You Should be Reading the Black Panther

Seriously. You should be. For those that don’t know Black Panther is a comic book published by Marvel Comics. It’s about an African King named T’Challa that rules a fictional country called Wakanda. Traditionally the king of this country takes the title of Black Panther and wears the ceremonial costume of the panther. Which looks cooler than it sounds. But ultimately this makes him a super hero as the costume is made with a special metal unique to Wakanda. This metal is called Vibranium. To those that are up on there Marvel Comics history will know that this metal is 2nd only to Marvels other fictional metal Adamantium. Not to mention that the Black Panther is a skilled combatant, tactician, and all the other stuff that makes him a great ruler. I’ll let you search Wikipedia for a more detailed explanation of this stuff.

But my point is the lasted volume of Black Panther books being published is pretty cool. It’s written by Reginald Hudlin. Movie buffs will recognize him as the director of Boomerang (yeah, where has he been?) starring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry way before she won the Oscar. Not only that but he has breathed new life into this character. Truth be told I always thought the Black Panther was a cool character just not necessarily cool enough to warrant his own book. But, damn, if this book hasn’t been one of the most interesting, action packed, and funniest books I read on a monthly basis (mostly, it probably actually comes out ever 4 to 6 weeks, roughly, publishers are much more flexibly these days about what constitutes a monthly series). Eleven issues in and it’s just as interesting (and probably more action packed) than it was when it first started. Even the tie-in to the ‘House of M’ story line was good considering... (only avid comic book readers even know what that is). Never the less you got to give props to a brother that can come up with an effective and unique way to take down Apocalypse (again avid comic book readers...) even if it didn’t involve him getting his hands dirty, per se.

The latest issue involves T’Challa and Luke Cage (aka Power Man) fighting off a group of ninjas. There is also a brief a appearance by The Falcon, Shang Chi and Han (formerly Fu Manchu). Not only is it action packed it’s pretty damn funny too. The following are a few of the lines that I thought were funny (though probably funnier in context):

Luke: Do you know how many good times I had on that couch? I had the Black Cat on that couch!
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Panther: ...to offer me your daughter is quite an honor.
Luke: And not the fugly daughter either. She is fine.
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Luke: This woman is insanely beautiful... and I bet Han wasn’t lying about her abilities to please her man. Could it hurt to go out on a date with her?

So next time you are at a book store be on the look out for Black Panther. Pick up an issue and you might be pleasantly surprised. I mean in this day and age what comic is going to give you this much ethnic diversity in one issue? Let alone one featuring an African king...

All Grown Up

or
Still Waiting for Adulthood

Most of my life I’ve felt like a kid. Something I’ve noticed since I was a teenager is that from age to age there really is not much of a difference. You really are the same person for the most part. And pretty much from 17 on it’s been mostly an anticipation of what it would be like to be an adult. Why? Because I’m still me. I still feel like a high school kid wondering when I’m going to grow up. At 21 I was a little more mature than I was at 17 but I’ve been drinking since I was 14. So, now I can legally get drink, great. 27 was probably a little more mature than 21 and I had been on my own for a while. As in not needing my family for anything. Still I relied on my friends from time to time but still not quiet grown up yet. Now at 32 I’m probably a little more mature than 27. But I’m just as laid back and easy going as I have ever been. And I haven’t had to rely on my friends for anything other than their friendship for years now. At this point in my life I live in a studio apartment. I am on my 2nd car that I’ve gotten from a dealer (my 4th car in my whole life) and I can barely afford to buy a place of any real value in Southern California. I’d like to think that if real estate was more accessible to me I might feel more grown. I’m hoping to find out in 2006.

In the meanwhile, I do things on occasion that make me feel a little more grown up. Like when I got an accountant. A guy I used to work with recommended him. As I was looking for someone to assist me with something that might become a tax issue. This tax season will be my 4th, or maybe 5th with him. And when I see him and get my tax returns I feel like I’m a little bit closer to adulthood. The same way when I’ve gotten cars from dealerships. Not to mention the next time I do that I will be going in with good credit. For the first time ever. Matter of fact, I plan on using carsdirect.com for my next auto purchase. Because car salesmen suck and I want to deal with them as little as possible. So car buying and even car insurance buying makes me feel grown up. Though these feelings of grownupness[sic] are rare I’m grateful as they remind me that I’m still a kid at heart. And, thankfully, only have to deal with grown up stuff on occasion out of necessity. Yeah, I pay bills twice a month, but how often do you go car shopping or do taxes? I mean it’s great being able to buy video games and comic books at my leisure (mostly). I’m being grown and a kid all at the same time.

Today, is a grown up day as well. For the first time ever, a housekeeper is cleaning my bathroom and kitchen. Even as I type this. It’s an interesting feeling having someone clean your place. She actually works at my office and she cleaned my co-workers place. She did a great job for her so I figured maybe she could help me out. And truth be told I needed help. In a major way. I mean I have cleaned my bathroom, but my tub was in dire straits. Forget the fact that I suck at cleaning it. But combine that with the fact that no one but me has used it for the past year and well... you kinda see my dilemma. For the record I don’t count the couple weeks my boy CAR slept on the air mattress at my place. If only because I have seen his tube in worse shape than mine. So, yeah, I hired a housekeeper for my studio apartment. Because I’m grown enough to realize I needed some help and took action to get it. I’m just glad I found her. I’ve been doing some research on this for a while and she is cheaper than having a franchise service. Though, considering the state my bathroom was in, she will be getting a nice tip...

Conspiracies Abound II: Insurance Premiums

News flash, if you live in predominantly black or hispanic neighborhoods in LA you could be paying up to 85% more for your car insurance. Seriously I just saw it on ABC 7 news. But that ain’t no real news. My insurance agent told me that years ago. I could effectively cut my insurance in half by moving to Glendale. No shit. Forget the fact that the one accident in my 16 year driving career was in 1997 and was a “not my fault” fender bender. Forget the fact I haven’t had any traffic violations in over 4 years. No, fuck that. My neighborhood isn’t as nice as Burbank so my rates are higher. Fool you don’t live in Glendale so, fuck you, pay more.

See this is a real conspiracy. But nobody cares because all the people it effects don’t have a real voice. Insurance companies get away with this shit on a daily basis and what can we do about it. Move to a better neighborhood. Yeah that will happen. The offset cost of lowering my insurance isn’t exactly going to make up for the increase in rent I would have to pay. This is still California. Maybe I should consider moving back to the east coast. Or at least the eastern time zone. But who knows what other conspiracies maybe lurking about. I mean I just saw this shit on the news and you will be hard pressed to find this shit on the abc7.com site. If it’s there they ain’t making it easy to find. But come on, man, the daring dog rescue made the front fuckin’ page. God forbid they show the story about higher insurance prices in minority communities. And people think conspiracies theories are crazy. Give me a break...

Conspiracies Abound

I believe in conspiracies. To a certain extent. I believe that they exist but I couldn’t tell you of any that I know of. Certainly not anything that could be considered factually true or certain. But I’m sure they are out there. The media can’t possibly be privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes. Even if they were why would they tell us. I mean, really it’s 2005. That being said, apparently some anonymous former PR guy has compiled a timeline of the conspiracy to ruin Dave Chappelle’s career. Either that or some bored fan boy has too much time on his hands. Either way it’s an interesting read. Even if parts of it read like derivative science fiction. Not that any of you read the links I post but I thought it was interesting... bitches.

http://www.chappelletheory.com/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like an Accident Waiting to Happen

I almost hit a Christmas Tree this morning. Through no fault of my own, I might add. It wasn’t like it was still in the ground. It was on the ground though. The 101 freeway to be exact. Somewhere just north of Universal City in the 2nd to the left lane. The truck in front of me swerved to the right and damn if I didn’t think, “Holy Shit, that’s a fuckin’ Christmas Tree!” I quickly looked to my left and swerved to avoid it. Thankfully there was no one on my left so I escaped unscathed. But damn. That was a big ass tree. It had to be at least 6 feet plus. And it was thick and bushy laid out on it’s side across the 2nd lane. And part of it in that first one. Hopefully, no one got into any accidents because of it. It’s hard to imagine someone would lose something that big and be completely oblivious. Looks like someone’s Xmas isn’t going too well. Maybe multiple someone’s if somebody hit that damn tree.

Essential for Writers... Possibly

That mad comic genius Warren Ellis has me reading an interview of the great Patton Oswald that is far too long for mere mortals to digest... For those that are adventurous, and as Sir Warren suggests, serious about any sort of writing. I present to you aspeacialthing.com’s interview with the incomparable Patton Oswald. Yeah, I know I’m a weird dude. If only because you will only ever hear me using the word, dude, in print. That’s right, you will never hear me use that word in a serious manner as a spoken statement, ever. Seriously... dude.