Take a Trip in the Way Back Machine

Here are a couple of links to some Flickr image collections containing scans of video game magazines & ads from the early 80's. Very cool and funny, I remember reading some of these magazines back in the day.

Game/Computer Magazine Scanes -1982/83

Videogame Ads 1982

November 2005 Comic Highlights

With all that's been going I'd fallen off a bit on the comic book reviews. Not to fear, I've been able to catch up a bit with my reading. While in NYC I had the opportunity to visit my favorite comic book store, Midtown Comics, at their Times Square location. November has been a good month for Marvel comics in my eyes. Finally some new titles are coming out from that the company that have peaked my interest. Two of the titles are The Thing and She-Hulk, both debuting this month with new stories. Interestingly enough both of these books are written by Dan Slott. Slott obviously is someone with a good grasp of the Marvel Universe which comes through in the wide variety of characters he brings his stories. Some of the characters like Nighthawk or Ox of the Enforcers aren't often seen in Marvel's books these days.

The Thing #1, starts off with a nostalgic feel when the scene opens with The Thing and Goliath (formerly known as Black Goliath, because the dude was black...gotta love the 70's) fighting side by side agains some odd-ball villian. Immediately I felt like I was opening up an issue of Marvel Two-in-One from the 70's & 80's. One of the first issues of Marvel Two-in-One that I owned was actually a Goliath/Thing team-up story. Ben Grimm, The Thing, is learning to adjust to his new lifestyle that is a result of his newfound millions in wealth. Basically it's the typical money can't buy you happiness theme that has been following Ben in the Fantastic Four book as well. Honestly I'm getting a little weary of the unhappy Thing stories. I understand that is always under the surface with the character, I mean who would be happy looking like a orange brick wall, but now and then it'd be nice not to have those downer moments breaking up a good story. Having Ben team up with an eclectic group of characters through a moment of coincidences and happenstance is a perfect, old Marvel move that I love. In this issue is just so happens that Ben is invited to a party that has been joined by Iron Man, Nighthawk and the reformed Constrictor in their civilian guises. The end of the issue also gets my thumbs up with the return of a fun Marvel villian who I always enjoy. If you are a fan of 70's - 80's era Marvel, this a good book for you. Heck if you like light superhero action, that isn't dark & gritty, I can recommend this with out hesitation. I'm not saying its an award winner, but it's a good middle of the road kind of book that will help pass 10 minutes of free time.

She-Hulk #1, though I enjoyed it immensely I wouldn't be so quick to recommend it to anyone. You'd really have to be a Marvel fanboy to get half the comedic comic references and to appreciate the goofiness of some of the situations.

On the topic of artwork, the Greg Horn cover is fanstastic, I hope he continues painting covers for the book. I've haven't decided how much I like the artwork within done by Juan Bobillo, it's an interesting style that I do appreciate, I just don't know if its the right fit for the comic. I'm still chewing on that one.

Either way, I'm glad that with this launch She-Hulk Dan Slott is continuing the style of off the wall stories that were done in the previous series and in away carrying on the comedic tradition set by John Byrne during his run on the She-Hulk book awhile ago. Seeing the legal side of the Marvel Universe after the fighting is over, offers up a lot of opportunities for fun stories along with the other struggles She-Hulk faces in her life as she deals with relationships and her job both as She-Hulk and in her human form as Jennifer Walters.

Back from NYC Part 2

Sunday: Our time in the city was short on Sunday since we wanted to get back home to the DC area at a decent time. We started off the day in grand fashion at the famous Rainbow Room. That was such a great New York moment, one of those once in a life time experiences. The view of the city down below was incredible from the 65th floor, and the view of the buffet was pretty incredible in its own right. As I've established food is near and dear to my heart, and this was pretty close to heaven. There should be another word to define this kind of buffet, it shouldn't even share the same label of buffet used to define say, a Golden Corral or anything else with a sneeze guard. Not something we'd ever do again, but definitely an enjoyable experience. I now understand why the place is held in such high regard.

On a side note, the Rainbow Room is definitely a place where jackets are highly recommended, even required for dinner. There was a good segment of folks that weren't dressed for the room or experience at all, many looked as if this were just another hotel breakfast buffet or something. Its just amazing how people just don't dress for occasions anymore. I enjoy hanging out in jeans and a t-shirt, its comfy. It's almost my uniform on the weekends and after work. But when I go to theatre or to an elegant brunch, I wear the jacket & usually the tie. When I'm being served by gentlemen in tuxedos and eating to live harp music, wearing my Doc Martens and blue jeans doesn't really seem appropriate. It just a shame that there seems to be a increasing defiency of class by the populous. Sure I probably come off like a snob or a throw back old-timer in a 32 year old's body...but I think there should still be a time and place for casual clothes and a time be a little respectful of a place and dress to match it.

But I digress, back to the weekend. After our meal at the Rainbow Room we headed across the street to Radio City Music Hall to take in the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. I'd never been in the place before, but I'd read that they'd refurbished the interior back to its grandeur of the 30's and 40's. The place was beautiful, again great decorations for the Christmas holiday. The show wasn't too bad either, not exactly Phantom of the Opera by any stretch. The Rockettes didn't disappoint, the newly returned orchestra was in great form and the sophisticated stage mechanics were fun to watch. My Dad used to go there as a kid to see movies and shows, he said that it really did look like it used to back in the day. It brought back some good memories for him.

Basically after that we took a cab back to our hotel, checked out and headed home. The weather throughout our trip couldn't have been better. This is the second time we've gone up there this year, we always have such a good time that we going to try to make this an even more regular trip.

Back from NYC Part 1 - Saturday

The best trips always end too soon. I definitely could have stood another couple of days in New York City. This is one of those times of year when the city is really looking it's best. Many of the major department stores had their windows done up with Christmas themes and inside the stores & some of the restaurants the decorations went beyond anything you'd see at your local neighborhood mall in the suburbs. It was really a fun time.

Saturday:We slept in a little bit after being alittle worn out from our late night and ride up to the city on Friday. We took a taxi to the Planet Kids on East 86th Street to do some shopping. For those not in the know, my wife is pregnant & we are expecting our first child late next April. It turns out we're having a boy we just found it, so we decided to take advantage of some of the unique shopping in NYC to buy a few things for our son. They had a great selection, the store looked small from the outside but the interior was three floors of baby stuff. From clothes to furniture to toys to all kinds of baby gizmos.

I love gizmos and gadgetry, having a kid is introducing me to a whole new world of little gadgets that I hadn't been aware of until now. It's been an educational experience. After getting a few items at Planet Kids we decided to try again with Serendipity 3 to have a little lunch and dessert. This time we successfully go to the place, however the 2-3 hour wait took an awful big chunk of our quality NYC time. So we passed on that and had a great lunch at a place down the street.

Next big shopping stop was Bloomingdales. I'm not going to lie, I'm a guy who enjoys shopping. I don't mind holding my wifes bags while she browses around and honestly I like helping her buy things for herself and updating my own wardrobe now and again. However shopping at the New York department stores is a totally different experience. The attention to given to customer service is great and the stores are so emmense its easy to spend almost an entire day in one store and not see it all. After Bloomingdales later that night we got over to Macy's. Both stores were decorated beautifully for the season. We took a few photos it was that nice.

After dinner at Virgils BBQ in Times Square we took a cab to Serendipity 3 for dessert. Now we didn't have reservations so we expected a wait, however after an 1:45 minutes I played the pregnancy card which cut our wait short and got us in without much more delay. We would've gotten in sooner, if a few a groups of people that the guy attending the door knew hadn't come along that night. Obviously being a friend of the employees gets you some special treatment at this place. The decadent desserts that they serve there are worth wait though...I've eaten quite a few desserts in my time, believe you me...these are some of the best.

More of our NYC trip details to come...

Live from New York

This weekend my wife along with my parents are up in New York for a little shopping and shows. We made decent time getting up here and got in with enough time to spare to enjoy seeing Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic. This is one of my wife's favorite modern musicals. Honestly I didn't know too much about the story until I took her to the movie earlier this year. The movie didn't blow me away, but the Broadway stage performance sure did. Really impressive set design and the actors were quite talented. Especially the actor who played the Phantom. I don't have my program in front of me at the moment, but I'll give the guy a mention the next time I think about it. A great show and excellent seats. We only had two cell phones ring which isn't too bad in this day.

Afterwards we decided to take a stab at going to Serendipity 3 for a little light night nosh and dessert. Unfortunately we had a total idiot of a cab driver who I'm surprised is able to find his house at night. The guy who spoke great English, just seemed to have trouble listening to basic directions. So instead of Serendipity 3 we at at the West Way Diner which is pretty darn good for diner food and convenient to the hotel.

My wife is doing pretty well considering how bad her health has been lately. I think NYC has offered a little recharge. I don't know what is on the agenda tomorrow. I just know I'm looking forward to desserts at Serendipity 3 and bbq at Virgil's in Times Square...if you hadn't noticed food is a big part of my trips. I like eating at places I don't have at home in Maryland & DC.

Whatta Week -Part 2

Man alive! It's been another fantastic few days. When I last posted, I gave you all a bit of the lowdown on how my wife and I had been out of action because of various sinus infections and the evil common cold. Well, things just seem to get better from there. It turns out the antibiotic that my wife was taking set off a severe allergic reaction causing her to joints to swell and break out in some vicious hives. So the good news, the antibiotic has gotten rid of the infection. The bad news is now her body is in total rejection mode fighting off whatever is left in her system and making her life next to unbearable. Fortunately the doc was able to clue into exactly what was going on and give her a mild oral steriod that is already doing the job in reducing these symptoms.

Your humble blogger is running on reserved power here after trying to stay awake to make sure medicine was administered at the right times through the night.

I did have a fantastic late morning breakfast though at the fine little deli in the building next door. During the week it's usually a quick bowl of cereal or fruit for my breakfast, so having a little eggs & pancakes is always a nice treat...yes indeedy.

Man alive whatta week

Yeah it's been a little while since your blogging scribe has entered a posting and I apologize for that to my readership. I've been sick and my wife has been even sicker, what a miserable pair we have been. Since my wife was much sicker, I had to take care of her. Nothing is more difficult then taking care of someone when you yourself feel like a congested zombie. Both of our jobs were more then understanding about us being out which was cool. And the dogs definitely enjoyed having us around more. I'm just happy to be feeling better. Because my weekend consisted of hanging my house and eating soup, there isn't much to report. I did get a chance to read quite a few comic books and do a little video gaming on my time off, among other things so. I'll have comic reviews to post very soon.

Celtic Woman Lullabye

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of going with my wife and my folks to the Celtic Woman concert at Constitution Hall. We grabbed a little dinner at Cafe Soleil before hand, which wasn't bad. We had PLENTY of time to eat and get down there. Since we were taking the subway down into the city from North Bethesda, we had to figure out the timing and logistics for getting down in time for our dinner reservation and allowing time to walk to the concert hall afterwords. For those unfamiliar with Constitution Hall, there aren't any parking lots close to the venue and the closest Metro stations are a 10-15 minute walk in distance. As we also found out, since that area isn't exactly a hot nightspot, taxis are scare in this part of the city as well. All that aside, we made it there in plenty of time.

The Celtic Woman concert isn't my usual kind of show, I'll be honest. I enjoy the music well enough at certain times. Especially in the evening when trying to chill out. But the main reason I went is because this is something my wife wanted to do and something she would enjoy, all of which is fine by me. I enjoy a good evening out. An unforseen challenge at this show however was the "Sleepy Man" factor. All the ingredients were there for a nap. I had just had good sized meal, the concert hall was warm, and the seat weren't half bad...plus all of the music is very light, pure & peaceful "Enya"/Celtic female vocals... WHOA it was tough staying awake!

I couldn't stand, because that would have peeved the people behind me. I could really talk because I didn't want to ruin the performance for others. I kept trying to think about a variety of things like work or projects at home...but none of that worked. I kept nodding off. Fortunately I didn't snore and thankfully my wife didn't notice. But I will definitely prep myself for this fight next time go to one of these shows.