Santa Dropped By..
It has been a while since I have been on the ‘ol blog. I haven’t have any major events to mention lately, but we did get a couple of new items on the homestead.
1.) VIZIO 55-Inch LCD HDTV
2.) Sony Blu-ray
We got these both from Costco and wow, what an amazing upgrade. The quality of picture from the HD Projection to LCD is very noticeable too. I have watched Predator
I have also placed my pre-order for Star Trek Online
Aside from that, things at the shop are pretty good, we are still working on getting established, but we have our steady stream of comic book customers, magic the gathering player and currently trying out YGO.
Uncategorized | 
Saturday Morning Cartoons Volume 2 on DVD
If you don’t recall what was on volume 1 , sorry but there are more of the classics coming at you.
The Saturday morning cartoons selected for Warner Home Video’s collection of 1960s and 1970s spotlights really hold up on HDTVs. They’ve got solid lines and bright colors despite a warning that the materials are worn. Sure, you see dirt in some of them but those are random spots on a full frame of picture. Plus, it makes them look more historical.
Saturday Morning Cartoons Volume 2 on DVD
Popular shows like Tom and Jerry and The Road Runner are sharper. More obscure ones like Adam Ant are fuzzier. The live action from Banana Splits looks awful but that’s not even a cartoon so I wonder why they included it.
Each cartoon displays a different aesthetic. Tom and Jerry is more fluid. Looney Tunes have their distinct exaggeration. Inch High Private Eye is stiffer. Valley of the Dinosaurs and the superhero cartoons have more realistic motion, down to the total celebrity mimicry of the animated Gilligan.
These collections showcase some creative mash-ups, like Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales with Road Runner and Tom chasing them. Stories like the Bigot ray are actually profound.
A five-minute featurette on each collection is a nice extra with some history about one of the cartoons. The Saturday Morning Wake-Up calls are recently produced headers intended to mimic a ‘60s or ‘70s announcer. You can tell they’re new, but it’s a nice atmosphere setting effort.
Zombie Expert?
Today 11/4/2009 not only being exciting because it is new comic book day, but someone actually came into the comic book shop, walked up to the counter, gave a quick look and said:
Person: I was told that you are some kind of Zombie expert?
Me: Well.. , I don’t know if anyone can be called an expert.
Person: No, no, not that! I was told carry zombie related stuff here?
Me: Sure, comic books, board games, action figures.
Person: <gasp> Eeeep.
Me: There is the Last Night On Earth, Zombies!!! Board games right over there, if you like reading material there is ZMD, The Walking Dead, Living with the Dead, Marvel Zombies , not to mention a variety of undead action figures too.
From them point on.. it was like guiding a young person whom has never seen or had a toy through a Toys R Us.
We all have our areas of geeking out, I just happy to get a kick out of Post Apocalyptic and Undead stuff.
Halloween Movie Watching Options
I am starting to think about what possible Halloween film choices I might want to this month, only 6 days left until the ‘Big H’!
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) 
Mr. Romero did everything right in this film. I think for the time, he wrote an amazing script that makes you look at how people would deal with the end of the world as it was known. You have those people that had nothing to loose, those that wanted to survive and keep a life style as they might have had. Not to mention the awesome special effects makeup which was done by Tom Savini. Break out the Root beer and Twinkies (inside joke), movie night is coming!
Way of the Ninja…
GamersCircle . . . “COMICS“
I suppose it goes with the times, I actually catch myself doing it to. When I read something, I usually only read that I want to see. This is a example of a phone call which took place today.
[insert your favorite ring tone here]
Me: GamersCircle Comics
Phone Call: Hi – can you tell me if you have Way of the Ninja 3 in stock?
Me: I am not familiar with that title. Do you know who the publisher is?
Phone Call: I dunno, but I need it for my Playstation 3.
Me: That would explain why I don’t know that title. We are a comic book store and we don’t sell video games, sorry.
Phone Call: Wha? What is a comic book store?
Me: We sell comic books like Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and other titles like that.
Phone Call: Do you have any video games with Spider-Man, Batman or Superman?
Me: Sorry, but we don’t sell any video games, we mainly sell comic books, board games, card games and action figures.
Phone Call: Huh? What are board games?
Me: Board games are like Monopoly, Risk, Chutes and Ladders…
Phone Call: Do you know when you expect Way of the Ninja 3 in as a board game?
Me: I can’t speak to the fact whether there are plans to take that video game and turn it into a board game.
Phone Call: I don’t understand, all I am trying to do is find out if you sell Way of the Ninja for the PS3!!! Why do you even call your self a Video Game Store if you don’t stock popular games?!?!
Me: Like I stated earlier, we are do not sell Video Games, we are a comic book store. I am sure if you contact Dimple Records or Gamestop, they might be able to help you.
Phone Call: Are you serious?
Me: Sure – they sell video games and they most likely will have better information on what you are asking for.
Phone Call: Give me a straight Yes or no. Do you have Way of the Ninja 3 in your store?
Me: No
Phone Call: <Click>
I understand that some people live in their own little world; that there are things/subject matters that some people are not familiar with at all, but there are those that are as sharp as a cue ball too.
Bible Book drawn by the same dude as Felix the Cat.
What?!?!?
Running a “Comic Book” store, one would think that you wouldn’t get to many people looking for a “Bible”, but there are those days.
Customer: I just head on NPR that there is a comic book that came out today that was drawn by the same guy that did Felix the Cat (do you know who that is??) but this is a tongue and cheek version.
Me: Yes.. I know how the character “Felix” the cat, but I will have to do a Google on the artist as that is something I don’t know off the top of my head.
[taping away on the computer]
Me: okay, according to the wiki on Felix the Cat, it was created back in 1919 and the creator was Pat Sullivan. I suppose if this dude is still around (around 90 yrs old) ….
Customer: Yeah.. perhaps it wasn’t that guy, but the comic was suppose to be out today, do you have it?
Me: New Comic books are Wednesdays, so if we did order it, it would be this coming Wednesday.
Customer: Oh.. do you know if you ordered it?
Me: That does not sound familiar, as we don’t get many people asking for “bible” related titles. You are going to have to help me a little more on the title so I can try to narrow down a bit.
Customer: Genesis!!
<insert Beast Boy scream here>
Me: Yes, I am familiar with elements of that part of the bible, but I am not seeing any comic book listed called Genesis. Let me go over the the NPR site and see if they talk about it.
[more taping on the customer and searching the NPR web site]
Me: Are you perhaps talking about , “Crumb’s ‘Genesis,’ A Sexy Breasts-And-Knuckles Affair”
Customer: That’s it! that is the one! Do you have it!!
Me: Hang on a sec, let me check. Looks like the book was offered to retailer in July 2009 and came out September and did not order any, sorry, but we do have The Complete Crumb Comics Vol #16. This is the artist that did the book that you are looking for.
Customer: I WILL TAKE IT!
Best kept secret?
This happened today at the shop:
Customer: Do you have any AMORY WARS Comics?
Me: That title is not currently an active title and we will either have a trade or some back issues.
Customer: I am actually looking for my brother, he really like the series and is only missing a couple to complete it, so we are looking for the single issues and not really a trade.
[walking over to back issue comic book section]
Me: Alright, then what we have in back issues will be right here.
Customer: <sigh> Alright, thanks!
Customer: Wow! you got a lot here! We went to comic con thinking that we would be able to complete the series and you have more than anyone at Comic Con.
Me: [Smile]
How to Defeat Burnout and Stay Motivated
“Do what you love.”
We’ve all heard this advice before. It’s great advice, though not many people truly take it to heart.
But sometimes doing what you love isn’t enough to keep you going. Inspiration, passion, and motivation are difficult things to hold on to. They always seem to slip away right when you need them most.
You know that feeling. Where you’re that close to finishing a project, or achieving a goal, or crossing a task off your to-do list … but you just can’t muster the energy. You’ve lost interest. You’re exhausted. Drained. And you don’t know why.
That’s burnout. It’s something many of us are all too familiar with. I’d like to share with you a few ways that I fight burnout – or prevent it from catching me in the first place.
– ready –
1. Achieve in increments. When you only focus on a big goal someday, it’s easy to get burned out by the daily grind. It’s like driving toward a mountain in the distance. You can drive for hours, but the mountain doesn’t seem to get any closer. And spinning your wheels gets real tiring real fast.
The solution is to give yourself a way to measure and record every little step forward you take. Here’s how:
- Get a journal, notebook, or calendar. Writing things down is important.
- Identify milestones on the road towards your goal.If you’re writing a book, you could treat each chapter as one milestone. Or, even better, treat each 500 words or 1000 words as a milestone.
- If milestones aren’t obvious, create them. For example, if you’re training for a marathon, hold yourself to a progression of distance. If you start out running at your maximum distance, you’ll plateau very quickly. Instead, start at a shorter distance – even if it’s very easy for you – then work your way up slowly.
- Track milestones in a simple, visual format. Think of the progress bar on a download. One glance tells you exactly how much progress has been made. The format you choose doesn’t need to be detailed or comprehensive. It just needs to show that you’re moving forward day by day.
Learn to appreciate the little accomplishments. Let yourself enjoy the feeling of getting things done.
2. Train your muse. One of the biggest myths about inspiration that it’s random. One day you’re inspired and motivated, the next day you’re burned out – and there’s no way around it. Or so they say.
In fact, inspiration is just like any other skill. It may start out as unreliable, but it can be trained and developed into something you can rely on.
So how do you train your muse? The best way I’ve found is immersion. Surround yourself with things that inspire you and reflect your goals. Great composers listen to music. Great authors read voraciously. Great marketers attend seminars.
The more that your inspiration becomes a part of your life, the less likely it is to run out when you need it most. With that in mind, be creative. What ways can you connect with your inspiration on a daily basis?
3. Work less. Cut down on the amount of energy and time you spend working. If you have sick days or vacation days left, take advantage of them. Or, if you’re self-employed, force yourself to work fewer hours each day – even if that means turning down new projects.
Working less doesn’t mean you have to slack off or get less done. It does mean that you:
- Eliminate unnecessary tasks.
- Take strategic breaks.
- Stop multi-tasking.
- Seek help from other people.
4. Define success realistically. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having big dreams and big ambitions. But if you’re constantly frustrated by a lack of progress, it might be time to take a step back and examine your goals. Are they achievable? Are you holding yourself to a reasonable timeline?
Here’s a good way to do this. Get a piece of paper and write down your big, ambitious goal. Then write down at least 10 specific, concrete steps that will allow you to achieve that goal. Be as detailed as possible. If you can’t come up with a series of down-to-earth steps to get you from here to your dream, that’s a sign that you need to either redefine your goals or rethink the way you’re pursuing those goals.
5. Get more sleep. You’ve heard this before, I know. So have I. But that didn’t stop me from going against my better judgment and tiring myself out by staying up late to work. Getting enough sleep takes a conscious decision – and, just like any good habit, takes time to develop.
One of the biggest barriers for me in this area is procrastination. I have a tendency to put things off throughout the day, then stay up later as a result. What’s keeping you from getting the rest you need?
6. Take it slow(er). The world tells us to rush things: “Get there faster. Make money quicker. Retire sooner.” And while these things aren’t necessarily bad, they can easily get us in over our heads. If you’re feeling burned out and overwhelmed, it’s time to slow down.
A few ways to take yourself out of 24/7 high gear:
- Spend at least 10 minutes a day in a quiet place, away from distractions. Breathe.
- Put together a playlist of slow, relaxing music. Listen to it whenever you start feeling frazzled.
- Take a butcher knife to your to-do list. Set a limit to the number of tasks you take on each day and stick to it.
- Extend your deadlines. Do you absolutely, positively have to get this done now? Just remember – this isn’t an excuse to procrastinate.
7. Get a second opinion. It’s hard to spot burnout from the inside. Your close friends and family are likely to identify the signs of burnout long before you do. So listen to what they’re saying. The next time your spouse, parent, or best friend tells you you’re working too hard, take it seriously.
8. Set clear boundaries. Burnout happens when we allow work to overflow its boundaries and interfere with every other part of our lives. So set strong boundaries. The clearer the better. In writing, if possible.
For example, instead of saying: “I’ll spend at three hours every night with my family,” make it clearer: “I won’t work after 8 o’clock. That’s 100% family time.” Clear boundaries are easier to stick to and harder to rationalize away.
Once you’ve set up your boundaries, make them public. Let your family know that you’ve set aside time just for them. They’ll hold you accountable to your promises. Let your clients know that you’ll be unavailable during certain hours. This will reduce the temptation to fudge on your boundaries.
9. When you’re working, focus. I’ve found that concentrating on work is actually less exhausting than allowing yourself to be wishy-washy about it. When you decide that it’s time to work, buckle down, eliminate distractions, and do it wholeheartedly. There’s something amazingly refreshing about pure, sharp focus.
10. Create outlets. If you’re a person of diverse interests (and really, who isn’t?), it’s likely that you have several very different goals and ideas bouncing around in your head at any given time. These ideas need outlets. If you hold them inside, they’ll eventually start interfering with your focus and creating unnecessary frustration, leading to burnout.
In other words, I think it’s okay – healthy, even – to start a few side projects as outlets for creative energy. Just make sure that you keep your priorities straight and your side projects fun. If these side projects become sources of stress, cut them out immediately.
11. Know when to power through it. This is going to sound out of place given what I’ve said above, but it’s powerful – if applied correctly. Sometimes the solution for burnout is just to power through it. Sometimes burnout can be an illusion. In these cases, the best choice is to refuse to use burnout as an excuse, ignore the fact that you feel burned out, and just work through it. It’s like a runner gaining her second wind and coming out stronger on the other side.
However, just as an experienced athlete knows when to push through the pain and when to pull back, you’ll need to be very careful how you take this particular piece of advice. Until you develop a keen awareness of your own tendencies, it’s usually better to err on the side of caution and pull back when you start feeling burned out.
12. Never accept defeat. Burnout is an obstacle like any other. It can hold you back for a while, but it’s not the end of the world – unless you let it defeat you.
If you have a great goal in mind, don’t give up on it, no matter how apathetic, exhausted, or frustrated you might feel. If everything I’ve said up until this point fails, do this: hold on to your dream – even if it doesn’t feel like much of a dream at the moment. Hold on to it anyway. That way, when the storm clears, your dream will still be intact, ready for another try.
– end –
Andy’s Comic Book Pull List: 10/07/2007
Amazing Spider-Man #608 – “WHO WAS BEN REILLY?” begins here! Bursting out of the pages of this year’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL, RAPTOR is back for revenge against the man he claims killed his family – BEN REILLY, the clone of Spider-Man! Unfortunately, the only person alive that fits Ben’s description is Peter Parker! As this super powered psycho with a thirst for vengeance targets Peter, his family and his friends, even Spider-Man might not be able to save the day this time!
Astonishing X-Men #31 – Abigail Brand, director of S.W.O.R.D., has been in some sticky situations, and she isn’t the type who asks for help to get out of them. But when you’re careening towards Earth in the cockpit of a damaged spaceship after being attacked on an exploding asteroid 7.5 million miles from Earth…it’s time to call the X-Men. They might not have much of a plan, or much of a chance, but that’s certainly never stopped them before. Superstar artist Phil Jimenez joins writer Warren Ellis for the second arc of the mind-bending ongoing series!
Batman and Robin #5 – Are two Dynamic Duos too much for one city? Batman and Robin find themselves at cross-purposes with Red Hood and Scarlet. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? And who will end up being the chosen protectors of Gotham City?
Batman Confidential #34 – Batman’s adventures in Moscow have all been leading to this as BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL double-ships in October! With The Tsar ready to detonate a hydrogen bomb in Moscow, Batman must work with General Lukzov to stop the massacre. In order to save the day, Batman will have to gain a hand from an unlikely ally!
Deadpool #16 – “Want You to Want Me,” Part 2 Deadpool is convinced that, after years of gun-for-hire work, he has found his true calling: He’s going to be an X-Man! One problem, though: they don’t want him! And can you blame them? Wade’s just as likely to fire on his friends as his enemies! But Cyclops is smart enough not to get on Deadpool’s bad side. He has a plan to keep Deadpool both close enough to monitor and far enough away so that no one gets hit by the shrapnel. But Deadpool has a plan, too…
From the Ashes #5 – Having been forcibly separated from one other, Bob and Michele are forced to plot their next moves apart, he reunited as a field slave with their mutant pals, and she from the confines of ‘The Baby Bunker.’ Can they find a way to escape?
Haunt #1 – Daniel Kilgore is dragged into his estranged brother Kurt’s secret life of murder and espionage… by his ghost. With no training whatsoever, guided by the spirit of his secret-agent brother, Daniel must now solve his brother’s murder and save the world – or die trying!
Irredeemable #7 – A ‘twilight of the superheroes’ story that examines super-villains from Mark Waid, the acclaimed writer of Kingdom Come and Empire. The Plutonian’s former teammates, the Paradigm, start to turn the tide against their former comrade. But, you know what they say about a cornered animal!
Star Wars Invasion #4 – Twenty-five years after the events in A New Hope, the relentless assault by the alien invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong has plunged the galaxy into war. But word has come of a possible intelligence coup for the New Republic!
Young Finn Galfridian joins Leia Organa and her children aboard the legendary Millennium Falcon for an undercover mission to a notorious refuge for pirates and smugglers. Meanwhile, Finn’s sister Kaye, held prisoner aboard a Yuuzhan Vong starship, is about to show the invaders that the galaxy is not defenseless!
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3 – The world of Spider-Man is turned upside down! Friends are enemies and enemies are friends!! Mysterio is on the loose and gunning for Spidey big time. And the Hulk is back!!!?? Plus–and this is a biggie–you’ll never believe what iconic super hero is moving into Aunt May’s house!!
War Heroes #3 (Of 6) – After weeks of training, the recruits finally get to try out their super-powers on real-life targets, as Project Olympus marches en masse across the Middle East, much to the horror of the world at large. But things are not as simple as they seem, and Calvin’s poster-boy brother is up to something.
