Lefty Side of the Dial

Sung to Lennon's Merry Xmas (War is Over):

So this is Friday
Another week gone
Two days of leisure
And another week has begun

AAAAAAANyway.....time to reveal what's been sucking up all my free time:

1. Battlestar Galactica

One episode left for the current season, and last Sunday's episode I could sense the wick on this powder keg of a season finale was at an end. This season has been remarkably free of actual Cyclon threats, but the tension remains tight. I can't wait to see what happens next!

2. Lost

I read in interviews that, at least near the beginning of the show, that single writers were responsible for writing a character's back story for an episode. I sort of doubt that's the case nowadays as characters have developed continuity however, I can't help but wonder if some writers have a special love for John Locke's story. Wednesday's episode was fantastic, as viewers finally see what send Locke into the wheelchair. The animosity and need of support between John and the Other's leader Ben has me excited to where the story seems to be heading.

3. Podcasts

I listen to them at lunch, at the gym, and sometime while I'm working. Like I posted earlier this week, I've really been enjoying some gaming podcasts. This week I actually fast-forwarded through Major Nelson's podcast, because the WWE "superstar" and Playboy bunny's interview just didn't interest me in the slightest. But I did like the interview he did with the Games for Window people. I'm now all caught up on all my podcasts and now eagerly awaiting news ones this weekend.

4. "Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital" by Mark Andersen & Mark Jenkins

I'm halfway finished with this really good book on the Punk movement in the Washington D.C. area. I did some searching on eMusic for some harDCore punk, and interestingly enough saw that Mark Jenkins is also an editor at eMusic. And to my delight lots of the bands I'm currently reading about are on eMusic for me to download.

5. Manhunter vol. 1 & 2 TPB

Wow! Let's state for the record that I think the writer Marc Andreyko has a huge future in comics. He "gets" the humanity that fills in the spandex. After hearing the buzz on this book, and its continuing reprieves of cancellations, I decided to pick up the first two trades of the series. It's no wonder Greg Rucka supplies a cover blurb on the second trade, Andreyko, like Rucka, brings some realism and human drama to the characters he writes. Marc gives the reader a hero that has foibles, dashed hopes, human weaknesses, and a need to find justice outside the very court of law she works in. This just may be the very best superhero book in comic book stores. Oh, I should also note that the artist, Javier Pina and inker (whose name I don't have) on the two trades do a fantastic job in capturing a realistic looking woman, and really do a bang-up job bringing life to Andreyko's script.

6. Crackdown

C'mon by now you should know this is going to be somewhere on my list. I'm still playing the game, this time I'm slowly working on achievement points. This past week I maxxed out all my abilities, did a lot of stunts on my "pimped out" SUV, and found a hidden cache of mystery orbs hidden in some caves near the gym. I think I only need 10-12 more mystery orbs, which I'm still trying to find without using cheat books or the internet. Oh, and I still haven't figured out how to throw an object the 200 or so feet to unlock the achievement for it.

7. The Daily Show/The Colbert Report

I'm still playing catch-up on about a month's worth of these shows. I'm really interesting in seeing Jon Stewart's take on the fired lawyers scandal, and Colbert's coverage of the death of Captain America.....in about a week or two (I hope).

8. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

No this isn't a Discovery Channel documentary...it's an Xbox 360 game. I've been playing this game after getting it through Gamefly. I found the single player portion of the game to be really boring and got tired of not having enough places to save my game. However the multiplayer has been fun, and one of the few games I like playing ranked matches, so I can "level up". This isn't a game I would go out and spend $60 on, but I would consider it at $25 for just the online multiplayer.

9. Aquaman #50

Wow. I started picking up this title when Kurt Busiek took up the mantle in the One Year Later jump ahead. When it first came out then, I was impressed by the Aquaman as Conan of the Seven Seas on the series. However delays nearly killed my delight with the book, and I was considering dropping it. I figured I was going to give the new creative team two months to sell me on the book. They only needed one! Writer Tad Williams deftly changes the course of the title, from undersea barbarians to mythical fantasy beneath the waves. It's a subtle difference, but a chance I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Ted wisely decides not to discard some of the mysteries of the Busiek's but instead builds on the Aquaman mythos. Readers even get treated to an Arthurian "shout-out" near the end of the issue. There's so much more to say story wise, but let me just refer you to these two links more reasons why you should rush out and pick this up. Another reason I'm in major geek-love for the book is the art. Artist Shawn McManus delivers a different look to the book that reminds me of Medley's Castle Waiting or Smith's Bone series. It works well with the fantasy-myth take on the title, and was really beautiful at times to look at. I should also mention that the colorist Walden Wong does a really cool job with giving characters a distinct look, and making the oceans depths feel magical.

10. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists "Living with the Living"

I love the new album from Ted Leo. Like I said in a post earlier this week, the new album reminds me a little of early Elvis Costello, but it also is reminiscent of The Replacements as well. It's a bitter angry album (towards the current administration and the war in Iraq) which is the perfect pill for my generation. Good stuff!