our Kryptonite...

Who knew?

Oh. Yeah, that's right...

Just remember...

...I don't pick the icons...

So, I got an email from MLW, the other day, directing me to this site, which in turn explains that Ziggurat Con -- the first RPG con to be held in a war zone, will be taking place this June.

Now while I personally don't plan to attend, what with my allergy to warzones and all, those of you that are frequent readers know that MLW and are like to support AnySoldier.com and while this event (to my knowledge) has nothing to do with that charity, it does appear to be about supporting the troops in a way I know I can (who doesn't have extra rpg books lying around the house?), and so I'm passing it on, in case any of you feel the same way.

Keep 'em rolling!

True Story...

So the CEO of my company (who works right down the hall from my cube) comes by just as I'm about to step away for a second. This is not uncommon, as my cube is across the hall from three (count 'em, three...) Vice Presidents' offices. But he's not making direct eye contact, so I'm not sure if it's me he's talking to when he suddenly says, "So have you heard about this latest travesty?" And I glance to my left, not seeing anyone more important than myself that the comment could have been directed at. And I look past him, to see if there was someone right behind him that he might have been addressing; nope. So, concluding that he must be talking to me, I said, "Uhhhh...." (or words of a similar bend, displaying my mental acuity and speed of cognition).

To which he replies, "I really want to know who even thinks of this stuff?" And at this point, I'm beginning to get concerned, because it's not like some of my projects haven't had their little problems, and it's not that big a company that the CEO couldn't know this or have been called by an irate client. And I believe my follow up was, "Um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure..."

To which, he finally replies, somewhat vexed, "Did you hear that they are making a Spiderman MUSICAL?" (Cue, JAM mentally yelling "Whew!" and figuratively wiping his brow...)

"Heh. Oh, yeah, Paul, I think I did read something about that... It didn't work for Superman, either."

"Unbelievable."

"Say, Paul, we are going to get the afternoon of May 3rd off, right? To see Spiderman 3?"

Now it was his turn to look uncomfortable....

That's the Akron Beacon-Journal...

...for all your DVD news... But seriously, folks... TV Shows on DVD is reporting that in an interview with the Akron Beacon-Journal (first in news for, well, Akron...) Robert Vaughn has more news on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. DVD collection.

Also, in other Robert Vaughn news, a reminder that his truly excellent show Hu$tle returns to AMC this very night (Wednesday, 10 p.m., AMC). Watch it, it's totally cool!

For those of you who demanded it!

Apparently they're going ahead with that Green Arrow in Prison Movie... according to Wizard. Put me down for a "Wha....?"

Engineering Students...

...they're wacky...