For the Horde

A few good comments...

RWG reflects on his time in the comic book biz, and the death of Dwayne McDuffie:

As I've mentioned once or twice here, I'd met him a few times back when I was in my third life (writing comics), which just about coincided with the launch of Milestone Comics. He and his crew (well, some of them - I'd always wanted to meet Robert L. Washington in person to tell him I thought his dialogue in "Static" was the best "superhero" dialogue I'd ever read) would swing through Texas to do the whole promotion thing and we'd end up in the same stores with not a whole lot going on. 

Don't recall a lot about those times, except that he was a fairly imposing dude who rarely chose to use it, if you know what I mean. And, believe me, with some of the questions and comments he would get at some of those shops and conventions, I dunno if I could've done the same were our roles reversed. Comic book folk aren't exactly the most sensitive people in the world. Well, maybe they are now, but we weren't back then. 

There had been black pros in comics for over a decade before McDuffie broke onto the scene, but up until then I'd seen very few at conventions. Probably not fair to them or Dwayne, but it didn't really take long before he became "the face" of the black comic book professional. And even if Milestone didn't end up being the financial breakthrough that some were hoping for, the line did well enough. RWG (coming as it did right before the big bust of the '90s, in retrospect, I dunno if more could've been expected)

We talked some more about this in the thread. I didn't realize that Christoper Priest (Jim Owsley) was a first of sorts. One of the cool things about being a kid in the pre-internet age, is the beautiful freedom of misinterpretation. When Jim Owsley referred to something from another book, he'd put it asterisk next to it and write ("See Avengers #268--Ows.") I got it in my head that "Ows" was a different dude--like there was some sort of freaky internal dialouge going on between the writer and this dude "Ows." Nothing like being ten and thinking "Who the fuck is Ows?"

Leora agrees with Anna Holmes's point that celebreties need to ditch the "just like you" pitch and admit that looking like a God hard work, and something you get paid to do:

That's awesome. I like Holmes's emphasis that this is their JOB - e.g. someone else is effectively paying for their time at the gym, their personal trainer, and their Whole Foods groceries. They are not cramming a workout session at the Y in between meetings and picking the kids up. They are also not feeding a household on $40k/year. I never want to see "Diet Tips from [Insert Celebrity]" again, because their lifestyle is simply not applicable to normal women who have normal jobs, normal time constraints, and normal incomes. 

I'm in pretty good shape, but I'm fairly sure if I had an assload of cash and dropped out of law school, I could be in awesome shape. Not gonna happen. Just not my life.

Cynic, of course, connects the dots:

Part of it is an appeal to young men, who want to fantasize about how Minka Kelly is really just a down to earth who will drink a beer with them. 

And that put me in mind of the latest nugget from OK Cupid: 

Among all our casual topics, whether someone likes the taste of beer is the single best predictor of if he or she has sex on the first date. No matter their gender or orientation, beer-lovers are 60% more likely to be okay with sleeping with someone they've just met. Sadly, this is the only question with a meaningful correlation for women. 

So having a beer with Minka Kelly is indeed the fantasy of many young men.

This response to Kanye West is probably the best I've read all year:

"An abortion can cost a ballin' nigga up to 50gs maybe a 100. Gold diggin' bitches be getting pregnant on purpose, Liz Lemon."

I spent the rest of the day randomly noting to family members "An abortion can cost a ballin nigga 50 Gs, Liz Lemon!" Which replaces "This honky grandma be tripping! Is it racist when I do your act?" My house is kinda nuts.

Andy Hall on a side-bet between me and Jim Fallows:

You people realize Coates is playin' y'all, right? I heard him bragging to Fallows the other day that he could get a intense, civil-but-fiercely-debated discussion going on his blog on any subject Fallows cared to name. 

"Anything?" asked Fallows. 

"Yeah, anything," Coates replied. 

"OK, smart guy, how about, em, oatmeal?" 

 "Done."

And not just on oatmeal, but McDonald's and Banana Republic. Caleb Das captures the appeal of fast food:

I agree that it's more than just the food or the convenience. It's a whole host of ancillary stimuli. I go to Popeye's, this specific one right across the Harrison bridge, when I'm feeling disappointed, which is about once in two or three months. It's just a place where I feel it's okay to be disappointed. It's that ambience, the people there, just something, I don't quite know what that allows for it. Man, after that first bite of Popeye's, it's all disappointment. If I wanted, I could make better chicken than they do and with less guilt attached. But that's not the point. I'd rather not take my disappointment home and cook with it, nor clean up after. When my sister's feeling nostalgic, she goes to the McDonalds and orders a Sundae. It's not always about the convenience.

So very true.