So the launch of the new Batman line of comics is under way, with Batman & Robin, Batman, and Red Robin having been released. I could not be happier with the titles so far. Batman and Robin continues Grant Morrison's highly enjoyable, if a little odd, run on the characters. He is doing a great job of keeping things light to fit the tone of the new dark knight, but also creepy and odd to fit the tone of a Batman title. The first post-Battle for the Cowl issue of Batman is a terrific look at how Bruce Wayne's death has affected those closest to him, and how Dick Grayson went about creating his version of Batman. I can say with no embarrassment that I got very choked up when Alfred and Dick were discussing what the loss of Bruce meant to both of them. If I had any qualms with the issue, it would be the lack of a reaction from both Tim and Damien. It may have been felt that Tim's reaction would be covered in Red Robin, and it was. However, Judd Winick has a terrific ability to capture the emotional voice of the characters and I would have really enjoyed seeing his take on Tim's reaction. And then there is Damien. A character that has been portrayed as emotionally detached. Even with this detachment, I find it hard to believe he has not had a "coming to terms" reaction to his father's death or any reaction at all for that matter. And finally, Red Robin. This is an interesting title, that follows Tim as he searches for Bruce (whom he believes, correctly, is not actually dead).
There is more to this post, but I will have to finish later. The work day is almost over.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Of course...
So, just as I thought, Orlando's shooting has come back down to earth after being sky high against the Cavs. My buddy made a comment that the Lakers will beat the Orlando Magic and everyone will say the Cavs would just have gotten killed. I don't believe that. (As I type this, Rashad Lewis blows a wide open 12 footer.) I am not sure what Orlando's percentages are, but they just are not hitting the outside shot the way they did against the Cavs. (Turkolgu misses a wide open shot on the baseline off a great Howard screen) Ok, I will give you that Bryant is playing insane right now... but still Orlando's shooting is atrocious, at least compared to what it was in the Cavs series. And it is open shots. The Lakers defense is not that much better, if at all, than the Cavs.
Ok, now that I got that out of my system. I tried to register for the American Library Annual Conference today. I don't think they could make it more complicated. I was trying to do it on a break at work, so I did not have a lot of time, but all of the things that they want you to choose at the time of registration is kind of silly. I really wish you could just register and then add events later, if you so choose. If you wait to long, you might not get in, or you might have a cut off date for adding these extra events, but simplify the registration process.
Oh, and I was sad to hear about David Carradine's passing. It is odd, just last week I watched both Kill Bill films back to back. He was so good in those. I never really watched Kung Fu. I saw a few episodes here and there, but it seemed like a good show. RIP Mr. Carradine.
Ok, now that I got that out of my system. I tried to register for the American Library Annual Conference today. I don't think they could make it more complicated. I was trying to do it on a break at work, so I did not have a lot of time, but all of the things that they want you to choose at the time of registration is kind of silly. I really wish you could just register and then add events later, if you so choose. If you wait to long, you might not get in, or you might have a cut off date for adding these extra events, but simplify the registration process.
Oh, and I was sad to hear about David Carradine's passing. It is odd, just last week I watched both Kill Bill films back to back. He was so good in those. I never really watched Kung Fu. I saw a few episodes here and there, but it seemed like a good show. RIP Mr. Carradine.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Jordan Rules Review... Part 1
I have started reading The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith. Since the Cavs have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, I figure I have some more time and should really try and start reading more. As a hopeful librarian, I think it is important that I be able to discuss books I have read in interviews. My current reading consists of magazine articles, web articles, and graphic novels. I need to expand in order to speak more intelligently with future employers and have a broader base to use in future employment.
So, that is why I am reading, now onto what I am going to try and do while I am reading. I am going to try and write an occasional recap or review of what I have read here on the blog. I am hoping this will accomplish two things. First, I hope it will make me a better writer. I hope that by typing up my thoughts on a consistent basis and on a consistent topic, I will be able to organize them better and express them better. Second, I hope that by typing this up I become more accustomed to keeping my blog up to date and posting content. My current updates are sporadic at best. Now on to the first part of the review.
I love basketball, it is by far my favorite sport. Not that I don't love baseball and football, but should someone tell me I could only have one more sport for the rest of my life, there would be no pause before choosing basketball. My least favorite sport (of the big three) is football, but that is a topic for another time. I might go through my basketball credentials in a future blog, but for now I will just say that Michael Jordan's "shot" over Craig Ehlo hurts just as much now as it did when I watched it live. As I have watched the sport, I have found myself developing an appreciation and interest in the game that I do not have for baseball and football. The behind the scenes operations of a team are very interesting.
The Jordan Rules is a look at both the on the court, as well as the off the court, behind the scenes looks at the Chicago Bulls 1990-1991 season. The author, Sam Smith, has done a great job in the first 60 odd pages of mixing great anecdotal stories about various members of the Bulls organization with straight statistics about players and why the team had such a hard time overcoming their rivals, the Detroit Pistons, in the late 80's. He does an excellent job of setting up the personal relationships that existed on the team, as well as those that had existed among the players and coaches that had been on the team in years past. I expect these details to pay off greatly later in the book as we see how this team was able to grow and achieve their eventual success.
For someone who does not read a lot of novels, the book is a fairly quick read. I usually find myself slogging through portions of all books, even those I really enjoy, but Smith is so far doing an excellent job of keeping stories and descriptions to succinct snippets that convey his points without losing the reader. A great example is the author's description of Phil Jackson's road to the NBA coaching ranks. Instead of using a plethora of adjectives to describes Phil's notorious reputation as a hippie, the author does a great job of hitting the highlights of Phil's lifestyle and a select few incedents to show this. He gives the reader all they need to know about Phil's history in a great three page interlude before cotinuing with the main narriration.
So far, this is a great book. I would not recommend it to anyone that does not have a strong intrests in sports, or the NBA. But for those of us that do love sports and specifically the NBA, this is a great read that does a great job of keeping your intrests and mixing great stories with stats and history. So far...
So, that is why I am reading, now onto what I am going to try and do while I am reading. I am going to try and write an occasional recap or review of what I have read here on the blog. I am hoping this will accomplish two things. First, I hope it will make me a better writer. I hope that by typing up my thoughts on a consistent basis and on a consistent topic, I will be able to organize them better and express them better. Second, I hope that by typing this up I become more accustomed to keeping my blog up to date and posting content. My current updates are sporadic at best. Now on to the first part of the review.
I love basketball, it is by far my favorite sport. Not that I don't love baseball and football, but should someone tell me I could only have one more sport for the rest of my life, there would be no pause before choosing basketball. My least favorite sport (of the big three) is football, but that is a topic for another time. I might go through my basketball credentials in a future blog, but for now I will just say that Michael Jordan's "shot" over Craig Ehlo hurts just as much now as it did when I watched it live. As I have watched the sport, I have found myself developing an appreciation and interest in the game that I do not have for baseball and football. The behind the scenes operations of a team are very interesting.
The Jordan Rules is a look at both the on the court, as well as the off the court, behind the scenes looks at the Chicago Bulls 1990-1991 season. The author, Sam Smith, has done a great job in the first 60 odd pages of mixing great anecdotal stories about various members of the Bulls organization with straight statistics about players and why the team had such a hard time overcoming their rivals, the Detroit Pistons, in the late 80's. He does an excellent job of setting up the personal relationships that existed on the team, as well as those that had existed among the players and coaches that had been on the team in years past. I expect these details to pay off greatly later in the book as we see how this team was able to grow and achieve their eventual success.
For someone who does not read a lot of novels, the book is a fairly quick read. I usually find myself slogging through portions of all books, even those I really enjoy, but Smith is so far doing an excellent job of keeping stories and descriptions to succinct snippets that convey his points without losing the reader. A great example is the author's description of Phil Jackson's road to the NBA coaching ranks. Instead of using a plethora of adjectives to describes Phil's notorious reputation as a hippie, the author does a great job of hitting the highlights of Phil's lifestyle and a select few incedents to show this. He gives the reader all they need to know about Phil's history in a great three page interlude before cotinuing with the main narriration.
So far, this is a great book. I would not recommend it to anyone that does not have a strong intrests in sports, or the NBA. But for those of us that do love sports and specifically the NBA, this is a great read that does a great job of keeping your intrests and mixing great stories with stats and history. So far...
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