Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

I’m an information junkie and the Internutz is a magical web of information, useful and otherwise, that I can lose myself in for hours at a time. Wikipedia, of course, is an information junkie’s cyber-crackhouse, with useful entries on almost anything you can think of — except, oddly, “Guy LeCharles Gonzalez” (someone needs to fix that!) — and a friend of mine discovered my latest favorite, “Black and Tan“, which includes an impressive list of variations on the theme, including:

Black & Black : A blend of Guinness Extra Stout and Guinness Draught
Black & Orange: Stout and pumpkin ale
Black Magic: Half Guinness and Half Magic Hat #9

Generally speaking, a Black & Tan should only be made with Guinness Stout, but Cape Ann Brewing Company’s Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout is a good substitute for Black & Orange.

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“In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope!”
– Barack Obama

Anyone falling for the media spin that Hillary Clinton’s victory last night in New Hampshire was an upset (or even a comeback) is suffering from a seriously short attention span. She was leading pretty comfortably there before Iowa and managed to salvage a 3% victory over the upstart Barack Obama who, I think, got a little caught up in the hype around the historical import of his candidacy and coasted a little bit. She did it through a mix of old school political strategy, going negative against Obama in the final couple of days, and an accidental slip of her robotic demeanor that revealed the human being underneath. Anyone who thinks the latter will come to define her campaign moving forward is crazy.

That said, I think her narrowly winning NH is a good thing for Obama as he will benefit more than her from an extended campaign that runs, at least, through Super Duper Tuesday — I refuse to call it Tsunami Tuesday — because it will give him the opportunity to clarify a couple of things about himself, including the simple fact that on the political experience front, he trumps both Clinton and Edwards, as Phil West pointed out on his Obama blog:

But the top three Dem candidates actually have very similar resumes, despite Clinton’s familiarity with the White House from having lived in it. All three are lawyers who have folded activism in some form into their legal careers. If you’re looking at their careers as elected officials, Obama actually has the edge, having spent a decade in either the U.S. Senate or the Illinois legislature, whereas Clinton is on her seventh year as a U.S. Senator (with no prior eleced office) and Edwards served one six-year term. 

Speaking of Edwards, I’m glad he’s not dropping out yet because his voice is an important one to have in the mix and my guess is he will continue to target Clinton as the “status quo” candidate, allowing Obama to focus on representing his campaign’s powerful message of hope. His speech last night was arguably as good, if not better, than his speech Iowa as it had a slightly harder edge to it, challenging Americans to stand up and be heard, to not let anyone tell us what can’t be done, echoing JFK’s “Ask not…” with his own catchphrase, “Yes We Can!”

Check out the full text of Obama’s “Yes we can!” speech.

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{meme in which one takes the first line of the first post from each month and looks at it as a summary of the year. and is a little stunned at the results. NOTE: [My Vox] blog didn’t start until March so the first two months are from Comic Book Commentary.}

January: In the most glaring sign yet of how much my tastes have changed over the 3.5 years since I started reading comics again, compare my Best of 2004 choices to this year’s stellar roundup (below).

February: I have a love-hate relationship with Black History Month, simultaneously appreciating the thought behind it while despising its continued necessity.

March: The need to express oneself in such a public manner is a peculiar trait, indeed.

April: It’s somewhat fitting that the Don Imus fiasco blew up this week, but if the heightened awareness of the pervasive sexism and racism in this country is allowed to fade simply because MSNBC and CBS caved to the pressure and fired him — not because it was the right thing to do, but because it was the fiscally prudent thing to do — then it’d be akin to Jackie Robinson being the only black baseball player.

May: A 4BR detached house somewhere in the Bronx that my wife would be willing to live for at least another 5 years. (from an “If money were no object” wish list meme.)

June: The only thing cooler than handing out obligatory trophies to a group of kids who actually earned them, is having your son be one of those kids!

July: Keith Olbermann on Bush, Cheney: “Which is the ventriloquist and which is the dummy is now irrelevant.”

August: It’s somewhat ironic that on the same night I read a new poem entitled “On the 89yh Day, I Quit”, I end up drinking way more than usual.

September: Even though I’ve not been to work since Friday, August 24th, my vacation pretty much ended the minute we landed at JFK last Wednesday evening.

October: We trekked up to Lawrence Farms Orchards again on Saturday to have an apple-picking/pumpkin-picking/picnic party for India’s 5th birthday and the unseasonably warm October weather was absolutely perfect for it!

November: It’s Spindle’s penultimate update before the official launch in January and it’s the most eclectic mix of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and photography yet, including the debut of our first column, Mahogany Browne’s Coffee & Brooklyn (C&B), and the latest Notable New Yorker interview, Ivan Brandon: Crime Comics Czar.

December: I refuse to become as emotionally invested in the presidential race this time around, largely because none of the candidates speak to me as strongly as Kucinich did back in 2004 when he represented an admittedly longshot at legitimate change. 

[x-posted from PopCultureShock]

What happens when the “maybe we just need a little space” trial separation makes you realize you’re actually happier apart and have no interest in getting back together?

Well, if you’re me and writing about and reviewing comics on a semi-regular basis is what you needed a break from, you stall one more month hoping for the good feelings to return before finally acknowledging the truth and writing the requisite farewell post for the 3-5 people who might still care.

In other words, it’s officially “adios” for good this time!

To the comics internet, at least. I’m not done with comics themselves, of course; I’m just reading less of them these days and have no interest in feeling obligated to write about them, never mind writing about the incestuous and too-often petty little world of comics publishing and online fandom. Catching up on my myriad Google Reader subscriptions this weekend pretty much clinched it.

It’s been real, it’s been fun — I’ve written some things I’m proud of and made some good friends I wouldn’t have otherwise — but not unlike the break from poetry that ultimately led me to reading comics again and eventually writing about them, things have come full circle and I’m going back to my first true love. More importantly, I’m taking the next big step in our relationship and building us a new home, aka the NYC-centric online literary journal I’m officially launching in January 2008 called Spindle.

To Jon, Howard, Rich, Adan, Matt and my other fellow writers here at PopCultureShock, past and present; and everyone who ever left a comment or dropped me a backchannel email, positive or negative: thanks for everything — the camaraderie, the support, the feedback, and most importantly, the passion each of you brought to the site. PCS will always be my online home for comics and I plan to check in more often now that the guilt over not carrying my weight the past few months will be lifted!

An extra-special shout-out to Katherine and Erin, whose insightful coverage gave me some helpful direction in my still nascent exploration of manga (I’m officially hooked on Eden and Planetes!) and made it that much easier to kick the Marvel/DC habit that was draining my wallet and tainting my appreciation of the form.

Remember, reading comics you don’t enjoy is stupid. It’s like drinking Budweiser or Coors just because they’re cheaper than Magic Hat.*

Don’t be stupid!

Love,
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
PCS, 2005-2007 / CBC, 2004-2007

*NOTE: Like certain Essential and Showcase volumes, there’s always a time and place for a cold PBR!