Shit I'm Into - Part 1
Unfortunately for me I haven't really had much time to post to my blog; although, I do have a couple of articles actively in the hopper that need to be completed.
As with most writers, bloggers, or self-important individuals that believe they have something to say that others will find of interest, I have a lot of ideas/experiences floating through my head, just not the luxury of time, as of late, to put them down.
So with the pinpointedness of a scatter gun, here's some of the shit I've been into lately.
Ultimate Spider-Man - I'm hooked. I've always been a huge fan of the old school Spider Man saga, so much so, that I was so excited about the movie, I snuck out and saw the first screening of it at theaters on the day it opened only to return that night with Nancy under the pretense that we were seeing it together for the first time. Guess the cats out of the bag on that one.
[Note to wife: occurred while under the great unemployment depression of 2001 so the behavior should be excused]
What appealed to me was the way the original tale was retold within an updated, contemporary setting. Little did I know that back in 2000, Marvel did something similar with Spider-Man when they released the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series.
Currently, I'm reading it in graphic novel (trade paperback) form in an attempt to get caught up. I just finished volume four and I purchase a new volume every two weeks. At this pace, it should take me roughly twenty-eight weeks to get caught up with the story.
Heroes - Since I've been blogging about comic books, it should probably come as no surprise that I'm into NBC's new TV series 'Heroes'. A tale about a group of individuals that discover they have superhuman powers and must save the world from an evil, unknown force. What's cool about it is that Nancy is also hooked. Originally she expressed some skepticism about the storyline being kind of 'geeky' but it’s the kind of geeky that has that suspenseful edge that holds your attention.
Gardening - Nancy and I are still working on getting our flower beds/garden in shape for the fall, which will make them much easier to take care of come spring. At this point we only have one bed left to finish off and to tell the truth if it doesn’t happen before the cold weather sets in, it really doesn't matter. We've made great progress and the yard looks better than it has in a couple of years.
All of this yard work has made us realize just how bad the appearance of our yard really was. The goal now is to be able to keep it in a somewhat manageable shape throughout the seasons so we can spend more time relaxing in the outdoors rather than just working in it.
Running - Yada, yada, yada... I'm pretty sure you're tired of hearing about my new commitment to fitness so I'll spare you the details. I'm still running and don't see an end for the foreseeable future. It's one of the best ways I've found for maintaining my health and fitness.
Post-season baseball - The Cardinals are doing their usual fall run in the playoffs. I'm only hoping that they can make it to the World Series to avenge for the '04 World Series sweep they suffered at the hands of the Red Sox. Tonight is game seven of NLCS in New York at Shea, a must win for both teams. If for some reason they don't get it done tonight, Cardinal Nation is going to begin empathizing with the Atlanta Braves, whom I believe have made the playoffs fourteen consecutive times, one time in which they actually won the World Series. Ouch!!!
HD TV - Back in September I finally made the leap to high definition (HD) TV after having an HD capable TV since February. The biggest hurdle was not having the funds to rework my existing satellite TV infrastructure to allow the upgraded signal to be delivered. So far things have been working fairly well and I'm am definitely impressed with the picture quality between high definition and standard definition (SD).
I believe one of the TV manufacturers does a commercial for one of their DLP televisions where they discuss that watching football in HD is like seeing the game for the first time. I can easily concur that that's not an understatement. It's HUGE!