So, my bike is magical. Every time I ride it to work, it rains. God, is it brilliant or what?

Hellboy is super-fucking-mega-sweet. It has the perfect mix of action, heart, comedy depth, and manages to stay true to the sprit of the comic when it strays from the letter. I hate those that whine and bitch when some things from a comic are changed for a movie. Sometimes, it just needs to be done when you change mediums. Itís a fact, move on. So yeah, Hellboy, go see it. It opens this Friday, so make your plans now. For reals.

Iíve been listening to a lot of rap music lately. Dunno why, because really, Iím not down with my music at this moment. When I have Winamp on Iím usually skipping through the almost 800 songs on my playlist in a kind ADD-esque haze. Iím downloading a bunch of Gray album songs (Jay-Zís ìBlack Albumî remixed with the Beatles ìWhite Albumî), so maybe itís just a lack of something new thatís causing my musical malaise.

Yíknow, I always scratch my head when I see a bunch of new IPs show up on my tracker, and I canít recognize them at all. Itís even more peculiar when it looks like theyíve just found the site from typing in the domain and not from any kind of link. Curiouser and curiouser. Who reads this thing? I know the people I email update notifications too, but who else? I guess thatís a ìhow many licks does it take to get to the middle of a tootsie popî level mysteries.

Basketball is still feeling hella lame lately. All the games Iíve seen lately have been blowouts, and even worse, blowouts by the Lakers. Thatís just a thousand kinds of suck. Itíll be interesting to see what happens in the playoffs this year, and I guess Iím just coasting until then.

Speaking of Hellboy, this past Wednesday Dark Horse put out a 25 cent edition of ìThe Corpse,î one of the most well-loved Hellboy short stories. So, find a comic store out there and pick it up. Itís way good. I gave the copy they were giving away at the movie theater (by a much more organized store than the one I work for, that put their logo on the covers, and put gift certificates and prizes redeemable at their storeÖ*sigh*) to my non-comic reader neighbors who babysat for me, and they both loved. I get a Crusades-level high converting people to the Church of Graphic Arts.

I need to put myself up for sainthood. ;)

My own creative efforts have been stalling like a bastard lately. Itís irritating. I need to get back in the game. In the latest Lehane book Iím reading, they are talking about what makes one of the characters a good PI, and he says ìHe loves the *work,* big case or small.î

Do I love the work? I dunno. Itís what I want, itís how I want to make my living, but do I love staring at the computer screen, trying to come up with the right turn of phrase? Do I love trying to compress whatís in my head into words? I think so, but I wonder if those who love the work even have to ask themselves that. There are times, lately, when I think about other things that, if my past had been different, Iíd be good at or have pursued at the time. But who knows? Iíve been told lately that I think too much sometimes, and thereís not a lot of lying in that.

I love getting results. Thatís what can be frustrating about writing, is that the gratifications arenít instantaneous. You put something out thereÖand you wait. And you wonder. Itís not like telling a joke or story in person where you get that instant feedback or reaction, and can play off that. Writing is like planning a land war in Asia, all seeing around corners and waiting for the results to come back to you.

Plus Áa change, plus c’est la mÍme chose, non?

I can promise you two things; that Iíll always look this good, and that I remainÖ