Ha! He's finally aging!

I picked the wrong day to stop taking botox...


It's finally happening! Superboy is aging! Look!





Oh... Wait a second. Now he's even better looking. Fuck me...

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them...

I picked the wrong day to give up finding cool bumper stickers...


Found this one in Anheim Hills of all places.

Comic-Con but Very Few Comics

I picked the wrong day to stop reading Ray Bradbury...


It's been at least 5 years since I've been to any type of comic convention. As the name implies when you go to one you usually see lots of, well... Comics! That wasn't the case at Comic-Con 2008. I searched long and hard. Finally in the back of the main show floor there were some tables selling classic books. Funny thing was, for all my searching when I finally found them, I wasn't that interested. The medium has changed and so have I. Truth be told I haven't set foot into a comic book store in a few years now. Fed up with the attitude of comic store owners I became a disgruntled customer. That plus the lack of consistent product not to mention being a father of four have kept me away. By the way, comic book store owners HATE kids. I don't know what it is but I've seen kids berated and shamed out of stores on more than one occasion. No wonder kids switched their allegiance to anime and manga. All very ironic.

For the pass several years I have began digitally downloading my comics on a frequent basis. Now this is not exactly the most legal of activities but the medium has refused to change with the times. I should qualify that when I see a series that I enjoyed I will buy it in Trade Paper Back form at a Borders or Barnes and Noble. At least there I don't have to deal with the comic book store attitude.

So this is my open plea to the comic industry. PLEASE start offering you comics every Wednesday for digital download. I will GLADLY pay for this privilege. If you don't know how to make it happen talk to Apple. They seem to have it down to a science. Hell, I'll even pay for what I've already downloaded. Take a lesson from the recording industry which is now in shambles because it refused to adapt. I know Marvel has its "Digital Comics" on Marvel.com but the service is lousy and has little choices. I want ALL the titles to be available. Not just the selected ones from last month. And not just a handful of selected back issues either.

DCP and Minutemen (two underground comic scanning organizations) are so far ahead of you it's ridiculous. They have practically the entire medium in digital format at this point. Going back to the early 20th centry. They are on the forefront of the future of distribution for comics. Agree with them or not, the people have spoken.

For the final nail in the coffin the largest paper book seller in the world, Amazon.com, has introduced a digital downloading wireles reading device called a Kindle. Amazon Kindles are flying off the shelf. Great name if you think about it. To kindle is to catch fire. Quite the tripple entendre there Amazon!

Never leave your 5 year old son alone in a wedding party limo with 25 year olds OR Guess what I just found on the camera roll?

The legacy of this weekend's wedding continues...

Before the limo.




And after...

Nice day for a white wedding

I picked the wrong day to go to rehab...

On Saturday I wound up at a wedding for my niece (on the inlaw side) way out in Riverside, California. The wedding was held in this beautiful castle which was run and maintained by Teen Challenge. Teen Challenge is a faith based rehab that appears to do incredible work. One of the programs they run is a residential program where they put the over 18 people to work at events. Sure enough there were many clean cut kids who served us our food and drinks. I wound up talking to a couple of them and I was impressed by their manners and openess. At the same time, as there was no alcohol or loud music present at this venue, all I could think of was the words of the immortal Artie Lange. "Man, a year ago this would have all been one hell of a party."

So the wedding was very nice and the setting gorgeous. A tear almost came to my eye seeing these young people taking their vows. I first met my neice when she was 13 and I never imagined seeing such a day so soon. The time really flies. So of course my serenty was all broken when my 13 year old daughter catches the fucking bouquette!




And don't think I didn't catch the the guy who caught the garter belt licking his chops for a few minutes. Luckily that tradition was overlooked this time. There was about to be a beat down in Riverside, yo.

Comic-Con 2008

I picked the wrong day to stop carrying my new camera with me.

Well I now understand why Comic-Con is spread out over 4 days. Trying to do it all in one day is an exercise in futility and exhaustion. Still, I had a blast! There aren't many places where I can speak my theories of comic book lore out loud and not feel like everyone is secretly laughing at me. Next year I'll definitely do all four days.

The floor was probably the most crowded venue I've ever been in. It reminded me of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Wall to wall people and not much room to maneuver. Here's a pic to give you an idea.





The iPhone camera leaves something to be desired. Still it is functional. Really wish I had remembered my camera though.

More thoughts to come. In the mean time my son Mateo had fun with a Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Pedro offers you his protection

I picked the wrong day to stop smoking weed...

So in my attempt to win the Step Father of the Millennium award I had a private chat with my daughter about being supportive should she ever need birth control. I think she knows this about me already but I wanted the communication lines to be clear just the same. As we ended the conversation she walked away and I asked her if there was anything she wanted to ask me. She turned to me and said, "I get it: Pedro offers you his protection."