Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 09/02/2010

I'm actually starting this on Thursday as opposed to Friday for a reason that will be at the top of Slice of Heaven.  Starting and finishing on Friday is barely working out, as I miss out on that extra 45 minutes because of the need to go to Cajun Kitchen.  Whatchagonnnado?

Slice of Heaven


Friday Announced as "Off" at the Day Job.  Every once in a while work manages to surprise me, and thank god they announced that in addition to having Monday off for Labor Day, we also have Friday off as well.  I really need the four day weekend, as my attitude at work has been less than stellar as a result of too much nonsense that I will not go into.  Now I can spend Friday morning at Coffee Cat revising my 5-page comic script for class and possibly begin tightening up the first two chapters of the novel so that I can begin sending queries out.  Bonus Friday is my double-rainbow.  What does it mean?  Who cares...four day weekend.  'Nuff said.

The Goon Volume 1: Nothin' But Misery  written and drawn by Eric Powell.  Damnit!  I have been consuming graphic novels and comics alike at an astonishing rate and here comes the next big hit to my poor defenseless wallet.  Like Pokemon, you gotta catch them all.  The primary word to use when describing this title is fun.  The Goon is a book that seems to have stepped out of a noir crime film and onto the set of The Night Of the Living Dead.   The Goon, known only as The Goon, is not your typical hero.  In fact, he is no hero at all, but more a gangster than anything.  He shakes people down for money, kills without a second thought, and I love him for it.  Paired with his diminutive partner, Franky, the anti-hero patrols the streets killing zombies and monsters, while finding time to collect protection money and enjoy a slice of pie.  Also introduced in the book is The Buzzard, scourge of the undead, who I am sure will be showing up in many of the upcoming trades.  Beautiful art and great storytelling, definitely worth checking out.

The Goon Vol. 1: Nothin' But Misery

Creekside (Deano's) Pizza, garlic french fries, Maker's Mark with soda water, and beer.  You can't go wrong with this combination -- it is simply impossible.  Who would have ever thought that I would fulfill my lifelong dream of eating garlic french fries, my favorite pizza and sip a bourbon all at the same time?  Well, that shit went down last Friday and will be happening again most likely this Saturday. Plus, Tri-Tip and Artichoke hearts as a new topping to replace the lack of salami at Creekside...a completely acceptable alternative.


The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo written by Stieg Larsson.  This crime thriller is a good read and definitely worthy of all of the attention and praise that it has received.  It has most everything a Donist could ever want:  Scum-sucking entitled multi-national corporate douchebags, malevolent sex offenders getting their due in creative ways, a brilliant and hot tattooed girl who would have torn my heart out and kicked it into the gutter--check, check and check. A very good crime novel, although dated by the descriptions of the technology used by the female protagonist, which had me laughing a bit when I should have not been laughing.  

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I finished the book and this happened to be streaming on Netflix, so it was the obvious choice for a Sunday movie at home.  Vastly different from the book in some ways that work better than the book, but be warned that the movie begins to divulge some secrets that are not mentioned until the second book The Girl Who Played With Fire.  A good movie in and of itself, but--of course--read the book first.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Mad Men Season Four "Waldorf Stories" - This show keeps getting better and will probably show up every week until the season finale in October.  Don Draper's world continues to crumble even when he receives some of the respect he has always wanted, Peggy makes a bold move to put a sexist art director in his place, and Roger Sterling remembers the first time he met Don.  Great episode.

Slice Into the Woods

Tulip and the Case of the Swollen Face - Yeah, this one is not a kids book (now there's an idea...hmmm).  Monday morning at about 6:15 AM, I was at the computer writing about the footwear company that I used to work at, when Tulip ran up to see me.  She does this every morning after she wakes up and after she comes in from going to the bathroom.  This time, though, I looked down to pet her and I could tell that something was wrong.  I sat on the ground and her face looked just plain odd and not right.  It was beginning to puff out and her eyes were beginning to partially swell shut and she crawled into my lap, completely scared.  She then proceeded to throw up three times and when Amy came back downstairs to see what I was freaking out about, she too began to lose her marbles.  I threw on my shoes, and was out the door to buy some Benedryl for the pup, but Amy then told me that she was breaking out in hives all over her stomach, too.  A quick trip to the store later and a call to the vet, and Tulip and I were on our way to St Francis Pet Clinic.  Dr. Morgan, who is great, gave her a shot in addition to the Benadryl that I had given her, but poor Tulip cried in pain when she was administered the shot and I felt horrible.  The swelling began to subside almost immediately and I worked from home to better keep an eye on her.  The Dr. said that it was most likely a bug bite from when she went outside in the morning.  Go to hell evil spiders!

I was too freaked out to take a picture of the hives, but here is a sad picture anyways.

A-Holes Who Steal Credit Card Information - Seriously?  Twice in less than a year.  This is getting ridiculous.  The first time was a security breach at a major bank who took part in the bail out...you would think the millions they won could have beefed up their security.  Although the charges this time were $12.00 at a Home Depot in Oregon and $3.00 for a bus pass or something in Idaho, I am glad that it was caught so quickly.  Seriously, if you are a scum sucking credit card thief, picking on people in the same--or more likely worse--financial condition than you find yourself gets you a prominent seat in a special hell.  Why not go for Bernie Madoff's credit card?  He's not going to notice $15.00 worth of charges, especially not while he is in prison.  Or go for the credit cards of health insurance CEO's who deny your claim for no reason other than you might pay the amount as opposed to contesting it.  Grrr.  Suck it.

Value Added Analysis Posting of Teacher Scores - @#$!ing Bull@#$@.  How the hell can you compare test score improvement for kids at multiple levels of learning, family support (or lack of it), lack of a child's own personal responsibility, income levels, class size and countless other factors?  How difficult of a task is it to realize that a child is not a widget/product that can be lumped into a statistical pool?  Sure, some teachers need to go--I had some really bad ones--but this harms and embarrasses the good ones.  Here is a thought:  If this goes through, why not post the salaries and personal efficiency scores of not just city officials (Bell and Vernon), but post the same for the CEO's and management of banks, health insurance providers, car manufacturers, etc.  Yes they are private companies, but if they took a bail out and/or deal heavily with the public at large, they should be open to public scrutiny and scoring as well.  I'm looking at you, evil Koch brothers.

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice Into the Woods 09/02/2010