Tales from the Kryptonian 2.0

Just when things started to look bad for this blog I have decided to put up or shut up. So I have bought a new laptop to post on a regular basis from now on ( hopefully ).

Okay, I already experienced the downside , meaning problems because of not enough sleep, but that happens when a guy has a new toy. So far I have spent the last few days since Saturday - when the laptop arrived after work - with trying to figure out how to work it best.

Right now I have switched from explorer to firefox because explorer kept adding ads to the posts and behaving strangely with almost everything. As could be expected the laptop has Windows 8 installed and so far I couldn´t make heads nor tails of the new desktop icons. I try to avoid that at best. I had to install a few programs to get everything working right but a few kinks are still there. Figures. And I have to put up all the bookmarks again or at least the ones I can still find. Which is why it´s so important to put those most important links on the blog - so you can get them easier when you have a new laptop. In Today´s day and age you have to count on getting a new computer every few years because technological progress is so fast.

The good news is I have managed to get the screen a bit darker so I don´t get blind. At first it was very bright and I could have probably used it as a flashlight. Much better now. I also plugged in my old mouse because I´m not so good with the whole touchpad thing. That mother got a mind of it´s own, always opening stuff that I don´t want to open. Yeah, I´m a freaking dinosaur when it comes to computers. Deal with it. The only thing I haven´t managed is getting an USB cable to get my picture files to the laptop which is why the blog may not be up to its usual high standards imagewise. You´ll just have to deal with that for a few weeks.

There are still some strange moments with the new laptop like when I thought the it wasn´t reacting until I realized I was using the computer keyboard instead of the laptop keyboard. Yes, old habits die hard.

Another good thing is that my new baby got wireless LAN so it will be probably working without an internet cable but for emergency cases I also got one of those. I hope I can get my posting quota up a bit in the next few weeks although this week I have to keep in mind to get more rest. Otherwise it´s going to be over as soon as the new improved blog has started. What I already love about the laptop is that it has a lot of storage space - I think three times what my computer has - so there´s enough space for all the things you download like all the wrestling you don´t get to see on german tv like female wrestling and new episodes of DOCTOR WHO. Although things are looking up where wrestling is concerned because one german tv station has started showing IMPACT WRESTLING. And they also show the knockouts so there´s much to see with massistas Gail Kim, Mickie James, Taryn Terell and all the others.

Man, I really don´t understand the germans. They are always promoting soccer which is the sport that gave us mindless destruction and senseless violence with the hooligans but they really have a problem with two babes beating the stuffing out of each other. Come on, it´s only show.

 Everybody knows that. But in the meantime wrestling is not included in the Olympic Games anymore. What´s up with that ? I mean that´s one of the classics : discus throwing, marathon, greek - roman wrestling. How can you have Olympic Games without wrestling ?

Anyway, speaking of DOCTOR WHO : I finally managed to see HIDE, which is the episode I was missing. I tried to download it a hundred times with the old computer but it always crashed. Now I finally succeeded. I had already seen JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE TARDIS and was going to watch THE CRIMSON HORROR but I belayed that until I got to watch HIDE first. I know I have a lot of catching up to do on the new episode front but I don´t want to go too fast through them sincer the special 50th anniversary episode is coming in November. I´m trying to stay away from any news about that as long as possible. I already know that two of my favorite characters return and that´s enough for me. So please no spoilers. So NIGHTMARE IN SILVER and THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR will stay on the backburner for the moment.

So far the latest season of The Doctor has been enjoyable although not as good as the seasons with the Ponds. On one side I guess it will get some time to get used to Clara as the new companion, on the other side the seasons with the Ponds have been so extremely brilliant that it´s hard to keep that level of quality up. But I´m still enjoying the show.

Okay, what else ? The weather - for those reading us from outside Germany - has become colder and colder and I already had to unpack my winter stuff for work. No kidding, the gloves, the pullover, scarf, the full monty, dude. Germany gets really cold in springtime. I mean, what the F - word is going on ? I was promised some serious global warming and here I am at the end of May ( MAY for crying out loud ! ) and I´m freezing my butt off. I knew you couldn´t trust those treehuggers and potsmoking hippies with all their hogwash about the so - called greenhouse effect. Where´s this greenhouse you´re talking about now that we need it ? Where ? I´m annoyed.

I´m still lagging behind on comic stuff but here are a few links I wanted to include in the post :

The very first thing I want to post is the news that the blog COMICS MAKE NO SENSE is back in publication. You can see that I am so waaay behind actual things on the internet that I didn´t even realize there were some new posts.

 Back in April of 2011 Adam Barnett wrote the last post - which I mentioned on the blog - but ever since I was too busy to notice that it´s once again back in business since September 2012. Mea culpa. Anyway, to bring the blog to my readers attention it´s going to be on the top of the blogroll for the next few months. If you were a regular reader ( and you´re not already reading it again ) you will cheer at its return. And if you don´t know the blog you definitely have to check this out.

LOTS OF DC RELATED STUFF AND SOME ART LINKS

For those who skip most of DC´s new stuff and look to their great past for some reading material, MAN OF BRONZE has a post on Jim Starlin´s COSMIC ODYSSEY ( sorry, it´s in spanish ). A great story with art by Mike Mignola that still holds up and that has stayed in continuity for a long time. Well, until the new 52. Anyway, old geezers like me might get a hankering to drag out the four prestige issues again and for those who haven´t read it yet there´s a trade of it which you can get at finer comicstores for 17 bucks. This one has my recommendation.

Speaking of Walter Simonson, it seems a re - edition of the trade with his Fantastic Four stories has just come out in Spain and I wanted to mention that I would really like to have one hardcover that collects his Avengers / Fantastic Four crossover ( I wrote a bit more about the story in this post ). Back when he was on Avengers he wrote a great story that was later continued in FF and I think this would really be fabulous for the bookshelf. And I mean John Buscema and Walter Simonson in one book ? How cool would that be ? 

There´s also a new George Perez art post on the site. Great stuff.

And while you´re at it you might also want to check out the newest comissions by Carlos Pacheco where you can find this groovy rendition of Thor with the Simonson armor.

Anything I have to mention before closing Today´s post ?

Oh, I have gotten some comments about the lack of Power Girl related stuff on the blog. Well, since I haven´t got access to my picture archive at the moment my next TOP TEN FAVORITE POWER GIRL COSPLAYERS post will have to wait a bit. But for those already feeling the symptoms of Power Girl withdrawal ( since she just got her REAL costume in the last issue of WORLDS FINEST ) you can head over to this new website I have discovered : I LOVE POWER GIRL has just tons of art and cosplay pics of everyone´s favorite Maid of Steel ( Holey Moley ! This model is hot ! ) .

Now DC still seems to have problems finding artists to draw  Power Girl judging from the fact that they have three or more artists in each new issue. So instead of just bashing them I suggest they get in contact with Franchesco who drew this terrific Power Girl piece.

Here is the link to his DeviantArt gallery ( in case DC says they don´t know how to find him ). For those interested in getting the first trade of WORLDS FINEST called THE LOST DAUGHTERS OF EARTH 2 which contains issues 1 - 5 and the 0 issue, here is a good review from fellow blogger COLLECTED EDITIONS. David G at DELIRIOS DE GRANDEZA paints a rosier picture in his review but in my opinion these are the best issues so far of the series. You get the most of George Perez here even if his art is not up to his usual standards and Kevin Maguire doesn´t contribute as much in following issues. Although more than Perez.

There are also reviews for WONDER WOMAN - BLOOD  and WONDER WOMAN - GUTS the first two volumes of the new series. It´s one of the few good series left at DC and one I still read although I have switched from single issues to the hardcovers. I find it easier to read and the issues by guest artists are easier to swallow. I´m really anxious to see how Brian Azzarello pus his spin on Jack Kirby´s NEW GODS. And for those interested in the art ComicGeekSpaek has an interview with series artist Cliff Chiang . What I really liked about the series is that they went back to a more classic look and got rid of that awful jeans and jacket costume. That just brought back bad memories of the time when the Avengers all wore those leather jackets for no apparent reason. I mean it would have been one thing if Marvel would have produced a line of jackets that you could buy and that was their way to promote that. But that wasn´t the case so it made no sense. Back to Wonder Woman´s costume from that awful storyline I say : Good riddance !

And once again that´s all I have time for Today. Sorry that it was such an unfocused rant but since it has been quite a while since my last post it all kind of bottled up. Now that I can once again post from home I can finally do topic posts ( maybe even finally the one about my independent favorites ) so my next posts will be more coherent.

Since I mentioned the 50th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO Today´s video is a trailer for that. Don´t worry, it´s mostly old stuff so no spoilers there. I know, it´s really long until the special can actually be seen but there are a few of them on the net. I will post them on my next posts to give those who are not familiar with the series a peek at the who - niverse starting with the shortest.



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