The Pull List: 1/30/08

There is a lot of crap that hit the stands today.  Unfortunately, many comic readers will pick up most of it, and, as usual, miss the stuff that was really good.  There wasn’t much worth getting in today’s batch of comics, but there was one that is an absolute can’t miss.  Y The Last Man #60. 

Despite being late, the final issue of one of the very best comics in many years delivers all one could hope for.  I will admit, I was just as sad as I was excited to finally read the issue; over the years only a handful of comics have made me anticipate the next issue in the same way Y The Last Man did, such as The Preacher, or The Sandman, to name a few (and there isn’t many more on that list).  I remember reading an interview a few years ago in which Brian K. Vaughn (writer) said he already knew what the last panel on the last page of this issue would be, and now having seen it, I have to say that his execution from issue #1 to now has been masterful. 

Good thing, bad thing: episode 1

Good thing:  Twin Peaks DVD Box Set – The Definitive Gold Box Edition

About once every other year, during the middle of winter, I would find (or make) a nice 3 day weekend during which I would stock up on doughnuts and coffee, perhaps invite over a close friend or two, and begin my Twin Peaks marathon.  Of course, this involved dusting off VHS tapes, hoping the tapes still worked, and trying not to be too disappointed at the quality.  By and large, this ritual was the main reason I even still own a VCR.  A few years back the first season was finally released on DVD, and while it was a beautiful box set, it became evident that the rest of the series would still be a long while off, so I sold them.  But now the days of “tracking” and shotty, warbled VHS audio are long gone (at least for watching Twin Peaks). 

Fish Receives Gift Horse, Looks in Mouth

Stanley Fish is at it again, this time writing about the virtual lack of a pragmatic answer to “what is the value of humanities studies?”  Here is his NY Times entry.  While he does raise a few good points and keeps the article on task (and he surprised me by some responses to comments”), I was left with the same feeling many of his pieces elicit.  A bulk of the feeling I’m referring to could be partly a sense of betrayal, or maybe merely an irresponsible shirking of great opportunities in exchange for a clever obfuscation of the values and meanings that are part of studying humanities.  What I mean is, as gifted and well-known figure Stanley Fish is, why would he focus on how little one can come up with – in practical terms – when asked to value the study of humanities; couldn’t he serve the field, and others, so much better by answering the question, rather asking it?

NBC: We Put the Cock in Peacock

After my internet connection going buggy on me earlier, I decided to visit DSLReports and check things out (a great site, by the way, for all kinds of troubleshooting and related things to your Internet connectivity, often loads better than your ISP support).  Browsing through their news headlines, which always pays a close eye on communications, I found a funny news item.  It has to do with NBC Universal recently issuing a letter to the FCC, not asking but demanding ISPs be forced to use filter-technology, in order to (supposedly) ease bandwidth and prevent copyright infringements through – you guessed it – the magic word, file-sharing. 

The Amphicar

I found a Time article about “the worst 50 cars of all time” that was interesting to read.  My personal favorite is #16, the Amphicar, which, yes, is exactly what you think it is.

Have you read the latest post at zxytsytszx.blogpot.com!?

Yes, that is a sentence you will never hear again.  I hate using the Google blog search because it only produces results like that.  For the most part, Google does a great job of being a sort of “one stop shop” for all sorts of basic Web functions.  Gmail has been great, and I really have to commend them on staying vigilant about the spam filter.  I have yet to have a single spam mail come through (knock on wood), though I have seen a marked increase in the number of spam mails being collected in the filter.  It bugs me, but I can live with it; I suppose the most frustrating thing about it is how helpless – at a certain point – I am to do anything to stop Julio21 (at) 123click.cl (just a name I made up) from sending out junk mail.  I’d love to be able to pull something off even remotely similar to the classic “scamming the Powerbook scammer” story.  That has got to be one the best acts of dispensing justice against spammers.  If you’ve never read the account, it’s a great story. 

Creative Writing, Tenure, and the idiot savants caught in between

After stumbling upon an interesting discussion about the publication of literary journals, specifically poetry, then after rambling long enough to throw in one Han Solo reference, I was reminded of an incident that occurred in the English dept. while I was getting my MA. 

How to jump from a plane

 Thanks, Delta!