Between my internet connection at work being screwy all day and Blogspot.com seemingly on the blink, the post I started writing earlier was lost. It was about the difference between Batman and Superman and a comment director Wolfgang Petersen made about it. Petersen was apparently attached to a Batman vs. Superman movie that was scrapped in favor of separate movies. Can't say I'm disappointed. Petersen's also the director of the new movie, Troy, with Brad Pitt lamely delivering one of the corniest lines ever: "Immortality! It's yours. Take it!" No thanks, Brad. Between Gladiator and Return of the King, I…
Sent my BRIO submission in today, two days before the deadline. Thank you, Express Mail! It's the first time I've submitted for something like this - other than a single poem entered in a Literal Latte contest way back in 1999; I just don't have the self-discipline - and it was a real challenge to decide what to submit. 10 pages aren't very many poems when most of mine average 3 pages each. (Slam influence, anyone?) The fact that I knew I was definitely submitting Mozer, Bethea and I - a five-pager! - severely limited my other options as I…
Good eats; new glasses
Add Tito Puente's to my short list of favorite restaurants; top of the list on City Island. Went last night for Salomé's birthday and I am still full! We both had these monster seafood dishes - lobster, snow crab, scallops, clams, mussels, oh my!; her's with pasta, mine with mofongo, both in an amazing red sauce - along with a filling appetizer of lobster empanadas, coconut shrimp, maduros and tostones. Yum! Their mojitos are really good, too; nice and smooth, less hardcore than Esperanto's. It's on the pricey side and I'd never go anywhere near it on the weekends, but…
Times when it's okay to lie to your kids: #17: Because you can't go to Chuck E. Cheese every day! #31: If you don't, they will eat all of the candy. Then, demand more. Halloween was fun, though, as expected, no Hollywood insanity broke out. There were some insane parents, though, as well as some fun costumes, kids and adults alike. Isaac's turned out to be one of the best ones there and didn't have the misfortune of being one of fifty other kids in a cheap Batman outfit. (Side note: Homemade costumes are a much better option to ending…
Is there a sillier "holiday" than Halloween? Knocking on strangers doors for candy? Or a trick? (What exactly constitutes a "trick," anyway?) Makes the belated celebration of the birth of "the son of God" by going into debt look sensible! Does anyone actually go trick-or-treating anymore? Here in the City, at least? Rumors - urban legends? - of gang initiations and other craziness taking place tonight have changed our plans so now we're hitting the Museum of Natural History for "loads of Halloween fun, including trick-or-treating, live performances, craft activities, roaming characters, and more!" Sounds like fun, if disturbingly suburban.…
Wednesday is new comic book day!
So I've gotten into yet another flame war with Danny Solis on the poetry_slam list. Why can't I just leave that shit alone? The whole PSI thing, I mean. Solis is this big-ass, dreadlocked Mexican poet, currently out of Albuquerque, NM. If you saw SlamNation, he's on the Austin team, in that fun little group piece they do. Not someone you want to piss off, especially if he's been drinking. The irony is, as much as I've virtually fought with him over the years, I think he's a pretty good guy. He's a very good poet with a strong sense…
Devouring Comics
Whenever I find a new passion - whether person, place or thing - I tend to throw myself into it 120%. Having cleared my plate of the administrative responsibilities (and psychological baggage) of running a little bit louder, comic books have quickly and completely rushed in to fill the void. I am so hooked! Finished reading Mark Salisbury's fascinating Writers on Comics Scriptwriting, interviews with an assortment of prominent comic book writers discussing inspiration, motivation and process, along with a healthy dose of egomania and outright weirdness. Grant Morrison, anyone? Despite only having a single woman represented and a complete…