Saturday, December 31, 2016

Monthly Update - December 2016

POP CULTURE GOALS:

1. Read 15 Books (5)
  • None
2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (69)
  1. The Fade Out HC
  2. Suicide Squad Vol 5: Apokolips Now
  3. Bloodshot Reborn Deluxe Vol 1
3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
  • None
    4. Play 15 New Boardgames (36)
    • Letters From Whitechapel
    • Pandemic Iberia
    • Joking Hazard (x2)
    • Rent-A-Hero
    • Instanbul
    • Love Letter Adventure Time
    • Superfight
    • King of New York
    My Picks of the Week For This Month:
    1. Champions #3
    2. Moon Knight #9
    3. Hawkeye #1
    4. Descender #17
    5. Power Man and Iron Fist Sweet Christmas Annual #1
    6. Thanos #2
    7. Saga #41
    8. Spider-Woman #14
        Other Comics I Read This Month (634+48 = 682):
        • All-New Wolverine #15
        • Amazing Spider-Man #22
        • Avengers #2
        • Batman/TMNT Adventures #2
        • Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York #3
        • Black #3
        • Black Hammer #6
        • Black Widow #9
        • Britannia #4
        • Captain America Sam Wilson #16
        • Captain America Steve Rogers #8
        • Champions #3
        • Civil War II #8
        • Clone Conspiracy #3
        • Daredevil #14
        • Descender #17
        • Detective Comics #946
        • Divinity III Stalinverse #1
        • Doctor Strange #15
        • Doctor Strange Sorcerers Supreme #3
        • Faith #6
        • Fix #7
        • Gamora #1
        • Grand Passion #2
        • Harbinger Renegades #2
        • Hawkeye #1
        • Hulk #1
        • Invincible Iron Man #2
        • Klaus & Witch of Winter #1
        • Lake of Fire #5
        • Moon Knight #9
        • Motor Crush #1
        • New Super Man #6
        • Nova #1
        • Occupy Avengers #2
        • Power Man and Iron Fist #11
        • Power Man and Iron Fist Sweet Christmas Annual #1
        • Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens #3
        • Reborn #3
        • Saga #41
        • Serenity No Power in the Verse #3
        • Spider-Woman #14
        • Star Trek Green Lantern Vol 2 #1
        • Star Wars #26
        • Star Wars Doctor Aphra #1-2
        • Star-Lord #1
        • Thanos #2
        TV I Watched This Month:
        • Arrow "What We Leave Behind"
        • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Skyfire Cycle" "The Overmining" "Captain Latvia"
        • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend "Why is Josh's Ex-Girlfriend Eating Carbs?" "Who Needs Josh When You Have A Girl Group?"
        • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Invasion!" "The Chicago Way"
        • Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
        • The Flash "The Present"
        • Fleabag "Episodes 1-6"
        • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "December 5, 2016" "December 12, 2016" "December 19, 2016"
        • Justice League Action "Shazam Slam"
        • People of Earth
        • Pitch "Scratched" "Don't Say It"
        • Sense 8 "Christmas Special"
        • Shut-Eye "Death" "The Hanged Man" "The Fool"
        • Star Wars Rebels "The Last Battle" "Imperial Supercommandos" "Iron Squadron"
        • Timeless "Stranded" "Space Race" "Last Race of Bonnie & Clyde" "The Capture of Benedict Arnold"
        • Westworld "The Bicameral Mind"
        Top Ten Shows This Month:
        1. Westworld
        2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
        3. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
        4. Shut-Eye
        5. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
        6. Fleabag
        7. Flash
        8. Star Wars Rebels
        9. Pitch
        10. Timeless
        Movies I Watched This Month:
        • Rogue One (x2)
        • Matchstick Men
        • Keanu
        • Major League
        • Star Wars Force Awakens
        • Grand Budapest Hotel
        • Captain America Civil War
        Places I Ate This Month (279+19=298):
        • Blackstar Co-Op
        • Brooklyn Pie Company
        • Haymaker
        • Hoodie's Subs (x2)
        • Hoover's
        • Jason's Deli
        • Juarez Mexican Bakery (x2)
        • Kerbey Lane
        • Michi Ramen
        • Peached Tortilla
        • Popeye's
        • Shake Shack
        • Smokey Mo's
        • Texas Chili Parlor
        • Texas Roadhouse
        • Torchy's Tacos
        • Vera Cruz Tacos

        Thursday, December 29, 2016

        Best of 2016 - Food

        Last year I ate out over 250 times. This year it was more like 300.

        I'm not qualified to be a food critic, but I did eat a lot of food and I do have opinions. So here are my top 10 favorites, the ones that are accessible, affordable *and* delicious enough that I went there numerous times during the year. My list of favorites is mostly down to how many times I went there, with a little fudging.

        Favorites:
        1. Chi'Lantro
        2. Jack Allen's Kitchen
        3. Shake Shack
        4. Mod Pizza
        5. Chuy's
        6. Deckhand Oyster Bar
        7. Hopdoddy's
        8. Michi Ramen
        9. New Fortune Chinese
        10. Lucy's Fried Chicken
                        I also kept track of where I ate lunch this year, and these are my favorites, based on how often I ate there. It's not just quality of food, here, but also closeness to work, where I'm usually eating lunch.

                        Lunch Favorites:
                        1. Popeye's ( at least 1/month)
                        2. Torchy's Tacos
                        3. Wendy's
                        4. Fuddrucker's
                        5. Vera Cruz All Natural Tacos
                        6. Hoodie's Subs
                        7. Brooklyn Pie Company
                                  Then there were the places that I ate at once or twice, due to either it's location (downtown especially) or price. This list is purely down to my favorites, where I'd eat if location and price were no object.

                                  Rare Treats:
                                  1. Franklin Barbecue
                                  2. Gus's Fried Chicken
                                  3. Terry Black's BBQ
                                  4. Peached Tortilla
                                  5. Haymaker
                                  6. Black Star Co-Op
                                  7. Fogo de Chao
                                  8. Lucy's Fried Chicken
                                  9. Noble Sandwich
                                  10. Salt & Time
                                  11. 24 Diner
                                  12. Thai Kun
                                  French Quarter Grille, Odd Duck, TNT Tacos & Tequila were all on last year's list but I didn't get a chance to eat there this year.

                                  In addition, while I ate out a lot this year, I also tried to cook more, and added several new recipes to my repertoire.

                                  New Recipes:
                                  1. White Chicken Chili
                                  2. Chicken, Asparagus & Mushroom Stir Fry
                                  3. Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
                                  4. Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
                                  5. Sweet & Salty Chicken Thighs
                                  6. Panko Breaded Asparagus
                                  7. Skillet Green Beans
                                  8. Fried Rice
                                  9. Beef & Potato Stew

                                  Best of 2016 - Television

                                  Best Shows (Every Category):
                                  The "cut the cord" experiment has paid off with even more television.

                                  In general, this list is the "If I had to cut back to a certain number of shows, based on money, time, etc., this is the list of shows I'd cut first (starting with #50) to shows I'd cut last (starting with #1). Last year this list was 48 shows, and there are 25 shows from last year's list that weren't on here (either they ended, didn't have a new season, or I stopped watching them), so I added 27 new shows this year. Last year I added 24 new shows.

                                  There were 8 shows didn't have new seasons (Fargo, Catastrophe, Master of None, The Leftovers, Rick and Morty, Sense8, Jessica Jones, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), 11 shows ended or were limited run (Deutschland '83, Show Me A Hero, Justified, Parks & Recreation, Hannibal, Mad Men, Key & Peele, Louie, Community, Wet Hot American Summer, The League) and 6 I stopped watching or plan to catch up on later (The Daily Show, Wayward Pines, Scream Queens, Man Seeking Woman, Narcos, Man in the High Castle)
                                  1. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
                                  2. Atlanta (FX)
                                  3. Westworld (HBO)
                                  4. You're The Worst (FXX)
                                  5. Better Call Saul (AMC)
                                  6. Game of Thrones (HBO)
                                  7. The Americans (FX)
                                  8. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
                                  9. Better Things (FX)
                                  10. Stranger Things (NETFLIX)
                                  11. The People vs. OJ Simpson (FX)
                                  12. Togetherness (HBO)
                                  13. The Good Place (NBC)
                                  14. Insecure (HBO)
                                  15. The Night Of (HBO)
                                  16. Night Manager (SUNDANCE) 
                                  17. Billions (SHOWTIME)
                                  18. Mr. Robot (USA)
                                  19. Broad City (COM)
                                  20. Veep (HBO)
                                  21. Silicon Valley (HBO)
                                  22. Supergirl (CBS/CW)
                                  23. Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt (NETFLIX)
                                  24. Orange is the New Black (NETFLIX)
                                  25. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)
                                  26. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
                                  27. Bojack Horseman (NETFLIX)
                                  28. Casual (HULU)
                                  29. iZombie (CW)
                                  30. Voltron Legendary Defender (NETFLIX)
                                  31. The Get Down (NBC)
                                  32. Timeless (NBC)
                                  33. Luke Cage (NETFLIX)
                                  34. Daredevil (NETFLIX)
                                  35. Flash (CW)
                                  36. Not Safe with Nikki Glaser (COM)
                                  37. Review (COM)
                                  38. Pitch (FOX)
                                  39. Star Wars Rebels (DISNEY XD)
                                  40. Agent Carter (ABC)
                                  41. Preacher (AMC)
                                  42. Making A Murderer (NETFLIX)
                                  43. Inside Amy Schumer (COM)
                                  44. DC's Legends of Tomorrow (CW)
                                  45. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (BBCA)
                                  46. Lethal Weapon (FOX)
                                  47. 11.22.63 (HULU)
                                  48. Angie Tribeca (TBS)
                                  49. Humans (AMC)
                                  50. Arrow (CW)
                                  Best New Show:
                                  1. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
                                  2. Atlanta (FX)
                                  3. Westworld (HBO)
                                  4. Better Things (FX)
                                  5. Billions (SHOWTIME)
                                  6. Stranger Things (NETFLIX)
                                  7. The Night Of (HBO)
                                  8. Night Manager (SUNDANCE) 
                                  9. The People vs. OJ Simpson (FX)
                                  10. Insecure (HBO)
                                  11. The Good Place (NBC)
                                  12. Voltron Legendary Defender (NETFLIX)
                                  13. The Get Down (NETFLIX)
                                  14. Timeless (NBC)
                                  15. Luke Cage (NETFLIX)
                                  16. Not Safe with Nikki Glaser (COMEDY)
                                  17. Pitch (FOX)
                                  18. Preacher (AMC)
                                  19. Making A Murderer (NETFLIX)
                                  20. DC's Legends of Tomorrow (CW)
                                  21. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (BBCA)
                                  22. Lethal Weapon (FOX)
                                  23. 11.22.63 (HULU)
                                  24. Angie Tribeca (TBS)
                                  25. Humans (AMC)
                                                                                Best Comedy:
                                                                                1. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
                                                                                2. Atlanta (FX)
                                                                                3. You're The Worst (FXX)
                                                                                4. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
                                                                                5. Better Things (FX)
                                                                                6. Togetherness (HBO)
                                                                                7. Insecure (HBO)
                                                                                8. The Good Place (NBC)
                                                                                9. Veep (HBO)
                                                                                10. Silicon Valley (HBO)
                                                                                Best Drama:
                                                                                1. Westworld (HBO)
                                                                                2. Better Call Saul (AMC)
                                                                                3. Game of Thrones (HBO)
                                                                                4. The Americans (FX)
                                                                                5. Stranger Things (NETFLIX)
                                                                                6. The People vs. OJ Simpson (FX)
                                                                                7. The Night Of (HBO)
                                                                                8. Night Manager (SUNDANCE) 
                                                                                9. Billions (SHOWTIME)
                                                                                10. Mr. Robot (USA)

                                                                                Best of 2016 - Graphic Novels

                                                                                Every year, my list gets shorter and shorter. 2014 was 8, 2015 was 6... this year... 6, and a lot of them are merely new volumes in series I've been enjoying.
                                                                                1. Amulet Vol 7
                                                                                2. Bandette Vol 3 HC
                                                                                3. Chester 5000 Vol 2: Isabelle & George
                                                                                4. Cleopatra in Space Vol 3
                                                                                5. The Nameless City Book One
                                                                                6. Wonder Woman Earth One HC

                                                                                          A lot of the collected editions I bought this year are collections of series mentioned in my other Best of posts (Amazing Spider-Man, The Fix, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, Descender, Birthright, etc.) but here's a list of my favorite collected editions not otherwise mentioned:
                                                                                          1. Airboy HC
                                                                                          2. Alex + Ada Vol 1 HC
                                                                                          3. Astro City Honor Guard HC
                                                                                          4. Avatar Smoke & Shadow HC
                                                                                          5. Daredevil by Waid & Samnee Vol 5 HC
                                                                                          6. Darth Vader Vol 1 HC
                                                                                          7. Descender Vol 1 TP
                                                                                          8. Green Arrow Vol 4: Blood of the Dragon TP
                                                                                          9. Green Arrow Vol 5 Black Arrow TP
                                                                                          10. Green Arrow Vol 6 Last Action Hero TP
                                                                                          11. Hawkeye Vol 2 HC
                                                                                          12. Hawkeye Vol 3 HC
                                                                                          13. Lazarus Vol 2 HC
                                                                                          14. Star Wars Heroes of the Rebellion HC
                                                                                          15. Star Wars Shattered Empire HC
                                                                                          16. Star Wars Vol 1 HC
                                                                                          17. Suicide Squad Vol 3: Rogues
                                                                                          18. Suicide Squad Vol 4 Janus Directive
                                                                                          19. Suicide Squad Vol 5: Apokolips Now
                                                                                          20. Supergirl by David & Frank Book One TP
                                                                                          21. Tales of the Batman Alan Brennert
                                                                                          22. Twilight Children TP
                                                                                          23. Usagi Yojimbo Vol 30 TP
                                                                                          24. We Stand on Guard HC

                                                                                                                                                Wednesday, December 28, 2016

                                                                                                                                                Best of 2016 - Top 10 Ongoing Comics

                                                                                                                                                My comics taste still runs pretty mainstream. Never claimed to be an iconoclast or a capital-A Art comics fan in general. My comics love was heavily formed in the years of 1984-1992, for the most part. My character selection has grown more diverse, but a lot of the talent behind the books I love remains dudes, and often white dudes at that. The industry still has a long way to go toward diversity, or maybe my tastes do, honestly probably a bit of both. At any rate, these lists are my favorites, based on a reading of over 500 single issues for the year, and access to more than that.

                                                                                                                                                Last year, Image had 6 of my top 10, and Marvel had the other 4. This year, Marvel overtook Image, holding 8 of the top sots, with Image claiming only 2. Big year for superheroes, as all 8 of the Marvel series are in that genre, while Image hangs on with two science-fiction books.

                                                                                                                                                Last year, none of the series in my top 10 published 12 issues. This year, eleven or twelve issues was the standard at Marvel, but Amazing Spider-Man published 17 (!), All-New All-Different Avengers hit 13, Saga managed 8 and Descender hit 11. Not bad.

                                                                                                                                                1. Ms. Marvel #3-14 (Last year: #1 on my Best Ongoing Series)
                                                                                                                                                My favorite book three years running with no sign of slowing down. The year opened with a story of Ms. Marvel dealing with cultural assimilation as a trendy new corporation tried to rebuild Jersey City and use her image to do it. They did a fun weird science story involving cloned Kamalas. Dealt with Kamala's upcoming role as the young central figure of the soon-to-be Champions. Then it was Civil War II, where G. Willow Wilson did a great job threading the needle of Kamala's hero worship of Captain Marvel and her own moral compass in a believable way that honored both characters, followed by a memorable one-shot with Kamala returning to Pakistan and another memorable (for kinda the wrong reasons) optimistic one-shot about voting that had the unfortunate timing of coming out right after Trump got elected when we all thought we were getting Hillary. Overall, a great year and the artwork, whether it was by regulars Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona or newcomers like Mirka Adolpha or Nico Leon, is always fantastic.

                                                                                                                                                2. Captain America Sam Wilson #5-16 (Last Year: #7 on My Best New Series)
                                                                                                                                                After wrapping up the introduction of the new Falcon and the Serpent Society, Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna turned their attention to the paranoid thriller conspiracy Standoff (which I largely liked, and loved all the Sam Wilson issues), addressed Black Lives Matter by way of Gruenwald creation The Americops and Fabian Nicieza creation Rage, made fantastic use of U.S. Agent, and even gave us a solid one-off wrestling issue with D-Man and Battlestar. Combining politics, humor, action and an absolute love for the Gruenwald Cap that might even surpass my own, this book was consistently at the top of my favorites every week it came out.

                                                                                                                                                3. Spider-Woman #3-14 (Last year: #2 on my Best Ongoing Series)
                                                                                                                                                I'll be honest, no small part of my love for this book comes from Javier Rodriguez artwork, but no small part of my joy came from Dennis Hopeless nailing the balance of superheroics and personal drama of single motherhood for Jessica Drew. Reminded me of how Dan Slott balanced legal drama with outrageous superheroics in his She-Hulk run. Kudos especially for the reinvention of Roger a.k.a. Porcupine as Jess's loyal guy Friday and Ben Urich as her reluctant older ally. As with Ms. Marvel, the close relationship between the lead character and Carol Danvers meant fireworks during Civil War II.  The end of the year saw Veronica Fish replacing Javier Rodriguez, but while I'm sad to see him go, this is my favorite work from Fish thus far, and I remain optimistic this will be in my top 10 next year, as long as it survives the dreaded axe of cancellation. This is definitely one of those "best books not enough people are reading."

                                                                                                                                                4. Amazing Spider-Man #6-22 (Last year: #7 on my Best Ongoing Series)
                                                                                                                                                We're in year eight of Dan Slott's work on Spider-Man, and he continues to take ideas that sound terrible on the face of it and make them compelling, instant classic reading. He's teamed with Christos Gage, one of my favorite writers in comics ever since his Deadshot mini, and the two of them have been doing great Spider-Man. This year, they continued the trend of Peter Parker as a worldwide entrepreneur who sometimes farmed out Spidey work to the Prowler, teamed up with my favorite superspy Mockingbird and took on the Zodiac with the help of SHIELD. Aging Peter up and making him something of a Tony Stark figure shouldn't work, but it does, and I'm surprised to find it feels like the '80s Spidey I grew up with, or at least a perfect evolution of same. Then they brought back Mr. Negative, a less-than-inspired addition to Spidey's villains, made him interesting (bonus points for using Cloak & Dagger really well), and did a pitch-perfect Iron Man team-up that also played into the potential dangers we saw in the Secret Wars Spider-Man Renew Your Vows series last year.

                                                                                                                                                Not content to simply touch on the Spidey/MJ relationship and then *not* give fans the reunion they wanted, Slott and Gage just put their tongues right on the third rail of Spider-Man stories and gave us a new take on the clone saga, which up to this point has been compelling reading with a fascinating take on the Jackal (another Spidey villain I didn't think I liked). All of this with fantastic art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and others.

                                                                                                                                                5. All-New Wolverine #4-15 (Last Year: Too new to judge)
                                                                                                                                                Tom Taylor first caught my eye with his work on the Injustice series at DC, and he brought his gift for dialogue and humor even among dark subject matter and fantastic action with him. The artists were a varied bunch: David Lopez, Marcio Takara, Ig Guara and Nik Virella, but I thought each and every one of them did a fantastic job with the action and humor of this book, and it's no small task for the others to live up to Lopez, an artist whose work I've admired since Fallen Angel. Taylor doesn't shy away from Laura's dark past without making the book overwhelmingly grim or exploitative, and his superheroes-meets-espionage tone and plot was on point this year. Mix in a fun crossover with Unbeatable Squirrel Girl that gave us a pet Wolverine and Gabby, who hits the same notes that Molly did in Runaways, and you've got a book that is firing on all cylinders on a monthly basis.

                                                                                                                                                6. Descender #9-17 (Last Year: #3 on my Best New Series)
                                                                                                                                                Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's sci-fi epic continued this year in fine form, wrapping up a visit to the Robot Resistance homeworld before jumping into a series of issues that illuminated the backstories of the characters, deepening characters I had already fallen in love with. The new story, recently begun, and aiming to bring together the disparate characters again, is also promising.

                                                                                                                                                7. Saga #33-40 (Last year: #3 on my Best Ongoing Series)
                                                                                                                                                Slipping another few spots, not because I don't still enjoy it but because it's become more familiar, and at the same time I've realized that I really enjoy it more in the larger trade paperback sized chunks. That said, it's still #8 on my top series, and tossing our cast into a warzone provides an interesting look at Marko and Hazel after they've spent a considerable amount of time in peacetime.

                                                                                                                                                8. Doctor Strange #4-15 (Last Year: Too new to judge)
                                                                                                                                                Kicking off the year with art by legendary artist Kevin Nowlan (who'd return for another issue later in the year) was a good start, and Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo quickly rose to the top of my all-time Doctor Strange teams. The battle with Empirikul, the anti-magic technological force, presented a lot of interesting ideas about the cost of magic, was weird and Ditko-esque while also being modern and gritty, and though I'd worried about the notion of de-powering Doctor Strange, so far it's made for really interesting reading, as Aaron returns a parade of his classic villains (Mordo, Dormammu) along with some weirder ones (Satanna and The Orb?) and Bachalo continues to do career-best level work.

                                                                                                                                                9. Daredevil #3-14 (Last Year: #9 on my Best Ongoing Series - different version)
                                                                                                                                                After Waid and Samnee gave us such a perfect Daredevil run, I didn't expect to love the follow-up just as much. But Charles Soule brings a different, grittier tone to Daredevil that I really like, and little twists like moving him back to New York as a prosecutor or introducing a new sidekick, a Chinese-American kid with an invisibility suit, really make it stand out from what went before. I'm a little sad that none of Waid's re-invention stuck, and a little annoyed that we've gotten to issue #14 with no actual explanation of how or why Matt put his identity back in the box, but when we're getting a perfect Elektra/Hand 2-parter, or a Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up, or a creepy new villain in the closing story of the year, it's hard to focus too much on that. Especially when the art, featuring a stunning noir color palate from Matt Milla, is continually top-notch, whether it's veteran Ron Garney working in a new style or newcomer Matteo Buffagni.

                                                                                                                                                10. All-New All-Different Avengers #3-16 (Last Year: Too new to judge)
                                                                                                                                                I have to admit, a lot of my love for this series has been transferred to Champions, and it feels almost like this was a booster rocket to launch that book. But... everything I love there started here, notably the friendships/rivalries between Nova, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar also introduced the new Wasp, who I like a lot, and did a star-faring story that I quite enjoyed.

                                                                                                                                                Of the series in my Top 10, five of them (Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, Amazing Spider-Man, and Saga) were also in 2015's Best Ongoing Series, and two of them (Sam Wilson and Descender) were in my Best New Series of 2015. The other three (All-New All-Different Avengers, Doctor Strange, and All New Wolverine) were in my "too new to judge" section.

                                                                                                                                                Also in the running: All-New Hawkeye #3-5, Astonishing Ant-Man #4-13, Astro City #31-40, Beauty #6-11, Birthright #13-20, Chew #55-60, Darth Vader #15-25, Huck #3-6, Klaus #4-7, Lazarus #22-25, Paper Girls #4-11, Silk #3-14, Star Wars #14-25, The Fade Out #12 and Velvet #13-15. In several cases, they didn't make the cut not due to quality but due to the small number of issues produced for the year, relative to what's on the list, and in a couple others, it's because they read better in collections for me. My top 10 are books that I love to read in single issues and then reread in collected format.

                                                                                                                                                Tuesday, December 27, 2016

                                                                                                                                                Best of 2016 - Comics Miniseries and One-Shots

                                                                                                                                                Last year, I had a top 10 filled up with Marvel, mostly Secret Wars, with the notable exception of We Stand on Guard, another great Brian K. Vaughan book with fantastic art by Steve Skroce. This year? A little more diverse, but still largely Marvel.

                                                                                                                                                Best Miniseries:
                                                                                                                                                1. Nighthawk #1-6 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                2. Captain Marvel #1-10 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                3. Star Wars Han Solo #1-5 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                4. Lake of Fire #1-5 (Image)
                                                                                                                                                5. Voltron Legendary Defender #1-5 (Lion Forge)
                                                                                                                                                6. Britannia #1-4 (Valiant)
                                                                                                                                                7. Klaus #1-7 (Boom!)
                                                                                                                                                8. Civil War II Ulysses #1-3 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                9. Shaft Imitation of Life #1-4 (Dynamite)
                                                                                                                                                10. Interceptor #1-4 (2000 AD)

                                                                                                                                                Also in the running: Three other Civil War II tie-ins (Amazing Spider-Man, Gods of War, X-Men), Civil War II (the ending ruined it, but I liked a lot up until that point), Empress, Vote Loki, Divinity II (Valiant), and Gutter Magic (IDW)

                                                                                                                                                I read close to 100 first issues and one-shots this year, so I'm adding a category for this as well.

                                                                                                                                                Best First Issues:*
                                                                                                                                                1. Thanos #1 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                2. Hawkeye #1 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                3. Occupy Avengers #1 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                4. Batman/TMNT Adventures #1 (DC/IDW)
                                                                                                                                                5. Future Quest #1 (DC)
                                                                                                                                                6. Black Panther #1 (Marvel)
                                                                                                                                                7. Doom Patrol #1 (DC/Young Animal)
                                                                                                                                                8. Ether #1 (Dark Horse)
                                                                                                                                                9. Kim & Kim #1 (Black Mask)
                                                                                                                                                10. Eclipse #1 (Image)

                                                                                                                                                *Caveat: I didn't include any of the first issues from my Top 10 new series. So you can consider this really the bottom of a Top 20 list if you want.

                                                                                                                                                Those that almost but didn't quite make the top 10 include: Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1 (DC/Young Animal), Gamora #1, Star-Lord #1, and Invincible Iron Man #1 (Marvel), Black #1, Jade Street Protection Services #1 and The Skeptics #1 (Black Mask), Motor Crush #1, Moonshine #1 and Reborn #1 (Image), Divinity III Stalinverse #1 (Valiant), Night's Dominion #1 and Heart-Throb #1 (Oni Press), Motor Girl #1 (Abstract Press), Red Dog #1 (451 Studios), Warhammer 40K Tide of Iron #1 (Titan) and Vampire Hunter D Message From Mars #1.

                                                                                                                                                Best One-Shots:
                                                                                                                                                1. Criminal 10th Anniversary Special
                                                                                                                                                2. Doctor Strange Last Days of Magic #1
                                                                                                                                                3. Suicide Squad War Crimes #1
                                                                                                                                                4. Dark Knight Returns The Last Crusade #1
                                                                                                                                                5. Lazarus Sourcebook #1

                                                                                                                                                Monday, December 26, 2016

                                                                                                                                                Best of 2016 - Top 10 New Comics

                                                                                                                                                Best New Series:
                                                                                                                                                Marvel has five of my top 10 (down from eight last year), Image has two (up from one), Dark Horse has one, DC has one and Valiant has one. And once again, none of my favorite series are in any danger of cancellation, although Black Widow is coming to an end with issue 12.

                                                                                                                                                Eight of them are superhero books, up from the five last year, and you could argue for Kill or Be Killed as a supernatural vigilante tale as well. The other is a humor/crime book. The superhero genre has its hooks in me this year, it seems. And none of the books in my top 10 published 12 issues, although Power Man & Iron Fist did if you count Walker's contribution to Deadpool #13 and the Sweet Christmas Special (which I do).

                                                                                                                                                1. The Fix #1-7
                                                                                                                                                Two corrupt cops, a drug-sniffing dog, an insane Hollywood producer, a vegan crime boss... I love this book. It's laugh out loud funny, clever and absolutely fearless. Nick Spencer writes terrific dialogue and characters, reminiscent of Shane Black's movies, and Steve Lieber is probably the only guy who could draw this, mixing perfect realism with outlandish, cartoonish situations in perfect measure.

                                                                                                                                                2. Power Man & Iron Fist #1-11/Sweet Christmas Annual #1
                                                                                                                                                I've known for a long time that I wanted the classic Power Man & Iron Fist team back, but I couldn't have imagined that David Walker and Sanford Greene could bring it back this well. Danny and Luke have both been through a lot, Luke in the Avengers and Danny in Immortal Iron Fist, and Walker acknowledges that evolution while getting to the core of what makes them friends. That evolution is also evident in his use of a variety of C-list and D-list villains, mixed in with new creations. It doesn't hurt that he gave us the best take on Civil War II in his tie-in issues, as Luke and Danny decide the side they're on is the one that doesn't fight friends. Then there's the artwork by Sanford Greene, which I wasn't sure of when I saw promo pieces, worrying that his stylized art wasn't going to be what I wanted, but it's a perfect fit for the book. He gets the physicality of Cage, the wiry agility of Danny, the look of the settings, and does fantastic designs for the characters old and new.

                                                                                                                                                3. Kill or Be Killed #1-4
                                                                                                                                                Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are on my short list of creators whose work I will buy sight unseen. They've proven their track record, from the Wildstorm supervillain/spy epic of Sleeper to the '50s Hollywood noir of The Fade Out, and this new take on '70s-era vigilantism with a modern, dark-as-hell twist is no exception. Exceptional character work, a fascinating premise and stunning artwork, this is another promising outing from one of the most consistently excellent teams in comics.

                                                                                                                                                4. Champions #1-3
                                                                                                                                                This one is an exception to my usual rule. I don't compare three issue runs with larger runs. But Champions is so damn good, in all three of it's issues thus far, that it's definitely in my top five this year and certain to be there next year as well. Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos memorably teamed on Impulse, and this collaboration finds them just as in sync. It's a perfect evolution of the teenage superhero book, an aspirational tale about youth rising up to meet the challenges that their elders have failed to handle, and it's as important in its way as Captain America Sam Wilson even if it's more social than overtly political. It's also a damn fine superhero yarn, with classic superhero action in each issue.

                                                                                                                                                5. Moon Knight #1-9
                                                                                                                                                I've always loved this character, but the last several takes haven't done much for me. Charlie Huston, Mike Benson and Brian Bendis all focused on the character being crazy and violent, and while that's a part of him, he's far deeper and more interesting than that. Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood have brought back the almost mystical strangeness that defined the character when Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz. It's a run that required some patience, as the question of what was real and what wasn't still isn't entirely settled, and when they added in dream sequences with guest art from Francesco Francavilla, James Stokoe and Wilfredo Torres, it almost got to be too much, but ultimately I thought it was a great ride, and I look forward to more in 2017.

                                                                                                                                                6. Black Widow #1-9
                                                                                                                                                Mark Waid and Chris Samnee did a fantastic job on Daredevil, and I was anxious to see what they'd do with Black Widow. I wasn't disappointed, as the series opens with one of the best chase sequences I've ever read in comics, and then went into a great suspense espionage series that gives Natasha a depth she's rarely been given.

                                                                                                                                                7. Black Hammer #1-6
                                                                                                                                                This Dark Horse series from Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston reads like a Vertigo series from the Grant Morrison heyday. Using archetypal superheroes and a small town setting, it tells a story of a dysfunctional family in an unusual and compelling way. It's strange and charming, and even though I'm not 100% sure what's going on now, I'm enjoying watching it all unfold.

                                                                                                                                                8. New Super Man #1-6
                                                                                                                                                Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic are doing one of the two DC Rebirth books I stuck with (the other was Detective Comics). It's an imaginative look at what the Chinese superhero situation might look like in the DC Universe, incorporating previous work from Grant Morrison and others, and it's got a really entertaining lead cast of the "Justice League of China," especially Kenan Kong, the titular New Superman. Incorporating fun DC elements like Starro along with a brand new setting, this book is inventive and lots of fun.

                                                                                                                                                9. Faith #1-6
                                                                                                                                                Valiant's breakout hit, Faith is an unusual character, overweight in a genre that tends toward the athletic (and for women, usually sexualized and buxom), meta-aware of geek stuff like science-fiction and superheroes even though she lives in a superhero world, and full of costumes and codenames in the more realistic Valiant universe. Her book has been entertaining, and doesn't require any knowledge of the Valiant universe at large, although as someone who has been enjoying Valiant in general, I love what Faith represents as an entryway to new readers who can discover all the good stuff they're putting out.

                                                                                                                                                10. Captain America Steve Rogers #1-8
                                                                                                                                                Though my love for this book is nowhere near as much as for Sam Wilson, Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz made a ballsy choice in deciding to bring back Steve Rogers as a secret agent of Hydra. The story is moving a little slow for my taste, but it definitely has twists and turns I don't see coming, and is playing in the same territory that Kurt Busiek's Thunderbolts did when it was doing stories of more nuanced villains.

                                                                                                                                                New Series That Are Too New To Judge:
                                                                                                                                                These series are not quite far enough for me to judge them Best New Series yet, but I really like them all, and I can see any of them making my Best Continuing Series next year. Because I don't think it's fair to compare a single issue or a two- or three-issue run to the more extended runs above, I'm ranking these separately. Last year, four of the 16 series (Daredevil, All New All Different Avengers, Doctor Strange, All-New Wolverine) on this list made my Best Continuing Series, and another (Huck) made my Best Limited Series.
                                                                                                                                                1. Batman/TMNT Adventures #1-2
                                                                                                                                                2. Big Trouble in Little China/Escape from New York #1-3
                                                                                                                                                3. Clone Conspiracy #1-3
                                                                                                                                                4. Disney Pirates of the Caribbean #1-2
                                                                                                                                                5. Doctor Strange & The Sorcerors Supreme #1-3
                                                                                                                                                6. Doom Patrol #1-3
                                                                                                                                                7. Grand Passion #1-2
                                                                                                                                                8. Occupy Avengers #1-2
                                                                                                                                                9. Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens #1-3
                                                                                                                                                10. Reborn #1-3
                                                                                                                                                11. Star Wars Doctor Aphra #1-2
                                                                                                                                                12. Thanos #1-2

                                                                                                                                                Thursday, December 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                Monthly Update - November 2016

                                                                                                                                                RESOLUTIONS

                                                                                                                                                1. Stay on budget. I've bought 10 of my 12 seasons (Angie Tribeca, Better Call Saul, Full Frontal Seasons 1-2, Supergirl, Last Panthers, Preacher, Night Manager, Mr. Robot, You're The Worst) which puts me right at the budget for the year. Overwatch put out a free Halloween mode, and that's been keeping me plenty busy in videogame land. Although I'm already eyeing some stuff for next year.

                                                                                                                                                POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                1. Read 15 Books (5)
                                                                                                                                                • None
                                                                                                                                                2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (66)
                                                                                                                                                1. Supergirl by David & Frank Book One TP
                                                                                                                                                2. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                3. Alex + Ada Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                4. Star Wars Heroes of the Rebellion HC
                                                                                                                                                3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                • None
                                                                                                                                                  4. Play 15 New Boardgames (30)
                                                                                                                                                  • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                  • Machi Koro
                                                                                                                                                  • King of New York
                                                                                                                                                  • Mysterium
                                                                                                                                                  • Die in Space!
                                                                                                                                                  • Spartacus A Game of Blood & Treachery
                                                                                                                                                  My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                  1. Champions #2
                                                                                                                                                  2. Occupy Avengers #1
                                                                                                                                                  3. Power Man and Iron Fist #10
                                                                                                                                                  4. Batman/TMNT Adventures #1
                                                                                                                                                  5. Captain America Sam Wilson #15
                                                                                                                                                  6. Thanos #1
                                                                                                                                                  7. Captain Marvel #10
                                                                                                                                                  8. Star Wars Han Solo #5
                                                                                                                                                  9. Black Widow #8
                                                                                                                                                  10. Serenity No Power in the Verse #2
                                                                                                                                                      Other Comics I Read This Month (577+57=634):
                                                                                                                                                      • All-New Wolverine #14
                                                                                                                                                      • Alters #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Amazing Spider-Man #21
                                                                                                                                                      • Avengers #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Avengers #1.1
                                                                                                                                                      • Batman/TMNT Adventures #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Big Trouble in Little China/Escape from New York #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Black #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Black Hammer #5
                                                                                                                                                      • Black Widow #8
                                                                                                                                                      • Britannia #3
                                                                                                                                                      • Captain America Sam Wilson #15
                                                                                                                                                      • Captain America Steve Rogers #7
                                                                                                                                                      • Captain Marvel #10
                                                                                                                                                      • Champions #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Chew #60
                                                                                                                                                      • Civil War #7
                                                                                                                                                      • Clone Conspiracy #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Daredevil #13
                                                                                                                                                      • Disney Pirates of the Caribbean #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Doctor Strange #14
                                                                                                                                                      • Doctor Strange and the Sorcerors Supreme #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Doom Patrol #3
                                                                                                                                                      • Ether #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Ghost Rider #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Grand Passion #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Great Lakes Avengers #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Hadrian's Wall #3
                                                                                                                                                      • Harbinger Renegades #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Invincible Iron Man #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Jessica Jones #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Kill or Be Killed #4
                                                                                                                                                      • Lake of Fire #4
                                                                                                                                                      • Moon Knight #8
                                                                                                                                                      • Moonshine #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Motor Girl #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Ms. Marvel #13
                                                                                                                                                      • New Super Man #5
                                                                                                                                                      • Occupy Avengers #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Power Man and Iron Fist #10
                                                                                                                                                      • Prowler #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Reborn #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Red Dog #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Saga #40
                                                                                                                                                      • Savage #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Serenity No Power in Verse #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Silk #14
                                                                                                                                                      • Slam #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Spider-Woman #13
                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars #25
                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Annual #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Han Solo #5
                                                                                                                                                      • Thanos #1
                                                                                                                                                      • The Castoffs #2
                                                                                                                                                      • The Skeptics #2
                                                                                                                                                      • Vampire Hunter D Message From Mars #1
                                                                                                                                                      • Voltron Legendary Defender #4
                                                                                                                                                      TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                      • Arrow "A Matter of Trust" "Penance" "Human Target" "So It Begins" "Vigilante" "Invasion"
                                                                                                                                                      • Atlanta "Juneteenth" "The Jacket"
                                                                                                                                                      • Better Things "Duke's Chorus" "Scary Fun" "Hair of the Dog" "Only Women Bleed"
                                                                                                                                                      • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Monster in the Closet" "Mr. Santiago"
                                                                                                                                                      • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend "When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?" "All Signs Point to Josh... or is it Josh's Friend?" "When Will Josh And His Friend Leave Me Alone?"
                                                                                                                                                      • The Crown "Wolferton Splash" "Hyde Park Corner"
                                                                                                                                                      • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Justice Society of America" "Shogun" "Abominations" "Compromised" "Outlaw Country"
                                                                                                                                                      • Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency "Lost and Found" "Rogue Wall Enthusiasts"
                                                                                                                                                      • The Flash "Monster" "Shade" "Killer Frost" "Invasion"
                                                                                                                                                      • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "President Obama" "Meet the (Russian) Press" "Post-Election" "November 14, 2016"
                                                                                                                                                      • The Good Place "...Someone Like Me As a Member"
                                                                                                                                                      • Insecure "Racist as Fuck" "Thirsty as Fuck" "Shady as Fuck" "Guilty as Fuck" "Real As Fuck" "Broken as Fuck"
                                                                                                                                                      • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "School Desegregation" "Multilevel Marketing"
                                                                                                                                                      • People of Earth "Pilot" "Sponsored By" "Acceptance" "Past, Present and Future"
                                                                                                                                                      • Pitch "Alfonzo Guzman-Chavez" "Wear It" "San Francisco" "Unstoppable Forces & Immovable Objects"
                                                                                                                                                      • Stan Against Evil "Dig Me Up, Dig Me Down"
                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Rebels "The Antilles Extraction" "Hera's Heroes"
                                                                                                                                                      • Supergirl "Survivors" "Crossfire" "Changing" "The Darkest Places" "Medusa"
                                                                                                                                                      • Timeless "Party at Castle Varlar" "The Alamo" "The Watergate Tape"
                                                                                                                                                      • Tracey Ullman's Show "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                      • Westworld "The Adversary" "Trompe L'Oeil" "Trace Decay" "Well Tempered Clavier"
                                                                                                                                                      • You're the Worst "Talking to Me, Talking to Me" "The Inherent, Unsullied Qualitative Value of Anything" "You Knew It Was A Snake" "No Longer Just Us"
                                                                                                                                                      Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                      1. Westworld
                                                                                                                                                      2. Atlanta
                                                                                                                                                      3. Better Things
                                                                                                                                                      4. You're the Worst
                                                                                                                                                      5. Insecure
                                                                                                                                                      6. The Good Place
                                                                                                                                                      7. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                      8. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                      9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
                                                                                                                                                      10. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
                                                                                                                                                      Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                      • Doctor Strange
                                                                                                                                                      • Scott Pilgrim vs The World
                                                                                                                                                      • Midnight Run
                                                                                                                                                      • Time Bandits
                                                                                                                                                      • L.A. Story
                                                                                                                                                      • Planes, Trains and Automobiles
                                                                                                                                                      • Ocean's 11
                                                                                                                                                      Places I Ate This Month (254+25=279):
                                                                                                                                                      • Brooklyn Pie Company
                                                                                                                                                      • Chili's
                                                                                                                                                      • Chi'Lantro
                                                                                                                                                      • Corner Bakery
                                                                                                                                                      • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                      • Fuddrucker's (x3)
                                                                                                                                                      • Haymaker
                                                                                                                                                      • Hoover's
                                                                                                                                                      • Jason's Deli
                                                                                                                                                      • Juarez Mexican Bakery
                                                                                                                                                      • Mod Pizza
                                                                                                                                                      • New Fortune Chinese
                                                                                                                                                      • Outback Steakhouse
                                                                                                                                                      • P. Terry's
                                                                                                                                                      • Pluckers
                                                                                                                                                      • Popeye's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                      • Red Robin
                                                                                                                                                      • Shake Shack
                                                                                                                                                      • Torchy's Tacos (x3)
                                                                                                                                                      • Wingstop

                                                                                                                                                      Tuesday, November 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                      Monthly Update - October 2015

                                                                                                                                                      RESOLUTIONS

                                                                                                                                                      1. Stay on budget. I've bought 10 of my 12 seasons (Angie Tribeca, Better Call Saul, Full Frontal Seasons 1-2, Supergirl, Last Panthers, Preacher, Night Manager, Mr. Robot, You're The Worst) which puts me right at the budget for the year. Overwatch put out a free Halloween mode, and that's been keeping me plenty busy in videogame land. Although I'm already eyeing some stuff for next year.

                                                                                                                                                      2. New recipes. I started finding more new stuff at the end of the year, although more misses than hits. Found a simpler beef stew recipe that's not as good as the one I got from my mom, but is considerably easier for busier nights. Tried out a chicken, potato and spinach bake with garlic parmesan cream sauce which needs work, and a cheesy green chile rice that was the blandest white people recipe I think I've ever eaten. And found a recipe for chicken, asparagus and mushroom stir fry that's definitely going into the regular rotation. Made a White Chicken Chili in the Instant Pot that I really liked. Got a few more to try out as well, before the year is out.

                                                                                                                                                      POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                      1. Read 15 Books (5)
                                                                                                                                                      • Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
                                                                                                                                                      2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (67)
                                                                                                                                                      1. Wonder Woman One True Amazon HC
                                                                                                                                                      2. Hawkeye Vol 3 HC
                                                                                                                                                      3. Batman Long Halloween
                                                                                                                                                      4. Harrow County Vol 1 TP
                                                                                                                                                      5. Bandette Vol 3 HC
                                                                                                                                                      3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                      • None
                                                                                                                                                        4. Play 15 New Boardgames (28)
                                                                                                                                                        • Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu
                                                                                                                                                        • Fluffy Bunny Tea Party
                                                                                                                                                        • Carcassonne
                                                                                                                                                        • Dead of Winter
                                                                                                                                                        • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                        • Dead of Winter The Long Night
                                                                                                                                                        5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                        • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                        • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                        • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                        • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                        My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                        1. Black #1
                                                                                                                                                        2. Champions #1
                                                                                                                                                        3. Kill or Be Killed #3
                                                                                                                                                        4. Fix #6
                                                                                                                                                        5. Captain America Sam Wilson #14
                                                                                                                                                        6. Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1
                                                                                                                                                        7. The Skeptics #1
                                                                                                                                                        8. Ms. Marvel #12
                                                                                                                                                            Other Comics I Read This Month (528+49=577):
                                                                                                                                                            • Agents of SHIELD #10
                                                                                                                                                            • All-New All-Different Avengers #15
                                                                                                                                                            • All-New Wolverine #13
                                                                                                                                                            • Amazing Spider-Man #19-20
                                                                                                                                                            • Astonishing Ant-Man #13
                                                                                                                                                            • Astro City #40
                                                                                                                                                            • Birthright #20
                                                                                                                                                            • Black #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Black Hammer #4
                                                                                                                                                            • Black Widow #7
                                                                                                                                                            • Cage #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Captain America Sam Wilson #14
                                                                                                                                                            • Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Champions #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Chew #59
                                                                                                                                                            • Civil War II #6
                                                                                                                                                            • Civil War Ulysses #3
                                                                                                                                                            • Clone Conspiracy #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Daredevil #12
                                                                                                                                                            • Darth Vader #25
                                                                                                                                                            • Deadman Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Descender #16
                                                                                                                                                            • Doctor Strange #12-13
                                                                                                                                                            • Doctor Strange Sorcerers Supreme #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Doom Patrol #2
                                                                                                                                                            • Eclipse #2
                                                                                                                                                            • Faith #4
                                                                                                                                                            • Fix #6
                                                                                                                                                            • Glitterbomb #2
                                                                                                                                                            • Great Lakes Adventures #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Hadrian's Wall #2
                                                                                                                                                            • Jessica Jones #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Kill or Be Killed #3
                                                                                                                                                            • Lake of Fire #3
                                                                                                                                                            • Lazarus #25
                                                                                                                                                            • Lost Boys #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Moon Knight #7
                                                                                                                                                            • Moonshine #1
                                                                                                                                                            • New Super Man #4
                                                                                                                                                            • Night's Dominion #2
                                                                                                                                                            • Nighthawk #6
                                                                                                                                                            • Power Man and Iron Fist #9
                                                                                                                                                            • Reborn #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Saga #39
                                                                                                                                                            • Serenity No Power in the Verse #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Spider-Woman #12
                                                                                                                                                            • Star Wars Han Solo #4
                                                                                                                                                            • The Skeptics #1
                                                                                                                                                            • Warhammer 40000 Tide of Iron #1
                                                                                                                                                            TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                            • American Housewife "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                            • Arrow "Legacy" "Value"
                                                                                                                                                            • Atlanta "Nobody Beats The Biebs" "Value" "B.A.N." "The Club"
                                                                                                                                                            • Better Things "Woman is the Something of the Something" "Future Fever" "Alarms"
                                                                                                                                                            • Black Mirror "Nosedive" "Playtest" "Shut Up and Dance" "San Junipero" "Men Against Fire" "Hated in the Nation"
                                                                                                                                                            • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Coral Palms Part 2" "Coral Palms Part 3" "The Night Shift" "Halloween IV"
                                                                                                                                                            • Chance "The Summer of Love"
                                                                                                                                                            • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend "Where is Josh's Friend?"
                                                                                                                                                            • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Out of Time"
                                                                                                                                                            • Designated Survivor "The First Day"
                                                                                                                                                            • Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency "Horizons"
                                                                                                                                                            • Divorce "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                            • The Flash "Flashpoint" "Paradox" "Magenta" "New Rogues"
                                                                                                                                                            • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Rigged!" "Second Presidential Debate Special" "United Nations"
                                                                                                                                                            • The Good Place "Tahani Al Jamil" "Jason Mendoza" "Category 55 Emergency Doomsday" "What We Owe to Each Other" "The Eternal Shriek" "Most Improved Player"
                                                                                                                                                            • Insecure "Messy as Fuck"
                                                                                                                                                            • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Police Accountability" "Guantanamo" "Third Parties" "Opioids"
                                                                                                                                                            • Lethal Weapon "Surf N Turf" "Best Buds" "There Goes The Neighborhood" "Spilt Milk"
                                                                                                                                                            • Luke Cage "Season One"
                                                                                                                                                            • Milo Murphy's Law "Going the Extra Milo/The Undergrounders" "Rooting for the Enemy/Sunny Side Up"
                                                                                                                                                            • Pitch "Interim" "Beanball" "The Break"
                                                                                                                                                            • The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror XXVII"
                                                                                                                                                            • Speechless "B-O-N-Bonfire"
                                                                                                                                                            • Star Wars Rebels "The Holocrons of Fate"
                                                                                                                                                            • Supergirl "The Adventures of Supergirl" "Last Children of Krypton" "Welcome to Earth"
                                                                                                                                                            • This is Us "Kyle"
                                                                                                                                                            • Timeless "Pilot" "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" "Atomic City" "Party at Castle Varlar" "The Alamo" 
                                                                                                                                                            • Westworld "The Original" "Chestnut" "The Stray" "Dissonance Theory" "Contrapasso"
                                                                                                                                                            • You're the Worst  "The Last Sunday Funday" "The Only Thing That Helps" "Genetically Inferior Beta Males" "The Seventh Layer"
                                                                                                                                                            Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                            1. You're the Worst
                                                                                                                                                            2. Westworld
                                                                                                                                                            3. Atlanta
                                                                                                                                                            4. The Good Place
                                                                                                                                                            5. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                            6. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                            7. Better Things
                                                                                                                                                            8. Supergirl
                                                                                                                                                            9. Pitch
                                                                                                                                                            10. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
                                                                                                                                                            Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                            • None
                                                                                                                                                            Places I Ate This Month (228 + 26 = 254):
                                                                                                                                                            • 24 Diner
                                                                                                                                                            • Big Daddy Burger Bar
                                                                                                                                                            • Chuy's
                                                                                                                                                            • Culver's
                                                                                                                                                            • Deckhand Oyster Bar (x2)
                                                                                                                                                            • Firehouse Subs (x2)
                                                                                                                                                            • Fuddrucker's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                            • Greenhouse Craft Food
                                                                                                                                                            • Hoover's
                                                                                                                                                            • Jack Allen's Kitchen
                                                                                                                                                            • Juarez Bakery
                                                                                                                                                            • Michi Ramen
                                                                                                                                                            • Mod Pizza
                                                                                                                                                            • Olive Garden
                                                                                                                                                            • Opal Divine's
                                                                                                                                                            • Outback Steakhouse (x2)
                                                                                                                                                            • Popeye's
                                                                                                                                                            • Sonic
                                                                                                                                                            • Vera Cruz Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                            • Wendy's
                                                                                                                                                            • Wingstop

                                                                                                                                                            Saturday, October 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                            Monthly Update - September 2016

                                                                                                                                                            RESOLUTIONS

                                                                                                                                                            1. Stay on budget. I've bought 10 of my 12 seasons (Angie Tribeca, Better Call Saul, Full Frontal Seasons 1-2, Supergirl, Last Panthers, Preacher, Night Manager, Mr. Robot, You're The Worst) which now puts me one over my budget. Still pretty sure I'll only hit 12 by the end of the year. I had only bought one game (Overwatch) which was keeping me plenty busy, but then X-COM 2 hit PS4 and I ordered that at the tail end of the month.

                                                                                                                                                            POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                            1. Read 15 Books (4)
                                                                                                                                                            • TV The Book by Alan Sepinwall & Matt Zoller-Seitz
                                                                                                                                                            2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (62)
                                                                                                                                                            1. West Coast Avengers Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                            2. The Fix Vol 1 TP
                                                                                                                                                            3. Pathfinder Vol 5 Hollow Mountain HC
                                                                                                                                                            4. Green Arrow Vol 6 Last Action Hero TP
                                                                                                                                                            5. Star Wars Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                            6. Avatar Smoke & Shadow HC
                                                                                                                                                            3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                            • The Nice Guys
                                                                                                                                                            • Captain America Civil War
                                                                                                                                                              4. Play 15 New Boardgames (27)
                                                                                                                                                              • Here Kitty Kitty
                                                                                                                                                              • Ghostbusters
                                                                                                                                                              • Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu
                                                                                                                                                              • Roll Through the Ages Iron Age
                                                                                                                                                              • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                              • Bullfrogs
                                                                                                                                                              5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                              • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                              • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                              • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                              • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                              My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                              1. Night's Dominion #1
                                                                                                                                                              2. Alters #1
                                                                                                                                                              3. The Fix #5
                                                                                                                                                              4. Doom Patrol #1
                                                                                                                                                              5. Amazing Spider-Man #18
                                                                                                                                                              6. All-New Wolverine #12
                                                                                                                                                              7. Ms. Marvel #11
                                                                                                                                                              8. Spider-Woman #11
                                                                                                                                                                  Other Comics I Read This Month (421+51= 472):
                                                                                                                                                                  • Agents of SHIELD #9
                                                                                                                                                                  • All New All Different Avengers #14
                                                                                                                                                                  • All-New Wolverine #12
                                                                                                                                                                  • Alters #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Amazing Spider-Man #18
                                                                                                                                                                  • Astonishing Ant-Man #12
                                                                                                                                                                  • Astro City #39
                                                                                                                                                                  • Beauty #10
                                                                                                                                                                  • Birthright #19
                                                                                                                                                                  • Black Hammer #3
                                                                                                                                                                  • Britannia #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain America Sam Wilson #13
                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain America Steve Rogers #5
                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain Marvel #9
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Castoffs #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Chew #58
                                                                                                                                                                  • Civil War II #5
                                                                                                                                                                  • Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man #4
                                                                                                                                                                  • Civil War II Gods of War #4
                                                                                                                                                                  • Civil War II Ulysses #2
                                                                                                                                                                  • Civil War II X-Men #4
                                                                                                                                                                  • Daredevil #11
                                                                                                                                                                  • Descender #15
                                                                                                                                                                  • Detective Comics #940
                                                                                                                                                                  • Disney Pirates of the Caribbean #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Doctor Strange #11
                                                                                                                                                                  • Doctor Strange Annual #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Doom Patrol #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Eclipse #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Faith #3
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Fix #5
                                                                                                                                                                  • Generation Zero #2
                                                                                                                                                                  • Glitterbomb #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Great Divide #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Hadrian's Wall #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Josie & The Pussycats #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Kill or Be Killed #2
                                                                                                                                                                  • Moon Knight #6
                                                                                                                                                                  • Ms. Marvel #11
                                                                                                                                                                  • Night's Dominion #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Nighthawk #5
                                                                                                                                                                  • Paper Girls #9
                                                                                                                                                                  • Power Man & Iron Fist #8
                                                                                                                                                                  • Saga #38
                                                                                                                                                                  • Silk #12
                                                                                                                                                                  • Skybourne #1
                                                                                                                                                                  • Snotgirl #3
                                                                                                                                                                  • Spider-Woman #11
                                                                                                                                                                  • Star Wars #23
                                                                                                                                                                  • Vote Loki #4
                                                                                                                                                                  TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                  • Atlanta "Pilot" "Streets on Lock" :Go for Broke" "The Streisand Effect"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Better Things "Sam/Pilot" "Period" "Brown"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Coral Palms Part 1"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Designated Survivor "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Easy "The Fucking Study" "Vegan Cinderella" "Art and Life" "Utopia"
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Exorcist "And Let My Cry Come Unto Thee"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Latinos for Trump" "Super Lobbyist" "Presidential Debate Special"
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Good Place "Pilot" "Flying"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Insecure "Insecure as F*ck"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Election 2016"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Lethal Weapon "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                  • MacGyver "The Rising"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Mr. Robot "eps2.7_init_5.fve" "eps2.8_h1dden-pr0cess.axx" "eps2.9_pyth0n-pt1.p7z" "eps2.10_pyth0n-pt2.p7z"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Narcos "Free at Last" "Cambalache" "Our Man in Madrid"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Not Safe With Nikki Glaser "24 Hours in a Strip Club"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Notorious "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Pitch "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Rebels "Steps Into Shadow"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Son of Zorn "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                  • Speechless "Pilot" "N-E-New A-I-Aide"
                                                                                                                                                                  • This is Us "Pilot" "The Big Three"
                                                                                                                                                                  • You're the Worst "Try Real Hard" "Fix Me, Dummy" "Bad News: Dude's Dead" "Men Get Strong" "Twenty Two"
                                                                                                                                                                  Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                  1. You're the Worst
                                                                                                                                                                  2. Mr. Robot
                                                                                                                                                                  3. Atlanta
                                                                                                                                                                  4. Better Things
                                                                                                                                                                  5. The Good Place
                                                                                                                                                                  6. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                  7. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                  8. Pitch
                                                                                                                                                                  9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
                                                                                                                                                                  10. The Exorcist
                                                                                                                                                                  Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                  • Inception
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Matrix
                                                                                                                                                                  • The Nice Guys
                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain America Civil War
                                                                                                                                                                  Places I Ate This Month (199+29 = 228):
                                                                                                                                                                  • Arby's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Brooklyn Pie Company
                                                                                                                                                                  • Chuy's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Copper
                                                                                                                                                                  • Corner Bakery
                                                                                                                                                                  • Culver's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Deckhand Oyster Bar
                                                                                                                                                                  • Hoodie's Subs
                                                                                                                                                                  • In and Out Burger
                                                                                                                                                                  • Jack Allen's Kitchen (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                  • Jinya Ramen
                                                                                                                                                                  • New Fortune
                                                                                                                                                                  • Opal Divine's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                  • Outback Steakhouse
                                                                                                                                                                  • Peached Tortilla
                                                                                                                                                                  • Popeye's (x3)
                                                                                                                                                                  • Red Robin
                                                                                                                                                                  • Salt Traders
                                                                                                                                                                  • Smokey Mo's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Texas Roadhouse
                                                                                                                                                                  • Torchy's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Vera Cruz Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                  • Wendy's
                                                                                                                                                                  • Wienerschnitzel
                                                                                                                                                                  • Wingstop

                                                                                                                                                                    Thursday, September 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                    Monthly Update - August 2016

                                                                                                                                                                    RESOLUTIONS

                                                                                                                                                                    1. Stay on budget. I've bought 8 of my 12 seasons (Angie Tribeca, Better Call Saul, Full Frontal Seasons 1-2, Supergirl, Last Panthers, Preacher, Night Manager) which now puts me at one per month, as planned. I got No Man's Sky, hated it and immediately returned it. So I've only bought one game this year.

                                                                                                                                                                    POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                    1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                    • Um...
                                                                                                                                                                    2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (62)
                                                                                                                                                                    1. Watchmen TP
                                                                                                                                                                    2. Justice League Elseworlds Vol 1 TP
                                                                                                                                                                    3. Injustice Gods Among Us Year One TP
                                                                                                                                                                    4. Harrow County Vol 1 TP
                                                                                                                                                                    5. Doctor Strange Don't Pay The Ferryman TP
                                                                                                                                                                    6. Astro City Honor Guard HC
                                                                                                                                                                    7. Hotspur
                                                                                                                                                                    8. Chester 5000 Vol 2: Isabelle & George
                                                                                                                                                                    9. Star Wars Shattered Empire HC
                                                                                                                                                                    3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                    • Midnight Run
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Play 15 New Boardgames (22)
                                                                                                                                                                      • The Networks
                                                                                                                                                                      • Red Flags
                                                                                                                                                                      • Sushi Go Party
                                                                                                                                                                      • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                      • King of Tokyo (New Edition)
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                      • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                      • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                      • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                      • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                      • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                      My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                      1. Kill or Be Killed #1
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Silk #11
                                                                                                                                                                      3. Amazing Spider-Man #16
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Detective Comics #938
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Briggs Land #1
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Captain America Sam Wilson #12
                                                                                                                                                                      7. Lake of Fire #1
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Captain Marvel #8
                                                                                                                                                                      9. Amazing Spider-Man #17
                                                                                                                                                                      10. Suicide Squad War Crimes #1
                                                                                                                                                                          Other Comics I Read This Month (365+56=421):
                                                                                                                                                                          • Agents of SHIELD #8
                                                                                                                                                                          • All New All Different Avengers #13
                                                                                                                                                                          • All New Wolverine #11
                                                                                                                                                                          • All New Wolverine Annual #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Amazing Spider-Man #16-17
                                                                                                                                                                          • Astonishing Ant-Man #11
                                                                                                                                                                          • Birthright #18
                                                                                                                                                                          • Black Hammer #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Black Panther #5
                                                                                                                                                                          • Black Widow #6
                                                                                                                                                                          • Blue Beetle Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Briggs Land #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Captain America Sam Wilson #12
                                                                                                                                                                          • Captain Marvel #8
                                                                                                                                                                          • Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man #3
                                                                                                                                                                          • Civil War II Gods of War #3
                                                                                                                                                                          • Civil War II Kingpin #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Civil War II Ulysses #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Civil War II X-Men #3
                                                                                                                                                                          • Daredevil #10
                                                                                                                                                                          • Darth Vader #24
                                                                                                                                                                          • Descender #14
                                                                                                                                                                          • Detective Comics #938
                                                                                                                                                                          • Doctor Strange #10
                                                                                                                                                                          • Empress #5
                                                                                                                                                                          • Faith #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Fallen #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Generation Zero #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Green Arrow #4-5
                                                                                                                                                                          • Heartthrob #5
                                                                                                                                                                          • Kill or Be Killed #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Kingsway West #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Klaus #7
                                                                                                                                                                          • Lake of Fire #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Lazarus #24
                                                                                                                                                                          • Moon Knight #5
                                                                                                                                                                          • Ms. Marvel #10
                                                                                                                                                                          • New Super Man #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Nighthawk #4
                                                                                                                                                                          • Paper Girls 38
                                                                                                                                                                          • Power Man and Iron Fist #7
                                                                                                                                                                          • Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Saga #37
                                                                                                                                                                          • Silk #11
                                                                                                                                                                          • Snotgirl #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Spider-Woman #10
                                                                                                                                                                          • Star Wars #22
                                                                                                                                                                          • Star Wars Han Solo #3
                                                                                                                                                                          • Steve Rogers Captain America #4
                                                                                                                                                                          • Suicide Squad War Crimes #1
                                                                                                                                                                          • Voltron Legendary Defender #2
                                                                                                                                                                          • Vote Loki #3
                                                                                                                                                                          TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                          • Casual "Reunion" "Death and Taxes" "40" "The Great Unknown"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!" "Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!" "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!" "I'm Going on a Date with Josh's Friend" "Josh and I Are Good People!" "My First Thanksgiving With Josh!" "I'm So Happy That Josh is So Happy!" "My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!" "I'm Going to the Beach with Josh and His Friends!" "I'm Back At Camp with Josh!" "That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!" "Josh and I Work on a Case!" "Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!" "Josh is Going to Hawaii!" "Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!" "Josh's Sister Is Getting Married!" "Why Is Josh in a Bad Mood?" "Paula Needs to Get over Josh!"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Democratic National Convention"
                                                                                                                                                                          • The Get Down "Season One Part 1"
                                                                                                                                                                          • The Good Guys "Pilot" "Bait & Switch"
                                                                                                                                                                          • I Love Dick "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Jean Claude Van Johnson "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Democratic National Convention" "Journalism" "Subprime Car Loans" "Charter Schools"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Mr. Robot "eps2.2_init_1.asec" "eps2.3_logic-b0mb.hc" "eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes" "eps2.5_h4ndshake.sme" "eps2.6_succ3ss0r.p12"
                                                                                                                                                                          • The Night Of "Part 3: A Dark Crate" "Part 4: The Art of War" "Part 5: The Season of the Witch" "Part 6: Samson and Delilah" "Part 7: Ordinary Death"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Not Safe With Nikki Glaser "Mysteries of the Female Orgasm" "Blind Date Champion" "Rock-Hard Weekend" "Is This Forever?" "Museum of Broken Relationships"
                                                                                                                                                                          • Preacher "Finish the Song" "Call and Response"
                                                                                                                                                                          Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                          1. The Night Of
                                                                                                                                                                          2. The Get Down
                                                                                                                                                                          3. Mr. Robot
                                                                                                                                                                          4. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
                                                                                                                                                                          5. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                          6. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                          7. Not Safe with Nikki Glaser
                                                                                                                                                                          8. Casual
                                                                                                                                                                          9. Jean Claude Van Johnson
                                                                                                                                                                          10. The Good Guys
                                                                                                                                                                          Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                          • Straight Outta Compton
                                                                                                                                                                          • Dope
                                                                                                                                                                          • Creed
                                                                                                                                                                          • Heathers
                                                                                                                                                                          Places I Ate This Month (176+23 =199):
                                                                                                                                                                          • Chi'Lantro
                                                                                                                                                                          • Chuy's
                                                                                                                                                                          • Culver's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                          • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                                          • Freebird's
                                                                                                                                                                          • General Tso'Boys
                                                                                                                                                                          • Outback Steakhouse (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                          • Popeye's (x4)
                                                                                                                                                                          • Potbelly Sandwiches
                                                                                                                                                                          • Ross' Old Austin Cafe
                                                                                                                                                                          • Sushi Bang Bang
                                                                                                                                                                          • Tarka
                                                                                                                                                                          • Thai Kun
                                                                                                                                                                          • Torchy's Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                          • Vera Cruz Tacos
                                                                                                                                                                          • Wendy's (x2)

                                                                                                                                                                          Monday, August 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                          Monthly Update - July 2016

                                                                                                                                                                          RESOLUTIONS (Mid-year checkin:

                                                                                                                                                                          1. Reasonable bedtime - Failed, for the most part. Bedtime remains somewhere between 1:30 AM and 3:30 AM, and always too late. However, I have succeeded in waking up around 10:30 AM - 11 AM most days.

                                                                                                                                                                          2. Cook More - Same pattern as last year, I learned 14 new recipes in the first few months, added 2-3 new recipes to the regular rotation, and fell back on ordering pizza, eating out more often and grilling during the summer. So about right, really.

                                                                                                                                                                          3. Exercise - Pokemon Go is putting me back onto a bit of a walking pattern, but I failed at this one too. Now that I know I might not die soon, I may work a little more at keeping in shape. Which leads me to...

                                                                                                                                                                          4. No Cancer - Doctor said the words "you might be cured." Next CT scan is in January. Unless something goes horribly wrong, for all it's shittiness, 2016 is the first year I've been cancer-free since 2012.

                                                                                                                                                                          5. Halloween Costume - Pretty much decided. Either Stormtrooper and Imperial Officer, if we decide to be less ambitious, or something Overwatch-related, if we decide to be more ambitious. Katy is considering Eleven from Stranger Things.

                                                                                                                                                                          6. Spend More Time with Kids - Between Pokewalks, watching TV with Katy (Stranger Things, Person of Interest, etc.) and playing videogames with Aaron, I've done pretty good on this score.

                                                                                                                                                                          7. Stay on budget. I've bought 8 of my 12 seasons (Angie Tribeca, Better Call Saul, Full Frontal Seasons 1-2, Supergirl, Last Panthers, Preacher, Night Manager) which means I'm slightly past my goal of one a month, but I'm sure I'll have a quiet month or two during the summer. I probably shouldn't have bought Last Panthers, since I've only watched episode one, or Angie Tribeca, since I've loved what I watched but haven't gotten around to the back half, and both are streaming on Amazon Prime right now. Still, 6 out of 8 is pretty good.

                                                                                                                                                                          Still only at 2 games, Overwatch and No Man's Sky. X-COM 2 and Injustice 2 are on my radar, but this should be easy, because those might wind up on a Christmas list.

                                                                                                                                                                          8. Try new things. Turns out I like old things. But... I did launch a new podcast in midsummer, did a little work on a Heist RPG that may never finish, and went out for fireworks on the Fourth, all of which are pretty new.

                                                                                                                                                                          9. Less Negative - Nope. 2016 has been a shit year, with all the deaths of celebrities I admired, including Darwyn Cooke, who I knew and liked a lot, plus there's a contentious Presidential election. Now I'm trying a variation on this, which is to try and be polite in my direct confrontations, less sarcastic and dismissive. It is, in fairness, not going well so far.

                                                                                                                                                                          POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                          1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                          • Um...
                                                                                                                                                                          2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (53)
                                                                                                                                                                          1. Darth Vader Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                                          2. Avengers The Serpent Crown HC
                                                                                                                                                                          3. Usagi Yojimbo Vol 30 TP
                                                                                                                                                                          4. Tales of the Batman Alan Brennert
                                                                                                                                                                          5. Suicide Squad Vol 4 Janus Directive
                                                                                                                                                                          3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                          • None this month
                                                                                                                                                                            4. Play 15 New Boardgames (21)
                                                                                                                                                                            • Sushi Go Party!
                                                                                                                                                                            • Dastardly Dirigibles
                                                                                                                                                                            • DC Deck-Building Forever Evil Crisis 3
                                                                                                                                                                            • Just Desserts
                                                                                                                                                                            • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                            5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                            • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                            • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                            • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                            • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                            • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                            My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                            1. Kim & Kim #1
                                                                                                                                                                            2. The Fix #4
                                                                                                                                                                            3. New Super Man #1
                                                                                                                                                                            4. Detective Comics #936
                                                                                                                                                                            5. Black Hammer #1
                                                                                                                                                                            6. Nighthawk #3
                                                                                                                                                                            7. Captain Marvel #7
                                                                                                                                                                            8. Ms. Marvel #9
                                                                                                                                                                                Other Comics I Read This Month (301+64=365):
                                                                                                                                                                                • Action Comics #959-960
                                                                                                                                                                                • Agents of SHIELD #7
                                                                                                                                                                                • All-New Wolverine #10
                                                                                                                                                                                • Amazing Spider-Man #15
                                                                                                                                                                                • Astonishing Ant-Man #10
                                                                                                                                                                                • Batgirl #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Batman #2-3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Beauty #9
                                                                                                                                                                                • Birthright #7
                                                                                                                                                                                • Black Hammer #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Black Panther #4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Black Widow #5
                                                                                                                                                                                • Captain America Sam Wilson #11
                                                                                                                                                                                • Captain America Steve Rogers #3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Captain Kid #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Captain Marvel #7
                                                                                                                                                                                • Chew #56
                                                                                                                                                                                • Civil War II #3-4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Civil War II Gods of War #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Civil War II Kingpin #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Civil War II X-Men #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Daredevil #9
                                                                                                                                                                                • Daredevil Punisher #3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Darth Vader #23
                                                                                                                                                                                • Descender #13
                                                                                                                                                                                • Detective Comics #936-937
                                                                                                                                                                                • Empress #4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Faith #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Fix #4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Flash #3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Future Quest #2-3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Green Arrow #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Heartthrob #4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Kim & Kim #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Lazarus #23
                                                                                                                                                                                • Merry Men #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Moon Knight #4
                                                                                                                                                                                • Ms. Marvel #9
                                                                                                                                                                                • New Super Man #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Nighthawk #3
                                                                                                                                                                                • Nightwing #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Nightwing Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Paper Girls #7
                                                                                                                                                                                • Power Man & Iron Fist #6
                                                                                                                                                                                • Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Silk #10
                                                                                                                                                                                • Snotgirl #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Spider-Woman #9
                                                                                                                                                                                • Star Wars #21
                                                                                                                                                                                • Star Wars Han Solo #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Superman #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Titans #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Velvet #15
                                                                                                                                                                                • Voltron Legendary Defender #1
                                                                                                                                                                                • Vote Loki #2
                                                                                                                                                                                • Wonder Woman #2-3
                                                                                                                                                                                TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                • Bojack Horseman "Season 3"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Casual "Big Green Egg" "Bicycle Thieves" "100 Cows" "Threesomes" "The Magpie" "The Lake"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Cleveland" "Special: Full Frontal Election Documentary"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Inside Amy Schumer "Madonna/Whore" "Fame" "Psychopath Test" "Everyone For Themselves"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Republican National Convention"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Mr. Robot "eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc" "eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc" "eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd"
                                                                                                                                                                                • The Night Of "Part 1: The Beach" "Part 2: Subtle Beast"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Not Safe With Nikki Glaser "Is This Your Belt?" "I Miss David Bowie" "Really Real R&B" "Make America Horny Again"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Person of Interest "The Fix" "Witness" "Foe" "Get Carter" "Number Crunch" "Super" "Legacy" "Root Cause" "Wolf and Cub" "Blue Code" "Risk" "Baby Blue" "Identity Crisis" "Flesh and Blood" "Matsya Nyaya" "Many Happy Returns" "No Good Deed" "Firewall" "The Contingency" "Bad Code" "Masquerade" "Triggerman" "Bury the Lede" "The High Road" "Critical" 
                                                                                                                                                                                • Preacher "Monster Swamp" "South Will Rise Again" "Sundowner" "He Gone" "El Valero"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Roadies "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Stranger Things "Season One"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Terriers "Dog & Pony Show" "Change Partners"
                                                                                                                                                                                • Vice Principals "The Principal"
                                                                                                                                                                                Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                1. Stranger Things
                                                                                                                                                                                2. The Night Of
                                                                                                                                                                                3. Mr. Robot
                                                                                                                                                                                4. Bojack Horseman
                                                                                                                                                                                5. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                                6. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                                7. Casual
                                                                                                                                                                                8. Preacher
                                                                                                                                                                                9. Not Safe With Nikki Glaser
                                                                                                                                                                                10. Inside Amy Schumer
                                                                                                                                                                                Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                • Fletch
                                                                                                                                                                                • Ghostbusters (2016)
                                                                                                                                                                                Places I Ate This Month (148+28=176):
                                                                                                                                                                                • Outback Steakhouse
                                                                                                                                                                                • Smokey Mo's (x4)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Second Bar Congress
                                                                                                                                                                                • Vera Cruz Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Sushi Nini
                                                                                                                                                                                • Original Pancake House
                                                                                                                                                                                • Black Star Co-Op (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Blackfinn Ameripub
                                                                                                                                                                                • Jack Allen's Kitchen
                                                                                                                                                                                • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                                                • Fuddrucker's
                                                                                                                                                                                • Hopdoddy (x3)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Noble Sandwich
                                                                                                                                                                                • Wendy's (x3)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Mod Pizza (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                • Pluckers
                                                                                                                                                                                • Hoodie's
                                                                                                                                                                                • Terry Black's BBQ

                                                                                                                                                                                Friday, July 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                Monthly Update - June 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                RESOLUTIONS:

                                                                                                                                                                                1. No Cancer - All clear! Next CT is in July. So we're halfway through the year on this one.

                                                                                                                                                                                2. Stay on budget. Picked up AMC's Preacher and season two of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. That's 8 of my 12 seasons, which means I'm slightly past my goal of one a month, but I'm sure I'll have a quiet month or two during the summer. Still only at 2 games, and one of them, No Man's Sky, is delayed until August. So I should hit that goal easily, although E3 is promising a bunch of games I want to buy. PS+ free games and a couple addictive games like Overwatch and Battlefront are making this part easy. Of course, X-COM 2 is getting a port in September, and Injustice 2 has been announced for later in the year...

                                                                                                                                                                                POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                                1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                                • None this month, but I got two for my birthday I've been wanting to read
                                                                                                                                                                                2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (48)
                                                                                                                                                                                1. Shade TP
                                                                                                                                                                                2. Cluster TP
                                                                                                                                                                                3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                                • None this month
                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Play 15 New Boardgames (19)
                                                                                                                                                                                  • X-Com Boardgame
                                                                                                                                                                                  • DC Deck-Building
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Cthulhu Realms
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Bullfrogs
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Dr. Eureka
                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                                  • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                  • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                                  • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                                  My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Detective Comics #934
                                                                                                                                                                                  2. The Fix #3
                                                                                                                                                                                  3. Spider-Woman #8
                                                                                                                                                                                  4. All-New Wolverine #9
                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Star Wars Han Solo #1
                                                                                                                                                                                  6. Lazarus #22
                                                                                                                                                                                  7. Nighthawk #2
                                                                                                                                                                                  8. Power Man and Iron Fist #5
                                                                                                                                                                                  9. Jade Street Protection Services #1
                                                                                                                                                                                  10. Cryptocracy #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      Other Comics I Read This Month (233+68=301):
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Action Comics #957-958
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Agents of SHIELD #6
                                                                                                                                                                                      • All-New All-Different Avengers #10-11
                                                                                                                                                                                      • All-New Wolverine #9
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Amazing Spider-Man #13-14
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Aquaman #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Aquaman Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Astonishing Ant-Man #9
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Astro City #36
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Batman #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Batman Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Birthright #16
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Black Panther #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Black Widow #4
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Captain America Sam Wilson #10
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Captain America Steve Rogers #2
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Civil War II #1-2
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Civil War II Gods of War #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Civil War II X-Men #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Control #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Cryptocracy #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Daredevil #8
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Daredevil Punisher #2
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Dark Knight Returns The Last Crusade #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Darth Vader #21
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Deadpool #13
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Descender #12
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Detective Comics #934-935
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Divinity II #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Doctor Strange #9
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Dungeons & Dragons #2
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Empress #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Flash Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Green Arrow #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Green Arrow Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Green Lanterns #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Green Lanterns Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Heartthrob #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jade Street Protection Services #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jughead #7
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Klaus #6
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Lazarus #22
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Lucas Stand #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Merry Men #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mockingbird #4
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Moon Knight #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Ms. Marvel #8
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Nighthawk #2
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Paper Girls #6
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Power Man and Iron Fist #5
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Spider-Woman #8
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Spider-Women Event Omega
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars #20
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Han Solo #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Superman #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Superman Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • The Beauty #8
                                                                                                                                                                                      • The Fix #3
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Titans Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Vote Loki #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Wonder Woman #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Wonder Woman Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                      TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Americans "A Roy Rogers in Franconia" "Persona Non Grata" 
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Casual "Phase 3" "Trivial Pursuit" "Such Good Friends"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Gary Johnson Part 1" "Again? Again." "Tribal Courts" 
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Game of Thrones "The Broken Man" "No One" "Battle of the Bastards" "Winds of Winter"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Humans "Episodes 1-8"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Inside Amy Schumer "Madame President"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Debt" "Retirement" "Brexit" "Doping"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Orange is the New Black "Work That Body For Me" "Power Suit" "(Don't) Say Anything" "Doctor Psycho" "We'll Always Have Baltimore" "Piece of Shit" "It Sounded Nicer in My Head" "Friends in Low Places" "Turn Table Turn" "Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull"  "People Persons" "Animals" "Toast Can't Never Be Bread Again"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Person of Interest "Pilot" "Ghosts" "Mission Creep" "Cura Te Ipsum" "Judgment"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Preacher "See" "The Possibilities"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Silicon Valley "To Build A Better Beta" "Bachman's Earnings Over-Ride" "Daily Active Users" "The Uptick"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Terriers "Pilot" "Fustercluck"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Veep "Congressional Ball" "Camp David" "Kissing Your Sister" "Inauguration"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Voltron Legendary Defender "The Rise of Voltron" "Some Assembly Required" "Return of the Gladiator" "The Fall of the Castle of Lions" "Tears of the Balmera" "Taking Flight" "Return to the Balmera" "Rebirth" "Crystal Venom" "Collection and Extraction" "The Black Paladin"
                                                                                                                                                                                      • West Wing "The Short List" "In Excelsis Deo"
                                                                                                                                                                                      Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                      1. Game of Thrones
                                                                                                                                                                                      2. The Americans
                                                                                                                                                                                      3. Veep
                                                                                                                                                                                      4. Silicon Valley
                                                                                                                                                                                      5. Orange is the New Black
                                                                                                                                                                                      6. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                                      7. Preacher
                                                                                                                                                                                      8. Casual
                                                                                                                                                                                      9. Voltron Legendary Defender
                                                                                                                                                                                      10. Inside Amy Schumer
                                                                                                                                                                                      Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                      • None this month
                                                                                                                                                                                      Places I Ate This Month (126+22=148):
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Bojangle's (x2) (North Carolina)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Brooklyn Pie Company
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Frank
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Fuddrucker's
                                                                                                                                                                                      • General Tso'Boy
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Gus's Fried Chicken
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Hoodie's Subs (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Lucy's Fried Chicken (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mert's (North Carolina)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Michi Ramen (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Popeye's
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Smokey Mo's
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Tarka
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Torchy's Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Vera Cruz Tacos
                                                                                                                                                                                      • Whataburger

                                                                                                                                                                                      Wednesday, June 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                      Monthly Update - May 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                      RESOLUTIONS:

                                                                                                                                                                                      1. No Cancer - All clear! Next CT is in July. So we're halfway through the year on this one.

                                                                                                                                                                                      2. Stay on budget. I bought Night Manager from AMC. That's 6 of my 12 seasons, which means I'm slightly past my goal of one a month, but I'm sure I'll have a quiet month or two during the summer. I got Overwatch for my birthday, but that was a gift, so I've still only bought two games myself.

                                                                                                                                                                                      POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                                      1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                                      • None this month, but I got two for my birthday I've been wanting to read
                                                                                                                                                                                      2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (46)
                                                                                                                                                                                      1. Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne
                                                                                                                                                                                      2. Cleopatra in Space Vol 3
                                                                                                                                                                                      3. We Stand on Guard HC
                                                                                                                                                                                      4. Daredevil by Waid & Samnee Vol 5 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                      5. Ms. Marvel Vol 2 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                      6. Rocketeer Adventures Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                      7. Green Arrow Vol 5 Black Arrow TP
                                                                                                                                                                                      8. Lazarus Vol 2 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                      9. Twilight Children TP
                                                                                                                                                                                      3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                                      • None this month
                                                                                                                                                                                        4. Play 15 New Boardgames (16)
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Pandemic
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Splendor
                                                                                                                                                                                        • T.I.M.E. Stories Under the Mask
                                                                                                                                                                                        • T.I.M.E. Stories Prophecy of Dragons
                                                                                                                                                                                        • CV
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Elysium
                                                                                                                                                                                        5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                                        • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                        • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                                        • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                                        My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                        1. Moon Knight #2
                                                                                                                                                                                        2. Captain America Sam Wilson #9
                                                                                                                                                                                        3. Fix #2
                                                                                                                                                                                        4. All New All Different Avengers #9
                                                                                                                                                                                        5. Future Quest #1
                                                                                                                                                                                        6. All New Wolverine #8
                                                                                                                                                                                        7. Ms. Marvel #7
                                                                                                                                                                                        8. Doctor Strange #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            Other Comics I Read This Month (185+48=233):
                                                                                                                                                                                            • 4001 AD #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • 4001 AD X-O Manowar #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Agents of SHIELD #5
                                                                                                                                                                                            • All New All Different Avengers #9
                                                                                                                                                                                            • All-New Wolverine #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Amazing Spider-Man #12
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Archangel #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Astonishing Ant-Man #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Astro City #35
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Beasts of Burden What Cat Dragged In
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Beauty #7
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Black Panther #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Black Widow #3
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Captain America Sam Wilson #9
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Captain America Steve Rogers #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Civil War II #0
                                                                                                                                                                                            • DC Universe Rebirth #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Daredevil #7
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Daredevil Punisher #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Darth Vader #20
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Doctor Strange #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Dungeons & Dragons #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Empress #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Fix #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Future Quest #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Goldie Vance #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Heartthrob #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Klaus #5
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Mae #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Micronauts #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Mockingbird #3
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Moon Knight #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Ms. Marvel #7
                                                                                                                                                                                            • New Avengers #11
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Nighthawk #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Power Man and Iron Fist #4
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Punisher #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Rai #13
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Rat Queens #16
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Silk #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Space Battle Lunchtime #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Spider-Gwen #8
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Spider-Woman #7
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Star Wars Poe Dameron #2
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Street Fighter X GI Joe #3
                                                                                                                                                                                            • The Violent #4
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Thunderbolts #1
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Uncanny X-Men #7
                                                                                                                                                                                            TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The Singularity" "Failed Experiments" "Emancipation" "Absolution" "Ascension"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Americans "Travel Agents" "The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears" "The Day After" "Munchkins" "Dinner for Seven"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Archer "Deadly Prep" "Motherless Child" "Bel Panto: Parts I & II"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Arrow "Canary Cry" "Monument Point" "Lost in the Flood" "Schism"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Broad City "Getting There" "Jews On A Plane"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Leviathan" "River of Time" "Destiny" "Legendary"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Flash "Rupture" "The Runaway Dinosaur" "Invincible" "The Run of His Life"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Episode 1010" "Pregnancy Centers" "Super PACs" "Vaping"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Game of Thrones "Home" "Oathbreaker" "Book of the Stranger" "The Door" "Blood of my Blood"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Inside Amy Schumer "The World's Most Interesting Woman in the World" "Welcome to the Gun Show" "Brave"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Lady Dynamite "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Scientific Studies" "9-1-1" "Political Primaries"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Night Manager "Episodes One-Six"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Not Safe with Nikki Glaser "I Broke My Dick"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Preacher "Pilot"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Silicon Valley "Two in the Box" "Meinertzhagen's Haversack" "Maleant Data Systems Solutions" "The Empty Chair" "Bachmanity Insanity"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell "The New KKK" "Behind the Walls" "Latino USA"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Veep "The Morning After" "Nev-ah-da" "The Eagle" "Mother" "Thanksgiving" "C**tgate"
                                                                                                                                                                                            • West Wing "Pilot" "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" "A Proportional Response" "Five Votes Down" "The Crackpots and These Women" "Mr. Willis of Ohio" "The State Dinner"
                                                                                                                                                                                            Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                            1. Game of Thrones
                                                                                                                                                                                            2. The Americans
                                                                                                                                                                                            3. Night Manager
                                                                                                                                                                                            4. Silicon Valley
                                                                                                                                                                                            5. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                                            6. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                                            7. Veep
                                                                                                                                                                                            8. Preacher
                                                                                                                                                                                            9. United Shades of America
                                                                                                                                                                                            10. Broad City
                                                                                                                                                                                            Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Captain America Civil War (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Avengers Age of Ultron
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Concussion (2013)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Justice League New Frontier
                                                                                                                                                                                            • The Hateful Eight
                                                                                                                                                                                            • The Kingsman
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Deadpool
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Angry Birds
                                                                                                                                                                                            • X-Men Days of Future Past Rogue Cut
                                                                                                                                                                                            • The Nice Guys
                                                                                                                                                                                            Places I Ate This Month (97+29=126):
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Jack Allen's Kitchen
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Torchy's Tacos (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Vera Cruz All Natural Tacos (x4)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Wendy's (x3)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Shake Shack (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Mod Pizza (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • FD Grillhouse
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Chi'Lantro (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Culver's
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Chuy's
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Popeye's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Salty Sow
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Deckhand Oyster Bar
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Panera Bread
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Juarez
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Cover 3
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Mandola's Italian Market
                                                                                                                                                                                            • PizzaRev

                                                                                                                                                                                            Sunday, May 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                            Monthly Update - April 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                            RESOLUTIONS:

                                                                                                                                                                                            1. Reasonable Bedtime - Started off April with a surprise early shift at the store. Which meant I had to get to bed a little earlier. That didn't last, though. 

                                                                                                                                                                                            2. Cook More - I've hit my goal of 14 recipes, but still adding new ones since I didn't like all 14. This month I cooked Chicken Tikka Masala, but it was out of a jar and merely OK.

                                                                                                                                                                                            3. No Cancer - CT Scan was this month, but results aren't until next week, so technically, I got through at least April with no cancer.

                                                                                                                                                                                            4. Halloween Costume 

                                                                                                                                                                                            • Spider Jerusalem (Glasses are $80 (but I'd be half-blind in costume if I was wearing them, since my eyes are so bad), I could find black clothes cheap and easy enough, just need some temporary tattoos or makeup)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Star Wars - Aaron vetoed the Stormtrooper, he wants to be Darth Vader - but I can still get an Imperial uniform (yep... $99 or so here.) We may have a winner.
                                                                                                                                                                                            5. Stay on budget. I bought Last Panthers from Sundance. That's 5 of my 12 seasons, which still means one per month, which should work. I preordered  2 of my 6 videogames. 

                                                                                                                                                                                            POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                                            1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                                            • None this month, but I got two for my birthday I've been wanting to read
                                                                                                                                                                                            2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (37)
                                                                                                                                                                                            1. Nailbiter Vol 1 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            2. The Delinquents TP
                                                                                                                                                                                            3. Invincible Iron Man Vol 8-11
                                                                                                                                                                                            4. Descender Vol 1
                                                                                                                                                                                            5. Batman Dark Knight Returns
                                                                                                                                                                                            6. Suicide Squad Vol 3: Rogues
                                                                                                                                                                                            7. Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            8. Wonder Woman Earth One HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            9. Incredible Hercules Assault on Olympus HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            10. Spider-Man Death of Jean DeWolff HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            11. Airboy HC
                                                                                                                                                                                            3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                                            • None this month
                                                                                                                                                                                              4. Play 15 New Boardgames (16)
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Machi Koro
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Splendor
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Superfight
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Star Wars Imperial Assault
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Dresden Files Co-Op Card Game
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Pandemic The Cure
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Awesome Kingdom
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Birds of a Feather
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Heroes Wanted
                                                                                                                                                                                              5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                                              • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                              • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                                              • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                                              My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                              1. Black Panther #1
                                                                                                                                                                                              2. Fix #1
                                                                                                                                                                                              3. Goldie Vance #1
                                                                                                                                                                                              4. Heartthrob #1
                                                                                                                                                                                              5. Criminal 10th Anniversary Special
                                                                                                                                                                                              6. Power Man & Iron Fist #3
                                                                                                                                                                                              7. Doctor Strange Last Days of Magic #1
                                                                                                                                                                                              8. All New Wolverine #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Other Comics I Read This Month (139+46=185):
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • A Year of Marvels Amazing
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Agents of SHIELD #4
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Aliens Defiance #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • All New Wolverine #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • All-New All-Different Avengers #8
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • All-New Hawkeye #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Amazing Spider-Man #10-11
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Astonishing Ant-Man #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Astro City #34
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Black Panther #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Black Widow #2
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain America Sam Wilson #8
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Captain Marvel #4
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Chew Demon Chicken Poyo #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Criminal 10th Anniversary Special
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Daredevil #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Darth Vader #19
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Discipline #2
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Divinity II #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Doctor Strange #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Doctor Strange Last Days of Magic #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Empress #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Fix #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Goldie Vance #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Heartthrob #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Hercules #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Huck #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Lazarus Sourcebook #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Micronauts #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Mockingbird #2
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Moon Knight #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Ms. Marvel #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • New Avengers #9
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Power Man & Iron Fist #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Rough Riders #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Scarlet Witch #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Silk #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Spider-Gwen #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Spider-Man #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Spider-Women Alpha #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Star Wars Poe Dameron #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Uncanny Avengers #8
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Uncanny X-Men #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 11.22.63 "The Day in Question"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Watchdogs" "Spacetime" "Paradise Lost" "The Team"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Americans "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow" "Chloramphenicol" "Clark's Place" "The Rat"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Archer "The Figgis Agency" "The Handoff"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Arrow "Beacon of Hope" "Eleven-Fifty-Nine"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Better Call Saul "Fifi" "Nailed" "Klick"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Billions "The Good Life" "The Deal" "The Punch" "Boasts and Rails" "Where the Fuck is Donnie?" "Quality of Life" "Magical Thinking" "The Conversation"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Broad City "2016" "Philadelphia" "B&B NYC" "Burning Bridges"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Paranoia" "Maximum Security" "Greg & Larry"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Catastrophe "Season 2"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Left Behind" "Progeny" "The Magnificent Eight"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Flash "Versus Zoom" "Back to Normal"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Episode 1008-1009"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Game of Thrones "The Red Woman"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • iZombie "Pour Some Sugar, Zombie" "Reflections of the Way Liv Used to Be" "Dead Beat" "Salivation Army"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Last Panthers "Episode 1"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Congressional Fundraising" "Credit Reports" "Puerto Rico"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Not Safe with Nikki Glaser "Carpe Do 'Em" "Dick Moves" "I'm the Boat" "Already Wet" "Don't Touch That Remote" "Find My Boyfriend A Girlfriend" "Your Wedding Sucks" "Get Her A Glass of Water" "Panty Sniffers"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Silicon Valley "Founder Friendly"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Star Wars Rebels "The Honored Ones" "Shroud of Darkness" "The Forgotten Droid" "The Mystery of Chopper Base" "Twilight of the Apprentice"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Supergirl "Myriad" "Better Angels"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Superstore "Mannequin" "Shoplifter" "Secret Shopper"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" "Conspiracy Theories" "A Jury in Jail" "Manna From Heaven" "The Verdict"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Togetherness "The Sand Situation" "For the Kids"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt "Kimmy Goes Roller Skating!" "Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!" "Kimmy Goes to a Play!" "Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!" "Kimmy Gives Up!" "Kimmy Drives a Car!"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Veep "The Morning After"
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Better Call Saul
                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Game of Thrones
                                                                                                                                                                                                  3. The Americans
                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                                                  6. Togetherness
                                                                                                                                                                                                  7. People vs. OJ Simpson
                                                                                                                                                                                                  8. Billions
                                                                                                                                                                                                  9. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
                                                                                                                                                                                                  10. Supergirl
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Trainwreck
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Jungle Book
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Places I Ate This Month (74+23=97):
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Torchy's Tacos
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Smokey Mo's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Popeye's
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Hoody's Subs
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Chi'Lantro (x3)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Sichuan Garden
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Freebird's
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Wendy's
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Outback Steakhouse
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Lucy's Fried Chicken
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Madam Mam's
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Brooklyn Pie Company
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Deckhand Oyster Bar
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Mambo House
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Punchbowl Social
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Flyrite Chicken
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Wingstop
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Salt and Time
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Voodoo Doughnuts
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Vera Cruz All Natural Tacos

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Friday, April 01, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Monthly Update - March 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                                  RESOLUTIONS:

                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Reasonable Bedtime - March started a movie challenge, featured two comic book conventions, several game nights, Daredevil season 2 and a whole bunch of other busy times. End result: Bedtime slipped to after 2 AM regularly. However... still setting my alarm for 11:30 AM every day, so I'm not sleeping in past noon. Baby steps.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Cook More - Last month I added four new recipes (only one of which made the regular rotation), This month I made Korean Beef, Philly Cheesesteak Sliders, Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings and Beef Cutlets with Red Wine Mushroom Gravy for 14. Of those, though, I only really liked the Red Wine Mushroom Gravy Beef and Chicken and Dumplings enough to add to the rotation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  3. No Cancer - Smooth sailing until April, when I get my next CT scan.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Halloween Costume 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Dead of Winter (Squad Goals) - I could do the principal (jacket, flashlight, fake blood, the farmer (jacket, shovel, hat, fake blood), the ninja (ski mask, gloves, wallet with chain) but I'd really need two or three partners to pull this off. Ideally someone to dress as the fireman, soldier and/or paramedic to sell the theme. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Spider Jerusalem (Glasses are $80 (but I'd be half-blind in costume if I was wearing them, since my eyes are so bad), I could find black clothes cheap and easy enough, just need some temporary tattoos or makeup)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Star Wars - Not sure what, but I know Aaron would love a Stormtrooper outfit - maybe I could find an Imperial officer uniform (yep... $99 or so here.) We may have a winner.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  6. Spend More Time With My Kids - Lots of videogames with Aaron, and I took Katy to iFly for her birthday.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  7. Stay on budget. I've ordered Better Call Saul, Supergirl, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Angie Tribeca so far this year. That's 4 of my 12 seasons, which is pretty much on track. I preordered No Man's Sky, and I'm going to order Overwatch, so that's 2 of my 6 videogames. 


                                                                                                                                                                                                  8. Try New Things. I tried Uber for the first time. Also first time at C2E2.



                                                                                                                                                                                                  POP CULTURE GOALS:

                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Read 15 Books (3)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Nothing this month
                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Read 100 Graphic Novels (26)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Amazing Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus
                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Smut Peddler 2014
                                                                                                                                                                                                  3. Welcome Back Vol 1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Southern Cross
                                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Book of Death
                                                                                                                                                                                                  3. Catch up on TV/Movie DVDs and Blurays
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Nothing this month
                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Play 15 New Boardgames (11)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Bohnanza
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Sushi Go!
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Splendor
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Pandemic Legacy
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Machi Koro
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • King of New York
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 7 Wonders
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Just Desserts
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • DC DBG
                                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Go to 5 Comic Book Conventions
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Dallas Comic Con (February)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • STAPLE! (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • C2E2 (March)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Heroes Con (June)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Alamo City Con (October)
                                                                                                                                                                                                  My Picks of the Week For This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                  1. Black Widow #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  2. Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                  3. Doctor Strange #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Amazing Spider-Man #9
                                                                                                                                                                                                  5. Spider-Woman #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                  6. Astonishing Ant-Man #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                  7. All-New All-Different Avengers #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                  8. Birthright #15
                                                                                                                                                                                                  9. Jughead #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                  10. Saga #35
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Other Comics I Read This Month (96+43=139):
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Agents of SHIELD #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • All-New All-Different Avengers #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • All-New Hawkeye #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • All-New Wolverine #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Amazing Spider-Man #9
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Amazing Spider-Man and Silk Spiderfly Effect #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Astonishing Ant-Man #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Astro City #33
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Birthright #15
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Black Widow #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Captain Marvel #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Daredevil #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Darth Vader #17-18
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Descender #11
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Discipline #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Doctor Strange #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Gutter Magic #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Haunted Mansion #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Hercules #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Howard the Duck #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Huck #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Independence Day #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Interceptor #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jughead #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Klaus #4
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mockingbird #1
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Ms. Marvel #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Power Man and Iron Fist #2
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Rat Queens #15
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Saga #35
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Scarlet Witch #4
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Silk #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Spider-Woman #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars #17
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Starve #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Street Fighter X GI Joe #2
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #6
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Uncanny Avengers #7
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Uncanny X-Men #4-5
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Usagi Yojimbo #153
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Violent #3
                                                                                                                                                                                                      TV I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 11.22.63 "Other Voices, Other Rooms" "The Eyes of Texas" "The Truth" "Happy Birthday, Lee Harvey Oswald" "Soldier Boy"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Agent Carter "The Edge of Mystery" "A Little Song and Dance" "Hollywood Ending"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Bouncing Back" "The Inside Men" "Parting Shot"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Americans "Glanders" "Pastor Tim"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Arrow "Broken Hearts"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Baskets "Strays" "Easter in Bakersfield" "Uncle Dad" "DJ Twins"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Better Call Saul "Amarillo" "Gloves Off" "Rebecca" "Bali H'ai" "Inflatable"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Broad City "Two Chainz" "Co-Op" "Game Over" "Rat Pack"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Adrian Pimento" "Cheddar" "Terry Kitties"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Daredevil "Bang" "Dogs to a Gunfight" "New York's Finest" "Penny and Dime" "Kinbaku" "Regrets Only" "Semper Fidelis" "Guilty as Sin" "Seven Minutes in Heaven" "The Man in the Box" ".380" "The Dark At the End of the Tunnel" "A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • DC's Legends of Tomorrow "Marooned" "Night of the Hawk"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Flash "Trajectory" "Flash Back"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee "Episode 1004-1007"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Hap & Leonard "Savage Season"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • iZombie "Eternal Sunshine of the Caffeinated Mind" "He Blinded Me With... Science"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "The Gang Goes to Hell"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver "Special Districts" "Encryption" "The Wall"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Real O'Neals "Pilot" 
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Rebels "Homecoming"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Supergirl "Solitude" "Falling" "Manhunter" "World's Finest"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story "The Race Card"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Togetherness "Advanced Pretend" "Changetown" "Just the Range" "Geri-ina"
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Top Ten Shows This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                      1. Better Call Saul
                                                                                                                                                                                                      2. Togetherness
                                                                                                                                                                                                      3. The Americans
                                                                                                                                                                                                      4. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
                                                                                                                                                                                                      5. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
                                                                                                                                                                                                      6. Supergirl
                                                                                                                                                                                                      7. Flash
                                                                                                                                                                                                      8. Broad City
                                                                                                                                                                                                      9. The People vs. OJ Simpson
                                                                                                                                                                                                      10. Daredevil
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Movies I Watched This Month:
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 10 Cloverfield Lane
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Across the Universe
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Avengers Age of Ultron
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Sword of Destiny
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Harmontown
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Inside Out
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Into the Woods
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jurassic World
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Lucy
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Man from U.N.C.L.E.
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Pitch Perfect 2
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Spy
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Star Wars Force Awakens
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • The Martian
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • To Kill A Mockingbird
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Tomorrowland
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Veronica Mars
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Zootopia
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Places I Ate This Month (42+32=74):
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Alamo Drafthouse (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Chi'Lantro
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Chuy's
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Culver's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Firehouse Subs
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Freebird's
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Fuddrucker's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Giordano's (Chicago)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Hoody's Subs (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jack Allen's Kitchen
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Jason's Deli (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Joe's Crab Shack
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Juarez
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • KFC
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Michi Ramen
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Moon Palace (Chicago)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • New Fortune Chinese (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Popeye's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Shake Shack
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Smokey Mo's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Torchy's (x2)
                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Wendy's (x2)