National Novel Writing Month?

So, National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner.

For those of you not in the know, November is National Novel Writing Month, when dozens of thousands of people try to cram out a coherent story comprised of at least 50k words, all in 30 days.

I've participated the last four years and met the 50k goal three of those four years.  It's a fun challenge and an awesome rush.

And I don't think I'm taking part this year.

The Original Johnson vol 1

I'm always on the lookout for more comics by Black creators.  I enjoy comics period, but as a relatively outspoken Black guy, I sort of feel obligated to do my best to support Black creators.

Not only is The Original Johnson about Jack Johnson, but it's written and illustrated by Trevor Von Eeden a creator who's been in the industry for three decades and worked on basically every major character.

The Original Johnson is also quite good.

Quad City International Airport

So, some of you may have surmised, I went on a bit of a trip recently. It took me away from the blog and actually required air travel.

One of the airports that I spent some time in was in Moline.  It was actually the Quad City International Airport.  (I'm assuming the "international" comes from flights to and from Canada.)

Moline is one of the Quad Cities, a place  I'm sure some people are still surprised actually exists.  Y'see back in the day the Quad Cities DJ's had a monster hit, but many people thought it was a purely fictional locale.

It's not.

Monday Munchies - Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls (Limited Batch)

Some weeks back Ben & Jerry's announced that their upcoming holiday themed Limited Batch flavor would be the SNL themed Schweddy Balls, inspired by the classic Saturday Night Live sketch.

The news made the internet weep with joy.

But then when the flavor actually came out, some retailer opted not to carry it out of fear of offending customers.

We at Fish & Spaghetti managed to get our hands on some Schweddy Balls.

Catwoman: When in Rome

If you dig comic books there are certain creative tandems that conjure up images of greatness.  Kirby & Lee.  Morrison & Quitely.  Azzarello & Risso.  Brubaker & Phillips.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have made a name for themselves by crafting stories set in the past of icons.  For Marvel they had the "color" series.  For DC their stories revolved around the calendar.  The Long Halloween and Dark Victory are heralded as classics.  They followed up those Batman tales with Catwoman: When in Rome.

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Ben Stiller & Foster The People

Expectations were raised for this episode of SNL. Not only Ben Stiller a SNL alum, but his Ben Stiller Show is one of the great American sketch comedy programs. The Ben Stiller Show was also the first sketch comedy show that I sort of claimed as “mine.”

Among the expectations were that we’d see Stiller return to familiar characters and that the show would be not only better than last week, but, y'know, actually funny.

Justice, Inc.

I've been reading comics for a minute now.  One of the cool things about going to the Baltimore Comic Con is finding comics that I'd seen house ads for back in the day.

Justice, Inc is one of those books.  I remember seeing the house ad in the back of old comics and it always struck me as something I wanted to pick up.  That stark image of a silhouette casting a shadow was a striking one.

And now I've finally read the book.

Remembering - Steve Jobs

It's sort of weird because originally I planned to write something about the iPhone 4S and how I was tempted to get one now that Sprint is going to offer them.  I was going to explore my thoughts and conflicts about the whole thing.

And then I heard Steve Jobs had died.

Give that, I figured I'd reflect on the impact Steve Jobs has had on my life.

Monday Munchies - Smartfood Kettle Corn

I'm a fan of corn. .  I like corn on the cob.  I like creamed corn.  I liked popcorn.  I even like succotash.  In fact I'm pretty sure is the only corn that I don't get some kind of enjoyment from is, well, Korn.

Popcorn is probably my favorite kind of corn because it comes in so many varieties.  It can be sweet or savory.  It can fit whatever mood you're in.  It's like the perfect snack.

So you can imagine my elation when I went I popped into a grocery store and saw that Smartfood was offering up Kettle Corn.

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Melissa McCarthy & Lady Antebellum

I love Saturday Night Live. I’ve got fond memories of laughing at Mr. Bill with my mom. I can remember the summer that my cousins and I all discovered Eddie Murphy’s Buckwheat, how funny we thought it was and how our parents (and aunts and uncles) probably hated the fact that they’d let up stay up late enough to watch it.

So, while I’m not the biggest SNL nerd in the world (or even at Fish & Spaghetti Industries) I’m a big enough fan that I’d feel pretty comfortable talking about the show with anyone. And that’s why I feel comfortable enough to do Sunday Morning Quarterback.