Number6's Journal

So, Weird Al's got his new album out and I was inspired:

(To the tune of "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons):

Paperback Addict

Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa

I just picked up a brand new book
Starts out okay but doubt I'll get hooked
Wait, oh my god, a shocking twist (gasp, sounds of pages turning)

Should pack it in, getting late,
Just wanna see how this part turns out...
I just hit a suspenseful bit,
Whoa...

Can't put it down, the story's just too great,
and the hero's tempting fate...
I'll stop right after this page... after this page...
Maybe just one more page.. just one more page...
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict

I'll go to bed, but I won't sleep
My brain's already in it too deep,
And there's a light, in easy reach...
Whoa...

Should pack it in, getting late,
Just wanna see how this part turns out...
I just hit a suspenseful bit,
Whoa...

Can't put it down, the story's just too great,
and the hero's tempting fate...
I'll stop right after this page... after this page...
Maybe just one more page.. just one more page...
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict

Fine I'll head out... I can read while I walk
Don't bug me at lunch, I've no time to talk...

Can't put it down, the story's just too great,
and the hero's tempting fate...
I'll stop right after this page... after this page...
Maybe just one more page.. just one more page...
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm a
Paperback addict, paperback addict

So, here we are again with yet another bit of "Runaways Alternate Volume 3".

This time around I'm going to be a little less detailed, mainly because I've let the ideas sit a while and I've forgotten some of the more detailed outlines I had in my head, and if I try to discover them all again, I'll probably lose track, forget about it for another few months, and lose even MORE of the ideas. The basics are here but sometimes I skimp out on the specifics. It will also be the LAST of these, I believe, and not a full year, at least not in 'full outline form', I think outlining 43 issues in a fair amount of detail is plenty, especially when virtually no one will read it. Anyway, see the first post (linked above) for the introductions of what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, as well as if you want to start reading from the beginning.

Where last we left, ( Read more... )
Anyway, this is a good enough time to end it. Comments are welcome and appreciated of course, if anyone besides me enjoyed it (or didn't and wants to discuss specific ideas anyway).

Continued from last post. First post of this whole series is here, for explanation purposes.

Before, I continue, a few comments on the last part that LJ didn't let me post cause it was too long:
( Read more... )

And on to the new:( Read more... )

Comments always welcome.
Edit: My final set of outlines, carrying up to issue #43 and with some rougher ideas sketched out beyond that, is now posted here.

This is year 3 of my Runaways Alternate Volume 3. See that post for explanations of what this is all about. Previous chunk is here. A bit rushed due to trying to get it out before NaNo month, so excuse typos.
( Read more... )
Here's a good time to break, since LJ won't let me post stuff too long.
Next Post, issues #31 to #36, back to the main plot of the year.

Continued from last post. First post of this whole series is here, for explanation purposes.

Let's get right to it.
( Read more... )
Edit: Now continued here.

Okay, so here's a continuation of my last WIDW, which was what I'd do with if I was writing Runaways

Vol 3 (in outline form, rather than full script or anything. Read the first post for my general rules of play and explanations for this, and of course for the first batch of issues. We'll start here with the next 12 issues, #12-24 (spread over two posts)
( Read more... )
Continued here.

Continued from last post.
( Read more... )

Edit: Now continued here.
All my WIDWs are here.

Yes, it's time for another big long post that probably only entertains me, and I don't really expect anybody to read. But I've mentioned it offhandedly in a few posts, that I've been writing down my own sort of "alternate Volume 3 of Runaways", sort of a what might happen if, in some alternate universe, I was told to write Runaways instead of Terry Moore. Well, I've finished up to issue #12, and that seems like a good place to take a break and start posting it.

General introductory comments:( Read more... )

We begin:( Read more... )

continued next post, i write too much for LJ apparently.

Damn, just heard that the local Tori Stafford case was solved and, well, it's the worst case scenario. Man. I was kinda hoping, since it was presumed that a woman led her away, that it was one of those freaky, "I want my own kid" situations, which is good in the sense that the kid may be treated okay or maybe even a ransom. But no. Some messed up people in the world.

Anyway, no comics today, but work was okay. Came on time and not too heavy, so I got out pretty early. A bit warm though, and hungry now.

Oh, and I am amused by small and immature things sometimes. At the local large chain grocery store, I was checking out the flyer to see if they had any good deals. One of the advertised special, was those little dried-soup-in-a-cup, selected varieties. Except, the sample picture of it proudly proclaimed C*CK FLAVOUR (no censoring, and of course, meaning chicken). Now, since there are presumably multiple varieties, somebody had to have said specifically, "Okay, for the sample pick, we're going to use this variety." It gave me a giggle, anyway.

And just a brief rant. Now, I generally don't agree with the Conservative Party (of Canada, which is still usually less conservative than the US one) on issues. But there's one thing that inspires my rage in them like nothing else - their ads. Specifically, their negative campaign ads. THERE'S NOT EVEN A $#!!ING ELECTION SCHEDULED. STOP PLAYING YOUR ADS SLAMMING THE LIBERAL LEADER REPEATEDLY. We get enough of that crap during an election. You might have had a fair point had you played them then, but now all I get when I see the ads is more hatred for you.

And while I'm on a rant, is it just me, or have the standards of Lucky Charms fallen in recent years? Before, the rainbow mushroom actually looked a little like a rainbow, like it does on the box. Now, it's just a rainbow shaped marshmallow with either random splatterings of cover, or with horizontal bands of color rather than arcs, so it doesn't really look like a rainbow at all. Is a little pride and craftsmanship in the field of mass-produced tiny consumer marshmallows too much to ask?

On to TV and other entertainment media. Since it's nearing the end of the season, I've been saving my thoughts on show episodes for my big 'end of year wrapup'. So I'll just talk about Renewals and Cancellations. Old news to most, but I haven't posted about it.
The good news: Dollhouse is renewed. A bit surprising, actually, but good on them. I hope, if nothing else, this will cause the kneejerk FOX-haters to reconsider their "I will never watch anything on FOX because they don't support good genre shows" (they follow the money, and approve more genre shows than most, and in some cases, like this, where the ratings do not support renewal, they STILL give it another shot? What more do you ask? Especially when you won't watch the shows they put out.). It has gotten a lot better since the first ep, although I don't think it'll ever be a favorite.

A couple other renewals of course, but nothing I personally care about all that much that wasn't already pretty well certain.

Now the bad news. In comics, Captain Britain and MI13 is coming to an end, which will bring my monthly list back down to 2 (it went up to three when New Mutants started. Runaways is the other one). That's sad, it was a pretty fun comic. How can you not like a comic with Dracula living on the moon and launching an assault on Britain using ships that shoot vampires?! Bah, people have no taste.
Also cancelled, officially although most of us knew it was coming, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Damnit. I say again, Damnit. Seriously, I would have traded Dollhouse for Sarah Connor in the cancellation stakes in a heartbeat. I also would have traded all those shows I don't watch that were bubbled and saved. Sorry, fans of those shows for my hypothetical callousness. Anyway, Dollhouse would likely have been the only theoretical 'if only one could be saved' situation might have existed. Dollhouse, I enjoyed, and would have liked to see where it went, but I really WANTED to see how SCC would have dealt with their cliffhanger, and of course more Cameron and all the issues there. But at the same time I can't entirely blame Fox, based on the ratings. Frankly, I'm surprised they got the back end of Season 2 pickup, and I'm thankful for that, because at least they ended strongly (albeit on a cliffhanger) than on the weak stretch of eps that made up mid-S2. And of course I won't hold the cancellation against Dollhouse. How could I?

Oh, and speaking (a ways back) of Runaways, I had a Runaways-related dream. All I could remember was a) We were running cross country, I think in something like the Steinbus instead of the much cooler Leapfrog.
b) Chase had a girlfriend who was rather cool but not really connected to the Runaways, and he broke up with her on the way and we left her behind.
c) Klara was running a three-card-monte style game (can't remember the specifics, but it was some sort of gambling-related 'cheat the unsuspecting') to help earn money, but was secretly thinking of leaving the group and not meeting at the rendezvous we'd set up.
d) The only actually Runaways to appear were Chase, Klara, and Molly, with the dream 'set' sometime in the future after the rest had been rotated out, I think. Which is odd because if I was going to rotate out, Klara would be an early choice.

I guess Runaways dreams will happen when you have Runaways plot-bunnies running through your thoughts regularly. Seriously, it's getting out of hand. In my idle times I've been noodling around a sort of 'what I'd do with if I took over the book after Whedon's run/the Secret Invasion crossover' (I ignored Moore's and beyond, not only because I'm not all that happy with it but because I need a specific break or I never get anywhere beyond updating my plans because of whatever happens in the book). I've got decently fleshed out 3 arcs with loose plans for something like 6 or 7 beyond that, creating subplots, new supporting characters/recurring and/or one-shot villains/initiative members, and long term character arcs for everybody. Bah. The world will never know the genius of MONOK (Mental Organism Now Opposed To Killing), an attempt by an AIM offshoot to recreate MODOK, thwarted when he converted to the Mormon faith and joined the Utah initiative! (The Runaways have to pass through Utah on their way back since when we left off they were still in New York). And that's only one of many ideas! Okay, it's silly, but I have fun with such things.

COLD. Or maybe that's C-C-C-OLD!

So, when I was on my way to work, it was supposed to be about -29 (C, that's something like -21 F I think) with the wind chill. But hey, I'm a Canadian, I only had to be out for about 2-3 hours walk today since it's a comic day. No biggie.

Then I go to take a shower before work... no hot water.

After an abortive attempt to boil water and use it for a bath (I just didn't have the time to get enough hot enough to make a difference), I said screw it and just did a shower. Of course, I did it the reverse of usual. You know how you usually try to stay as much as possible in the spray because outside it's cold. I had to stay as much outside the spray and just dip my hands and hair in to clean and rinse off. And then, when I was almost done, rinsing my hair and about to step out... the hot water comes back on. Not full force. The hot water tap was turned all the way, the cold not at all (not the smartest plan, probably, just in case it all came on at once, but I'm a good jumper), and still it was only slightly more than body temperature. But still I did a quick rewash (because you can't get everything clean in cold water) and shampoo and soaked in the semi-warm water to warm myself up for an extra minute or two.

Still, fate was not looking good for me. But I spit in the face of Fate! Usually right before it kicks me in the stomach. Then it's time for my countermove. Doubled over, vomit on its shoes. And Fate has some expensive shoes. That, my friends, I consider a win.

Then, out to the frozen Canadian winter. Now, I may have mentioned this before, but what I wear generally only has three areas of variation. Hat, gloves, and jacket. My hat's a toque, relatively warm. My gloves not too bad but still get my hands pretty cold. My jacket is a light windbreaker, with three buttons missing and a broken zipper. These I only wear when the temperature's too cold. Underneath all that, I wear jeans and a t-shirt (and socks and shoes and underwear for all you nitpickers). That's it. Summer or winter. -30 or +30. It is a mark of my Canadian pride to endure, especially the winter. In the ultimate extreme, I'll pull the toque down over my face. I'm used to it, and I've gone walking for hours in the coldest temperatures like that and been relatively comfortable (The main discomfort is that when it gets too cold sometimes I can't read while I'm walking). But, it should tell you that it's was supposed to be a cold day. But I made no change to my routine.

And it wasn't that bad. I didn't have to pull my hat over my face, and for most of the walk, I didn't even have to stop reading (there was a time when I was walking a little more into the wind and my fingers were starting to numb). It was actually rather pleasant. It's the kind of cold that numbs the Weltschmerz and whispers in your ear, the kind of cold that you take to the market on a foggy day and three apples screw driver swallow you whole and spit you out again inflexible and starlight.

It's remotely possible my brain is still dethawing as I'm typing this. The gist of what I'm trying to say is that I endured. I am Canadian! Also, I much prefer really cold to not so cold but very slushy and rainy, as was the case last time I made the big trip.

Anyway, on to New Comic Day!

This week I got two books:

Captain Britain and MI-13 #9 (My pick of the week, but man, Cornell depresses me sometimes!)
NYX: No Way Home #5 (holdover from last week. Okay, will have to see how it all ties together though).

Of minor interest, the Obama covers of Spidey were already sold out when I got there, within an hour of opening. I might have got one if they were cover price and not marked up (I don't know if they did or not but they sometimes mark up the variants).

Full reviews as usual at my comic reviews site for anyone interested.

Work was okay. Got there early, and finished quickly.

And just learning sad news. Patrick McGoohan, best known as Number 6 in the TV show The Prisoner, has died at the age of 80. He is the reason number6 is part of my username. RIP, man. Be Seeing You.

Edited to Add: Not just McGoohan, but also Ricardo Mantalban... KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!