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A year ago at this time I posted a list of 10 things I was looking forward to in 2008. Before I look ahead to 2009, I thought it would be fun to see how each of those things from 2008 turned out.
1. Ethan’s first birthday. This was as amazing and magical as I’d imagined. I’m looking forward to his second birthday with even more enthusiasm!
2. The New England Patriots Invitational Tournament. Also known as the NFL Playoffs, this one didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped or expected. But ah well, 18-1 is almost as good as 19-0. Right? Nah, not really. Alas.
3. Getting healthy. Sadly, this one’s still a work in progress.
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In a word: Awesome.
5. Easter Island. I did indeed make it to Easter Island last March, and it was a great experience. Lingering health issues were kind of a drag on the trip, though, and I would much rather have traveled there with Penny and Ethan than go solo like I did.
6. Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Spidey comics went from monthly to three times a month and featured an all-new, all-not-married status quo for Peter Parker. And, by and large, it was a great year for the character. I’m still jazzed about the series as we head into year two of the new era.
7. Creating… something. Last year was to be the one where I finally made some headway on either Rise of the Hidden Sun or my young adult novel. I chose the novel and managed to get about 45,000 words into it before losing steam around Thanksgiving. So, not a success but not an out-and-out failure, either. A work in progress.
8. New TV shows. I was really looking forward to Jericho (returning from the dead) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Jericho only lasted seven episodes but tied up most of the loose ends nicely, and Terminator started well, then got a bit spotty before coming on very strong here in season two. Here’s hoping for a season three pickup in 2009.
9. The Red Sox in Japan. Wow, I completely forgot this even happened. It was a neat little sideshow at the time but, ultimately, not all that big a deal. I’m more likely to remember the Sox losing game 7 of the ALCS than anything about their time in Japan.
10. Climbing a mountain. This finally happened in October during our vacation to Acadia National Park. It was a wimpy little mountain, but the views were spectacular and it felt grea to be back outdoors. Maybe 2009 will be the year where I finally get back into hiking the way I’d like to, though.
Apparently Stephen Colbert will be bringing his unique brand of truthiness and justice for all to the pages of an upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man! From yesterday’s Hero Complex blog over at the LA Times:
Plenty of television comedy stars have hung with Spider-Man, but Stephen Colbert may be the first to swing with him. Colbert, the master parodist of Comedy Central, shares an eight-page adventure with the world-famous web-slinger in issue No. 573 of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” on sale October 15.
Nice. And just a day after my birthday, too!
Yes, I’ve been a little grumpy lately. (What’s that? You noticed? Really?) I’m stressed, I’m tired, and I’m irritated. All the more reason to remind myself of things that make me happy, though.
Obviously, my family is at the top of the list. Penny and Ethan make me happy in ways too numerous to count. I love them every day, but lately I’ve been less demonstrative about it than I should be. My goal starting right now is to change that.
Writing makes me happy. I like the way it feels to build a story from scratch, to put characters into action and watch as they do things that surprise even me. I like the sense of fulfillment I get on the days when I actually accomplish my word count goals. I like that I’m creating something from my imagination.
Not surprisingly, reading makes me happy, too. That’s the biggest plus to taking the train to work every day: It’s like I’ve been given an extra hour or two per day just to read. I love it.
My TV shows make me happy. Yes, I’m shallow, but so what? I love good TV. Hurray for the DVR!
The fact that my friend Eric recently sold his first story makes me happy.
Spider-Man comic books make me happy.
Entertainment Weekly makes me happy. It really does. Good magazine.
The fact that I have a job that I actually like, with coworkers that I actually like, makes me happy.
Cool, cloudy, windy days in October make me happy.
The fact that the word truthiness is in the dictionary makes me happy.
Getting an email out of the blue from a friend I haven’t talked to in ages made me pretty happy.
The Red Sox being in the playoffs again makes me happy. (For now, anyway.)
Last but not least, the fact that Ethan likes to run around the house yelling “HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY!” makes me happy, happy, happy, too.
Rather than doing the usual New Year’s resolutions thing I thought I’d start 2008 off with a list of things I’m excited about seeing or doing in the year ahead. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a start.
So, in no particular order:
1. Ethan’s first birthday. In just a few short months my little boy will be a year old. Holy crap. I know it’s a cliche to say I can’t believe how quickly time flies, but seriously—I can’t believe how quickly time flies!
2. The New England Patriots Invitational Tournament. Also known as the NFL Playoffs, this is where the Patriots invite three vastly inferior teams to be their personal punching bags en route to capturing yet another Lombardi Trophy and, oh yeah, a perfect season. Bring it on!
3. Getting healthy. That means working like hell on my physical therapy and doing the other things—eating well, exercizing every day, and just generally taking better care of myself—that are actually in my control. Hopefully my body will respond after being put through the ringer this past year and a half.
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Obviously.
5. Easter Island. Health permitting, I’ll be traveling to Easter Island this March for my first foray into freelance travel writing since 2005’s cover story on Skellig Michael for the Boston Sunday Globe. Pretty exciting.
6. Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Spidey comics go from monthly to three times a month starting next Wednesday. Thanks to the new status quo, this is as excited as I’ve been for a comic book in a long time.
7. Creating… something. Is this the year I finally make headway on either Rise of the Hidden Sun or one of my two major writing projects? I dunno, but I plan to pick one and run with it.
8. New TV shows. Even though the writers’ strike is still full-speed-ahead, there are two new shows I’m really looking forward to in ‘08: Jericho (returning from the dead for seven all-new episodes!) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which, admittedly, has the potential to suck, but hope springs eternal).
9. The Red Sox in Japan. Yes, I think it’s stupid that the Sox are opening their title defense in frickin’ Asia of all places, but I do still think it’ll be kinda cool to see them play in Tokyo—if only to see what Don and Jerry have to say about it.
10. Climbing a mountain. I don’t care which mountain. I just want to get out there and hike again. Which brings me back to # 3: MUST. GET. HEALTHY!
Well, they finally did it. After 20 looooooong years, Marvel Comics has ended the marriage of Peter (Spider-Man) Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
THANK GOD.
Now, first, some background. Twenty years ago Marvel made the decision to marry Peter and MJ in order to match something that Spidey’s creator, Stan Lee, was doing in the out-o
f-continuity daily newspaper comic strip.
It worked fine in the newspaper strip, but in the comic books the marriage came completely out of nowhere and felt very forced. Even my 12-year-old self sensed that this wasn’t exactly organic character development.
Flash forward 20 years and now we’ve had an entire generation of comic book readers who’ve never known a single, down-on-his-luck Peter Parker with the ability to date and generally live the more exciting life of a young and single superhero.
Marvel has tried several times to undo the damage of the marriage. They’ve split the two characters up, they’ve “killed” MJ, they’ve even tried to say that the Peter Parker who got married was a clone. (Don’t ask.) But in the end they’ve restored Peter and MJ as a married couple because they were nervous about what being a widower or divorcee does to the character.
Point is, they tried everything… and failed. Yet almost from the day the marriage happened, the comics have suffered. A huge number of potential storylines were off limits. A married Peter Parker just isn’t as interesting, plain and simple. The idea that Peter finally gets the girl and settles down to live happily ever after doesn’t make for good drama. That should be the reward at the end of the journey, not the status quo.
So, finally, Marvel just bit the bullet and, as Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada describes it, “put the genie back in the bottle” in this month’s Amazing Spider-Man # 545, aka a storyline entitled “One More Day.” Peter and MJ have one final day together before a cosmic supervillain wipes all evidence and repurcussions of their marriage from existence. (Again, don’t ask.)
“One More Day” as a storyline is clumsy and inelegant. It was poorly written and not particularly compelling. It could have been so much better. But to me, that’s hardly the point. Out of this mess comes a very good thing, and I believe this is a case where the ends do truly justify the means—even if the current fan community is all in a tizzy about it.
So to Marvel Comics and Joe Quesada, I salute you for having the guts to do something that should have been done years ago. Thanks for bringing back “my” Spider-Man.
Now don’t screw it up!
My family has a tradition at Thanksgiving that before we can gorge on the turkey and all the fixings, everyone at the table has to say one thing they’re thankful for. But this year I’m thankful for more than one thing, so consider this the expanded DVD version of what I said at the dinner table.
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yes, I’m incredibly thankful there’s going to be an Indy 4. This may seem like a completely inane thing to be thankful for, but my childhood was pretty much defined by Indiana Jones, and just thinking about a new Indy makes me feel like a kid again. (For the record, I’m not at all concerned that Harrison Ford may have “lost it” since Last Crusade. I am a little concerned that George Lucas may have, though. )
9. My job. Sure, I’ve been known to grumble about it on occasion, but the people at Smarter Travel have really taken care of me over the years, and never moreso than this year as I’ve faced various medical hurdles. This includes my coworkers, many of whom I consider friends, who have reached out to me with cards, emails, gift baskets, enticing promises of pecan pies in my future… even offers to help out around the house. Smarter Travel may not have the same “close-knit family” atmosphere it did when I started there seven years ago (Seven years? WTF?!), but it’s still a pretty damn good place to work.
8. Comic books. (Nerd alert!) It’s only when I’m stuck in bed for days with nothing but a stack of Spider-Man comics to occupy my time that I appreciate just how much they’ve meant to my life. It’s not just about the escapism and entertainment value so much as it about the reminder they give me of who I used to be back when I wanted nothing more than to move to New York and go work for Marvel Comics. I may not be that guy anymore, but I’m thankful I got to be him for a while. It’s this time of the year, for some reason, that most reminds me of my year at Marvel. Looking back, that two-hour commute from Staten Island doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
7. The mountains. It doesn’t even matter which mountain. I just love climbing them, and I love reaching the top when I’m all hot and gross and sweat-soaked and then letting the wind cool me off. There’s almost nothing better in the world. God, I can’t wait to climb a mountain again. I hope I can.
6. Travel. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to really enjoy traveling. The last couple of years all of my trips have been marred by the fact that I’ve been in various stages of excruciating pain. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love the idea of traveling the way I used to travel—with my steel-toed hiking books tied tightly, my walking stick at my side, and my backpack strapped to my shoulders… usually weighed down by Penny’s water bottles. (I kid!) Point is, what I love most about traveling is the chance to see the most stunning places in the world up close, to physically experience the landscape and connect to other cultures through the land they live on. I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to do that in some pretty amazing places.
5. My brother and sister. Probably because I’m the youngest (six years younger than my sister and *cough, cough* nine years younger than my brother), I’ve never really experienced that whole sibling rivalry thing. No, I’ve looked up to and adored my brother and sister for as long as I can rememer, and I’m thankful for both of them (and their kids) more than I’ve ever been able to tell them.
4. My in-laws. Rumor has it that lots of people don’t get along with their in-laws. Not me. I have probably the best father- and mother-in-law ever. Seriously. I’ve known them since I was a junior in high school and in many ways they’ve helped shape who I am today. They’ve been a warm, friendly, positive influence on my life, and I’m so glad they’ll be a big part of Ethan’s life, too.
3. My parents. I guess it’s true that you never fully appreciate just how much your parents love you until you become a parent yourself. Mom, dad, I finally get it. And I’m thankful not just for the bottomless love you gave me as a child but for the continued love and support you’re giving now. It’s indescribable how much comfort I’ve taken since my surgery just knowing my parents love me and are there to help whenever I need it. Who’d have guessed it?
2. My son. This week Ethan started crawling and he started to put noises together that sound like “ma-ma.” (I’m proud to say he already mastered the “da-da” sound a while ago.) Being a father is so different from anything I could have imagined. Doesn’t matter what anyone told me ahead of time, I never believed that just looking at my son could make me this happy. He’s such a good boy—so sweet, so friendly, so bright (gets that from his mom), and so full of enthusiasm for life (even his crying is enthusiastic… maybe a tad too much so). Everything he does is wonderful. I just hope I can be a good father to him. That’s my number one goal in life now.
1. My wife. Penny is the best friend I’ve ever had. She is the very definition of a true companion. She’s game for pretty much anything, whether it’s trekking across Iceland (in the freezing rain), watching thousands of innings of baseball a year (and only complaining a little), encouraging me in both my fiction writing and my travel writing (even when it means spending evenings or weekends on her own, and even when it means offering feedback that she knows I won’t want to hear), and helping me recover from surgery by doing literally everything around the house (including yard work!). Just about the only thing Penny won’t do for me is watch a horror movie. No one’s perfect.
But Penny is more than my best friend. She’s radiant, she’s kind, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s interesting, she’s active, and she keeps me going even when I don’t think I’m up for it. Basically, she’s completely out of my league, so thank God I found her back in high school before she was wise enough to know she could do so much better.
And did I mention she’s also the very best mom our son could ever have? I love watching her with Ethan because it’s obvious how much she loves him, that she’s engaged in his life and his development, and that she takes such joy in being his mother. Not a day goes by that I’m not thankful she and I found our way back to each other after a very rough time of it in 2003.
If there’s one thing in the world I’m most thankful for, it’s that Penny is my wife.
One of the few good things about being laid up after surgery is the chance to catch up on stuff I’ve been meaning to read but hadn’t gotten around to for one reason or another.
Now, first, a disclaimer: I graduated college with honors as an English major, and I have a fairly refined taste in literature. But, man, when you’ve just had your kidney forcibly ripped from your abdomen, sometimes you just wanna read a good old-fashioned comic book. (OK, yes, that’s a little dramatic, but it sounds more impressive than “surgically removed under general anesthesia,” so work with me here.)
Point is, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m up to my elbows in trade paperbacks collecting a few years’ worth of issues from some of my favorite series. It feels good to catch up with some characters from my teens and 20s and see what they’re up to these days.
Right now I’m really enjoying Dark Horse Comics’ revival of the Conan series. I’ve plowed through the first three volumes by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord, and believe me this stuff is phenomenal. Nord’s artwork alone transcends anything I’ve ever seen in fantasy storytelling, and Busiek’s blend of original material woven amongst Robert E. Howard’s classic pulp stories creates an unusually rich chronicle of Conan’s journey from savage youth to adulthood, and all the stages of his career in between: mercenary, thief, pirate, wanderer, and eventually king. Phenomenal stuff. I have volume four on order from Amazon. It’s addictive.
I was also blown away by the new Buffy trade collecting the first six issues of Joss Whedon’s ”Season Eight.” This is Buffy like we’ve never seen her before, but at the same time it’s also a faithful continuation of both the story and the overarching themes of the television series. So far, for me at least, Xander’s Sergeant Fury act is stealing every scene. But reading it is a mixed bag, too. On the one hand, it’s awesome. No doubt about it. On other hand… it only makes me miss the TV series that much more.
I’ve also been catching up with Spider-Man (I’ll weigh in with a review of One More Day at a later date), Planetary, and a few others. I suppose eventually this could get expensive again—comics have a track record of taking over my life if I let them—but so far I’m keeping it under control.
Plus, hey, Christmas is coming!
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