Drawing Comics Again

Dangerously Cheesey to 0% Cheesey

How could I resist this new flavor, even at $4 a bag. I think the cost made it sting especially hard upon trying this new form of "Cheeto." You may have correctly interpreted this post's title. There is no cheese in these Cheeto's. What they did was take the flavoring from the Lay's Chicken and Waffle chip and made it spicy. So I paid $4 for Frito Lay's leftovers, and I can't believe it. But will I try their next weird thing? Definitely. But how does Chester feel about it? Depressed enough to move to Nashville and start a boring career as a country singer? He might as well retire after this disgrace.

Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami

Here is a classic coming-of-age tale, set in the 1970s, in Kobe Japan. Our unnamed narrator, whom I assume is Murakami, has just finished his third year of college. It was a tough spring for our hero, so he spends his summer drinking as much beer as possible, with his friend The Rat.

The Rat is a good friend, the best blent of privately rich, reckless, and ready to sink some cheap beers. But he's depressed. College is over for him, and he's deciding to become a writer, a tall order for the self. So Murakami makes the best of his situation, and happens to meet a couple women who equate his listless melancholy. But they don't stick in his life. Everything changes, even his favorite bar.

But the memories stick around, like the western rock tunes cited in frequent epigraphs, in rotation with bits from the local radio host. These are the things that stuck with our hero, not the memory of remembering. So would I recommend this book to you? Sure. It's short and it's a classic, with an understated, beige poeticism. Hear the Wind Sing will make you think of your own life, and remember how the hard times were far from the worst times.

The Frozen Ground (feat. Nicolas Cage)

This film is a dramatization of true life events involving the eventual take-down of serial rapist/murderer Robert Hansen (played by John Cusak). Cage plays the fictional detective Jack Halcombe, inspired by the real life Glenn Flothe. Why Cage doesn't play Flothe, I have no idea. He was probably too boring for this generic film.

The shifts in story don't occur by shifts in character. Everything is happenstance and flacid. I figure the only way this movie got made was because Vanessa Hudgens's agent needed a grown-up part for her, in which she smokes meth, shows her underwear, and talks like a street person. Cage follows her into the seedy underbelly of somewhere-Alaska, where somehow nobody has a northern accent. It reminds me a bit of 8mm when Joaquin Phoenix takes him to all the underground, hardcore porn venders.

This movie may have been gripping for anyone fool enough not to figure out how it was going to end. And in the credits, I got to see pictures of all of Hansen's victims, as if anyone would want to be remembered especially for being raped and murdered. What an honor. But let us be warned about visiting creepy guys in especially isolated places for sexual favors.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Red Rock West
4. Adaptation
5. Pig
6. Birdy
7. Wild at Heart
8. Joe
9. National Treasure
10. Guarding Tess
11. Dog Eat Dog
12. Color Out of Space
13. Mom and Dad
14. Peggy Sue Got Married
15. Zandalee
16. City of Angels
17. Bangkok Dangerous
18. Drive Angry
19. Army of One
20. Lord of War
21. Gone in 60 Seconds
22. Matchstick Men
23. Vampire's Kiss
24. Con Air
25. Face/Off
26. The Boy in Blue
27. Honeymoon in Vegas
28. Amos and Andrew
29. Moonstruck
30. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
31. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
32. Bringing Out the Dead
33. The Family Man
34. Knowing
35. The Frozen Ground
36. It Could Happen to You
37. 8mm
38. Looking Glass
39. Arsenal
40. Between Worlds
41. Left Behind
42. Ghost Rider
43. The Humanity Bureau
44. Next
45. The Weather Man
46. 211
47. The Croods

Arsenal (feat. Nicolas Cage)

Arsenal is a story of two brothers who love each other. The older (Mikey) always protected the younger one, and in response to the darkness he faced, grew up to be the sketchy one. JP, the younger brother, grew up to be the good old boy, the blue collar hero.

Where does Cage fit into this? He's Eddie King, the bad guy, the main proprieter of organized crime in their city of Biloxi Mississippi. He wears a wig and a prosthetic nose. Why the customing? For no good reason. Despite the Mississippi setting, none of the characters in this film have southern accents.

But this is only a small flaw in this bad, terrible movie. The camera shakes all the time, like a frantic episode of Cops. All the driving scenes are in fast-motion. Dialogue is spoken as if being read straight from the script, rushing every scene. Cage gets a freak-out before we have a chance to figure out whether or not his character has a personality outside of his evil doings. John Cusak plays an undercover cop who might as well not be in the movie. He explains things that don't need to be explained, using up time that could be better spent on developing a mood of some kind.

And be warned, this film is violent in excess. More than once, I wondered how many times a man can take a baseball bat to the head before passing out. The actual story is pretty basic, despite the insane level of guns and gore. It's not like 8mm, focusing on the grotesque. I feel like the creators wanted to make a normal movie, only so they could normalize their fetish for this flavor of violence.

However, the badness of this movie didn't really inhibit my enjoyment of it. It's not bad-entertaining on the level of Tommy Wiseau's The Room, but it's still noteworthy. If you want to see a heart-warming drama about two brothers, plus 100 gallons of blood, check it out.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Red Rock West
4. Adaptation
5. Pig
6. Birdy
7. Wild at Heart
8. Joe
9. National Treasure
10. Guarding Tess
11. Dog Eat Dog
12. Color Out of Space
13. Mom and Dad
14. Peggy Sue Got Married
15. Zandalee
16. City of Angels
17. Bangkok Dangerous
18. Drive Angry
19. Army of One
20. Lord of War
21. Gone in 60 Seconds
22. Matchstick Men
23. Vampire's Kiss
24. Con Air
25. Face/Off
26. The Boy in Blue
27. Honeymoon in Vegas
28. Amos and Andrew
29. Moonstruck
30. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
31. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
32. Bringing Out the Dead
33. The Family Man
34. Knowing
35. It Could Happen to You
36. 8mm
37. Looking Glass
38. Arsenal
39. Between Worlds
40. Left Behind
41. Ghost Rider
42. The Humanity Bureau
43. Next
44. The Weather Man
45. 211
46. The Croods

Lil Baby's "All In" Chips

I've always been a fan of Rap Snacks, even if I don't know who most of the new rappers are. It's not that I don't like rap music. I don't follow it. Maybe I'll check out Lil Baby, now that he's got his own commercially branded chip. What a career dream!

So how are his chips? They're kind of like the Lays Carolina Barbeque, pretty good. If I was in my early 20s and these were sold at the corner store, I'd have eaten a lot of them. But I'm a grown-up, and these chips aren't for sale in my neighborhood. They were worth a try, but I don't know if I'll ever get them again, favoring a new experience, despite how delicious these were. So if you're a chip fan and see these around, I certainly encourage you to give them a try. As far as chips go, I think they're worth your $1.49.

A House-Boat on the Styx by John Kendrick Bangs

On paper, this is an interesting books. It's about a clubhouse (boat) where all the important past figures hang out in the afterlife. You might imagine the types of ridiculous arguments they get into. And that's the type of reading we have, here. There's nothing exciting about it, though it might be really sweet to those with a special interest in history. On a personal level, I was barely ammused.

The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart

Earlier this year, I talked to my friend Matt, who said he was reading this book. His girlfriend recommended it, so I thought I'd check it out, giving us something to talk about. Back in 1971, this was likely the cool, edgy book of its time. It's the story of a new york psychologist who gets bored with his life, and decides to let a roll of the dice determine the rest of his decisions, for the rest of his life.

This causes him to do a lot of crazy things, experimenting with sex, rape, and all manner of taboos. This dice life allowed him to let go of his ego and anxiety, and live without regret, despite the consequences. So it's a pretty interesting story, written in a way that's exciting. That being said, this book isn't for anyone who's especially sensitive or especially critical of Men as people. The character Luke does some pretty awful things, with the genuine, female-objectifying male narrative of its time.

National Treasure (feat. Nicolas Cage)

I generally agree with the hype surrounding this film of objective high quality. It's a fun and exciting treasure hunt. What's not to like? There's no answer. This film was made to appeal to literally everyone in an underwhelming sense.

Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, from a lineage of history-experts who go against popular belief in favor of the National Treasure. Aside from being a generally good guy, that's all we need to know about Ben. He's not bitter about his family's reputation, and he doesn't have any characteristic weaknesses. He's not a real character, just like the rest of his small, but 100% competetent crew.

This leaves me sympathizing more with the villains, based on their humanity alone. Let's look at Indiana Jones, the model treasure-hunting adventurer. Indiana Jones was afraid of snakes, had a real job, got drunk at inconvenient times, and had a complicated history with almost every beautiful woman he ran into. He's cool. Benjamin Franklin Gates, however, is hyper-objective and fully rational at all times. He isn't greedy and has a good relationship with his dad. In National Treasure, everyone who's a good guy is about as good as a person can be, and even the bad guys aren't so bad.

But it's a Disney movie, for the kids at heart. So despite how great this filmw as, I don't feel like I missed anything by not seeing it until yesterday. And I don't foresee myself nerdding out about its fictitious history with anyone.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Red Rock West
4. Adaptation
5. Pig
6. Birdy
7. Wild at Heart
8. Joe
9. National Treasure
10. Guarding Tess
11. Dog Eat Dog
12. Color Out of Space
13. Mom and Dad
14. Peggy Sue Got Married
15. Zandalee
16. City of Angels
17. Bangkok Dangerous
18. Drive Angry
19. Army of One
20. Lord of War
21. Gone in 60 Seconds
22. Matchstick Men
23. Vampire's Kiss
24. Con Air
25. Face/Off
26. The Boy in Blue
27. Honeymoon in Vegas
28. Amos and Andrew
29. Moonstruck
30. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
31. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
32. Bringing Out the Dead
33. The Family Man
34. Knowing
35. It Could Happen to You
36. 8mm
37. Looking Glass
38. Between Worlds
39. Left Behind
40. Ghost Rider
41. The Humanity Bureau
42. Next
43. The Weather Man
44. 211
45. The Croods

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Expanding on my month of 'young reading', I decided to check out this classic, which I'd never checked out before. For some reason, I thought this would be the first in the series, but I was wrong. Either way, it's a pretty fun tale about a family that moves to the prairie and builds up a nice homestead. Appreciating the level of detail in the goal-oriented actions of the Wilders, I imagined myself setting up in the prairie, with a little log house and a couple mustang ponies, or whatever they were.

But I don't even think people can do that kind of thing, anymore. Is there any free land, anywhere? Probably not, but I guess that's okay. In this day and age, it seems irresponsible to habitate in a place without cell-service, very far from a hospital or a fire station. And really, the Prairie wasn't the safest place for the Wilders, a family with some survival skills. So I guess people like me are better off in stupid little neighborhoods.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchet

For those who haven't been following, I was really into Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, of the Discworld series. So instead of going through all the books in consecutive order, I decided to follow the witches storyline, starting with Equal Rites. It starts out as somewhat of a parody to Orson Scott Card's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, given the magical power of the number 8, telling the story of an eighth son. Only the 8th son turned out to be a daughter, with the femme-wizardly name of Escarina.

Of course on the disc, there'd never before been a female wizard. So Escarina has to save the day and all that in order to be somewhat officially received into the Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork. While this story is funny and altogether brilliant, I didn't feel as touched nor inspired as I've been with some of Pratchett's other works (mainly Lords and Ladies). Still, I think any fantasy fan should check this one out, as well as everything by Pratchett. I'm a firm believer that he deserved all the hype toward him.

Gatti's Pizza of Martinsville, IN

I could take for days about Gatti's (or Mr. Gatti's) Pizza, but I'll keep it to a few paragraphs. At the location in Ashland Kentucky, I used their buffet to set a personal eating record of 21 slices, including crust. They were small slices, but I will always remember the victory. On Sunday nights, while I was in jr. high school, my dad would drive a van of college students to the church where he worked, and on the way home, we'd usually pick up a stack of Gatti's pizza, which I would stuff myself with and stuff myself again for breakfast while watching Zaboomafoo. Those school days were filled with belly-burning farts, but I didn't mind. I was a pig for that pizza.

So I'm going to try my best to be unbiased. While the Martinsville shop is a buffet, filled with erratically staggering anti-maskers, I usually prefer a fresh pie. Buffets are good, but with my 35-year-old metabolism, I have to prepare for a few days before that level of gorge. Let's talk about the pizza. It has a ratio of 2cr2ce2ch, perfect. Their crust is a little weird. While delivering a perfect goo factor, it seems to have either too much gluten or too much baking powder. It's crispy and chewy, and tastes good, but it's more stiff than you'd expect. I love this crust, but I'm going to be objective and give it a 3/5.

But their sauce gets a 5/5. It's super good, and I'm not totally sure why. It's thick and savory, and maybe has shredded onions in it? I don't know, but I think I could detect it if they used msg. I can't get enough.

As you can see, the old ladies at the shop really didn't put much love into this pie. However, there's nothing really wrong with it, despite a poor covering on the crust. It was cooked well, and the cheese had a really nice stretch. I really want to give it a 3 for overall quality, but I guess I'll go with a 2/5.

For style, I'll give Gatti's a 5. Either you love it or you'd much rather have something else, the way people feel about Pizza King, which is a pizza with definite style. Gatti's Pizza joints usually have a game/arcade room, which is sometimes comically shabby and sometimes really sweet. Their buffet has soft serve ice cream, salad, pasta, and other great stuff. I also love that they don't have table service. And to top it off, they offer a "value" pizza, which is like a regular pie but cheaper because it has less stuff on it. With a side of sauce, this is perfect because there's only so much cheese you can handle in one sitting.

Gatti's Pizza ends with a score of 75%, which makes me happy. I love it, and try to stop in as often as possible.

Others have pizza. We (who are not present) Make pizza.

Boasts PJ Fresh, the nationally famous chain of gas station food bars. I try to react to their arrogance by waltzing in and declaring myself as 'PJ Fresh', who always gets a free coffee as royalty for the use of my name. Of course I never get a free coffee. Even refills cost ~$2. Oh well. Not every PJ can be as cool as I, and I state that with a measure of conceit for this popular 'market'.

More than one of my friends informed told me about PJ Fresh's awesome pizza, and DudeCool25 (blog follower #1) took me all the way up to Indianapolis to try it. The person who makes the pizzas at the Flying J station was gone, so all they had was 4 cheese or meat lovers. We got the 4 cheese, and it was cooked in the gas station's Arby's. And I think if Arby's developed their own pizza, their own way, it would have been much different.

So how was PJ Fresh's pie? It was all right, really cheesy. Their crust was much like a garlic knot, which was cool. Overall, it was a better quality pie than what you'd get at a Casey's General Store, but Casey's pizza is still more like pizzeria pizza and less like gas station pizza. Both are better than what you'd get at 711. But I think with 711, the price of a $1 slice really amplifies the sense of satisfaction.

For the sake of rating, I'll score PJ Fresh's pizza with a ration of 3cr/2ce/4ch. Crust gets a 2. It was rubbery, thoough flavorful in a garlic knot kind of way and not in the way of a good dough. Sauce gets a 3, Overall quality gets a 3, and Style gets a generous 2. A final score of 50% is good for a gas station pizza. For those of you who might comment. What is your favorite gas station pizza?

Army of One (feat. Nicolas Cage)

For a good while, I was looking forward to this movie. It's the story of a legendary nut who hallucinates a calling from God, to go to Pakistan and take-out Osama Bin Laden. Based on real events, I thought this was a really great story. And Cage's performance is just awesome, reminding me how charming and convincing the truly crazy can be, because they believe so strongly in the crap they feed you.

The story is funny and the acting is funny, but I think it was presented in a way that's not only unfair to the audience, but exploitive to Gary Faulkner, the man who sold the movie rights to his story so he could afford a new kidney for himself. And it was his kidney failure that caused his hallucinations. With astounding courage, he was a hero. But this movie made every point of mocking him. And I feel like if Cage had known what the movie would look and sound like, he wouldn't have given his character so much charisma. It was like the narrator was added after the movie was finished, just to to make sure we knew what parts were meant to be funny, just blowing it with me.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Red Rock West
4. Adaptation
5. Pig
6. Birdy
7. Wild at Heart
8. Joe
9. Guarding Tess
10. Dog Eat Dog
11. Color Out of Space
12. Mom and Dad
13. Peggy Sue Got Married
14. Zandalee
15. City of Angels
16. Bangkok Dangerous
17. Drive Angry
18. Army of One
19. Lord of War
20. Gone in 60 Seconds
21. Matchstick Men
22. Vampire's Kiss
23. Con Air
24. Face/Off
25. The Boy in Blue
26. Honeymoon in Vegas
27. Amos and Andrew
28. Moonstruck
29. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
30. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
31. Bringing Out the Dead
32. The Family Man
33. Knowing
34. It Could Happen to You
35. 8mm
36. Looking Glass
37. Between Worlds
38. Left Behind
39. Ghost Rider
40. The Humanity Bureau
41. Next
42. The Weather Man
43. 211
44. The Croods

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

During my month of young reading, I let myself revisit this one from a series I very much loved in first grade. I acquired a few toy motorcycles with knowingly far-fetched hopes that a mouse might befriend me, and turn my toy into a real zoomer. It never happened. Still my imaginings of Ralph with the little motorcycle were so vivid despite the bare prose of this work. Even if I'd already read the book, as a kid I felt so much emotion regarding the Ralph's well-being. And it wasn't just because I read with such deliberation. Cleary knew how to get into kids' heads and make them feel things. And returning to this book as an adult wasn't much of an experience. It's a cute story about a brave mouse who got a motorcycle, and that's it.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

You readers probably don't follow me on Goodreads, but if you do, you know I've fallen behind on my reading schedule. However, the blog hasn't caught up. I decided to take some time away to do a game jam (which I won), and as you know, it's hard to jump between modes of activity. Working on one game naturally sparks ideas for a lot more games. Before the game jam, I blasted through this book by Jim Butcher. My first taste of Butcher was int he audio book of The Aeronaut's Windlass, which really rocked my socks, so I was excited to check out his acclaimed Dresden Files.

And this introductory story of Harry Dresden delivered on all fronts. Harry Dresden is an old soul and wizard-for-hire in the city of Chicago, a big town bursting with character. You can tell Butcher is an avid player of table top games. His narrative voice connects so easily with our memories of that competent nerd who keeps surprising you with their hidden brilliance. Dresden is the wizard within all of us who love fantasy and consider ourselves a bit more wizardly than our typical entourage. He's not espcecially Woke, but even the most progressive of us like to get comfy sometimes, especially with a good story in our hands.

I wouldn't say the story of Storm Front is perfect, but it scratches an itch while, most importantly, begs us to keep reading.

A Room of One's Own by Virgia Woolf

You might consider this Woolf's original (pre)feminist manifesto, originally used in lectures at the few women's colleges of the time. Even today, I think this could be an adequate foray into feminist ideas, especially for someone who has never thought about the work that has gone into patriachy, for patriarchy. Though I don't think Woolf used such terminology, mostly talking about the (then short) history of women in literature, and perhaps inventing the concept of Shakespeare's brilliant sister.

Woolf also had some very forward-thinking, though probably not applicable today, ideas about gender fluidity, seeing the writer within as a woman. That's why men were so threatened by women, superior writers, in fiction. However educational, I don't think this is the ideal book for any who seek empowerment while oppressed by today's weird world.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Somewhere I was given the advice to read the types of things I want to write, or someday get published. So on my quest for a good Fantasy/Romance, I found this one. Obsidian is one of many in its own class of Twilight-types. It's told from the first person of a likeable teenage girl who grudgingly falls into a complicated love affair with a supernatural, hunk of humanoid in the form of a teenage boy.

So this isn't the type of thing I try to write, and I could have read more into the existing reviews. Oh well. I don't consider the experience wasted. Obsidian is about aliens in the mountains of West Virginia, with some connection to the Moth Man. For those of you who don't read fantasy, there are certain rules about Hard Magic and Soft Magic. Armentrout clearly didn't understand these rules. You see, Soft Magic is mysterious and chaotic, and shouldn't be deployed as a means to resolve a story.

Sorry if that's somewhat of a spoiler for those of you who thought this supernatural teen romance was really going to have a tragic ending, only to grow more tragic in its two sequels. The biggest tragedy was the lack of sex in this book.

Chuck E. Cheese Cheese Frozen Pizza

I for one, don't like to think of mice in proximity to my food. The current version of Chuck also looks more like a super ugly Koala than a mouse (a normally cute animal). Why? Why didn't they call him Chucky instead of Chuck E.? He's not a very sophisticated guy, after all. The E stands for Entertainment. What a stupid name.

Aside from that, I've always been a fan of Chuck E. Cheese's pizza, got excited upon seeing this new option in the freezer section at Kroger. $6 is pretty steep for a frozen pizza, especially when I could instead get a Home Run Inn. Still, I was curious and felt up the box. The pizza within felt pretty small, so I passed.

But I couldn't get it out of my head. And as you see, the pizza is an adequate size for its box. I didn't take a photo of the bottom because I didn't want to lose any cheese, but the crust itself is partially cooked and lightly coated in cornmeal/cereal. And the final product was really good for a frozen pizza. The crust was chewy and flexible, great stuff. It really made me want to go back to the restaurant and compare.

Pig (feat. Nicolas Cage)

I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be much buzz about Pig. Lots of people with revered, astute opinions on film are chiming in. And do I feel entitled to join the conversation? No. But I am a real fan of Nicolas Cage, and this movie secures my opinion that he's in more good movies than anyone. One of those good movies is Pig.

It's the story of a famous chef who leaves all the bull shit (as he calls it), to live in the woods with his pig, his cookware, and his cassette tapes. Who hasn't wanted to join the likes of Thoreau and live a life of pure substance? So our hero, Robin Feld is about as cool as you imagine. He doesn't talk much, but everything he says is filled with wistful meaning.

In the event that you haven't read more telling reviews of this film, Robin's pig gets kidnapped in a dramatic scene (I can still hear the screams), forcing our hero's return to the city in search for one of the only things worth caring about. I kept expecting some type of Nick Cage action scene or Nick Cage freak-out, because you don't at first know what kind of guy Robin is. And I feel like this expectation, only aided the immersion of Pig's wonderfully moving scenes. There were some hokey moments, but not enough to pull me from the edge of my seat. Pig is an instant classic, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves their pet and likes good food.

1. Raising Arizona
2. Leaving Las Vegas
3. Red Rock West
4. Adaptation
5. Pig
6. Birdy
7. Wild at Heart
8. Joe
9. Guarding Tess
10. Dog Eat Dog
11. Color Out of Space
12. Mom and Dad
13. Peggy Sue Got Married
14. Zandalee
15. City of Angels
16. Bangkok Dangerous
17. Drive Angry
18. Lord of War
19. Gone in 60 Seconds
20. Matchstick Men
21. Vampire's Kiss
22. Con Air
23. Face/Off
24. The Boy in Blue
25. Honeymoon in Vegas
26. Amos and Andrew
27. Moonstruck
28. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
29. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
30. Bringing Out the Dead
31. The Family Man
32. Knowing
33. It Could Happen to You
34. 8mm
35. Looking Glass
36. Between Worlds
37. Left Behind
38. Ghost Rider
39. The Humanity Bureau
40. Next
41. The Weather Man
42. 211
43. The Croods