When an press release or creative interviewee hypes a high-profile project, we sometimes hear the term "It'll melt the internet". I honestly thought that day would come the day of Michael Jackson's death. I'm old enough to remember the death of Elvis Presley. That was big too, sans internet. In fact I remember where I was when news of Elvis' death broke. I was vacationing with my parents in Wildwood New Jersey. That week, we'd get up early, ride bikes, swim, then nap at midday, then go back to the boardwalk for rides and games. One day, after returning to our cheap-ass motel to rest up for late night lunacy, all the tv stations (only three networks and a UHF station back then, kids) interrupted regular programming to tell the world that the most-recognized entertainer was dead at 42. As a child, I thought 40 was Geezertime, now not so much. Jackson was this generation's Elvis, with so many similarities, so if the internet was to face it's greatest challenge, it was a few weeks ago.

   But there I was, surfing my favorite sites. See how everything comes back to me? That's a plus to having your own site I guess. One of the sites was Comic Book Resourses, to which I contributed a manifesto about comic book inker's future prospects in the digital age. Read all about it here: http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21752

   This manifesto, slyly disguised as an OP/ED piece, prompted some negative rumblings among the inker's groups, but I was genuinely pleased to read so many supportive responses posted on message boards and private emails. In short, I expected everybody to hate me. Apparently, this drew enough controversy to merit a follow-up interview with the fine folks at Comic Geek Speak, a cabal of comic book afficianados who have varied and colorful opinions (sound like someone we know?) Check it out at http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/

   Now for the lightning round of random thoughts that have taken up my mental shelf-space for too long:

   I HATE shaving! The million-dollar idea would be to create something akin to a swimming pool skimmer for the face, to shave you while you sleep. Unfortunately I'm too technically inept to expend my energies towards making the dream come true, so get to work, brain trusts! Instead of dopey statisticians wasting time and our tax dollars on studies based on common sense, create my face-skimmer!

   I've misplaced an X-acto blade in my studio the other day and I'm genuinely worried...because if I don't find it, it may find ME! Maybe the X-acto blade is laying in wait, to visit pennance upon me for not shaving as much as I should. Hmmmm.

   And now, some random photo fun, starting with an bug-eaten leaf that eerily resembles the Bat-signal!