Birds Of Prey,Opeth,And Other Things

Here's where my brain is at today.I'm kinda bored and more than a little restless right now.So of course I want to pollute more of the internet with more of my painfully awful brain farts.

1)For the past few months I've been trying to see if I could get into DC comics and I've been thinking that it has been a bit uneventful.I haven't flat-out hated anything,but nothing has really blown me away.Today I found myself reading the Birds Of Prey trade "The Battle Within" and realized that I had bought three Birds Of Prey TPB's in the past week.I guess I know what my favorite DC book is now, and by a comfortable margin too.Like I've said about it before, I was just able to sink right into this title like I've been reading it all my life.It has likeable characters,great action,and a sense of humor that should not have surprised as much as it did considering the whole reason I picked it up in the first place was because I like Gail Simone's take on Deadpool.

2)I also have been catching up on The Walking Dead and have currently finished up to vol.6 of the TPB's.Wow, volume six was a little...um...dark.I really did not think Michonne would take things to the point where she did.Kudos to Charlie Adlard as I felt every single thing being done to the Governor.The spoon put a lump in my throat.And that motherless fuck of a human being deserved every last bit of it.It does kind of make me wonder if the feminist comic reading community would consider what happened to Michonne a case of sexism or even of WiR?It was a rape and was probably the most graphic and disturbing thing I've ever read or seen on a printed page.But she also stood defiant and strong through the whole thing and,when rescued, remained so and left on her own power.I've just never seen anything written about it.

3) I am now all caught up on watching Heroes.I did not watch the show when it was on and caught up through the DVD set.What are my impressions so far?On the positive side,it's nice to see a show about superhumans not being treated as a joke.I loved the slow build as the characters came together.I wondered how Nathan was alive but I figure Peter just flew off on his own after Nathan carried him away.On the negative side, and I'm not sure if this is even the show's fault,but I've seen this same concept done better in Supreme Power and even in the latest New Universal,which is probably closer to Heroes content-wise than Supreme Power is.I see season one though as just an introduction.Now that the major players are revealed and we know what they can do the writers can cut loose now.I'm not expecting some massive, Secret Wars-sized battles but I am hoping for some longer superpowered fight scenes than have been shown so far.

4)The new Ministry album,The Last Sucker,has some fantastic CD packaging.It has a transforming picture on the cover and the whole thing is a pop-up digipak.The album itself...is awesome of course.This is Ministry and they're firing off on someone named George Bush.That's when they've always been at their best.I'd put the album on par with Rio Grande Blood,but it is not as much of a throwback as that album was.4 out of 5 stars(Wow.How did I ever come up with a ratings system based on a five stars?I'm patenting this one.)

5)Currently listening to the Opeth DVD,Lamentations.It's a live concert from 2003 around the time of the Damnation album.The sound quality is impeccable.This is Opeth,after all.The track list covers most of their catalogue but favors Damnation, which I'm cool with as I liked that album.They left out songs from Still Life though,which is as puzzling as it is unfortunate.Let the snooty metal elitists whine about how they don't sound exactly like they did on Orchid.They're missing out.I'm more than happy to absorb all of the grade AAA music that these guys can pump out.If you don't know who Opeth is, I'd describe them as a progressive death metal band(I guess?).The songs are usually about 9 to 10 minutes long and change tempo and tone quite freqently.Anyone hoping for pop hooks might as well just keep looking elsewhere,as they are not here.The albums are a challenge to listen to,much the same way classical music is.They challenge not because they seek to brutalize you, as much real metal does(Although I like this approach too),but because it will take many listens to dissect all of the musical beauty that is coming out of your speakers.I can put on one their albums that I've heard 1000 times and still find something I hadn't noticed on a previous listen.I also recommend listening to their albums in one sitting rather than a song here and a song there.

6)That's all there is today.