What’s the Difference?

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A policeman pulled over a car, walked up to the driver’s window, and asked the man if he knew why he was pulled over.

“No,” the man replied.

“You failed to stop at the stop sign,” the cop explained.

“But I did slow down!” the guy argued.  The cop shook his head. “You are required to stop. That’s why they’re called stop signs.”  The man started to get belligerent. “Stop, slow down — what’s the difference?”

The cop pulled out his baton. “I can show you. I’m going to start hitting you with my baton. You tell me if you want me to stop or slow down.”

MegaCon This Weekend!

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MegaCon starts tomorrow.

I love me some MegaCon.  There’s a ton of guests, including my buddy, John Beatty.  Although I won’t be there tomorrow, I do plan to attend on Saturday.  If you’re there swing by Beatty’s table.  Odds are I’ll be there.  The main reason to swing by though is to check out the really cool sketches John will be kicking out.  Big John is even offering a coupon for a discount on his sketches!

Hope to see you there!

Robert B. Parker Speaks!

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Robert B. Parker is a busy author.  He writes the Spenser series, the Jesse Stone series, the Sunny Randall series, young adult novels, and has just finished up his western trilogy.  It all averages out to about three new books a year.  You’d think that at age 76 that would be a bit much.  Not for Parker.

He even found time for this interview with the Wall Street Journal.

A Duck Walks Into A Bar…

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A duck walks into a bar. And he says to the bartender “Got any grapes?” The bartender says “No, I don’t have any grapes.” The duck walks out, sorely disappointed.

So the next day, he walks back into the bar, asks the same question, gets the same answer.

The day after, he walks back into the bar, and again, asks the bartender, “Do you have any grapes?” The bartender, having still not figured out why this duck seems to think he may have some grapes, says to the duck, “No, and if you come back in here tomorrow and ask me if I have any grapes, I will nail your bill to the bar!”

The duck frowns, turns around, and walks out of the bar. So the next day, the duck walks back into the bar, and asks the bartender “Got any nails?”

The bartender says, “No.”

So the duck says, “Got any grapes?”

[A raised bill to Neatorama.com for the link]

Derek Fridolf’s Rambo

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My buddy, John Beatty turned me on to Derek Fridolf’s artwork.  I was visting John and he handed me Derek’s latest sketchbook.  I was instantly into the art.  I said to John that I bet that Derek could do a pretty cool Stallone.  Beatty laughed and handed me the sketch above.  I was floored.

Derek offers a free headsketch with every sketchbook purchased.  John wanted the sketchbook, but doesn’t collect art.  So he asked Derek to do a Stallone piece that he would give to me.   Derek agreed and created his very cool take on Rambo.  You can check out more of Derek’s work here.  And of course John Beatty can be found here and here.

Thanks to Derek and John.

UFC 95 Results

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Josh Koscheck Vs. Paulo Thiago: I went with Koscheck.  You can imagine my shock when he was knocked out in the first round with two hard shots to the head [the second as he was falling to the mat].  Koscheck had been forcing the action and Joe Rogan had just made a comment about Koscheck having the better punching ability when he suddenly found himself wondering why he was on the mat looking up.

Demian Maia Vs. Chael Sonnen I thought that Maia was going to win this one via submission pretty easily.  He did by triangle choke at 2:37 of the first round.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Wilson Gouveia I didn’t see this going the distance and predicted a win for Marquardt.  Although it went to the 3:10 mark of the third round, Marquardt did win by KO.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Diego Sanchez I gave the nod to Sanchez who won via unanimous decision.

MegaCon

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MegaCon is quickly approaching. Next weekend in fact. I usually attend for at least two of the three days, but this year it’s just not possible. If things work out the way I hope, I’ll be there all day Saturday. So, I’ll have to pack three days of fun into one. It’s doable… with the proper planning.

It’s a good thing I’m having dinner with my buddy, John Higashi, Thursday night. John is a “convention-sketch-master.” He approaches shows with the same level of preparation as generals getting ready for an offensive. It’s good to learn from the master.

If you’re planning to attend MegaCon, let me know. I’d like to be able to swing by and at least say “hi.”

Mood: Joy
Listening to: 70’s Music
Reading: Another Life by Andrew Vachss
Watching: The Oscars — go Mickey Rourke
Playing: Internet Spades
Eating: Chocolate Muffin
Drinking: Diet Coke [goes good with the muffin]

*johnbeatty Feb 22, 2009
Your good for Saturday…Sunday too, if you want it?

~CJZ Feb 22, 2009
Cool. Sunday may be a possibility. I really appreciate it, brother.

*johnbeatty Feb 22, 2009
I knew you would.

Gulacy Speaks

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When I was in Junior and High School, Paul Gulacy was without a doubt my favorite artist. Gulacy, along with writer, Doug Moench, created a comic book called Master of Kung Fu, which should be required reading for anyone who enjoys graphic stories.  The drawing above is a recreation of one of Paul’s classic splash pages.  You can see the man can still rock it.

The back issues of Master of Kung Fu are worth searching out.   I wish that Marvel would repackage them in a nice hardback, but due to rights issues involving Fu Manchu [really], that probably won’t happen.  Still, the back issues are worth a look and you can always check out Paul’s official site to get your Gulacy fix filled.

UFC 95 Predictions

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Let’s take a look at my predictions for tonight’s UFC 95 fight card:

Josh Koscheck Vs. Paulo Thiago I’m a bit puzzled by this fight.  Thiago is undefeated but should be severely tested by Koscheck.  Koscheck has been extremely busy working his way to a title shot.  He has a lot to lose should he do so.  Thiago could be pushed right to the top of the division with a win of Koscheck.  So who wants it more?  I’m going with Koscheck.

Demian Maia Vs. Chael Sonnen I think that Maia is going to win this one via submission pretty easily.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Wilson Gouveia I don’t see this going the distance and I’m predicting a win for Marquardt.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Diego Sanchez These are two of my favorite UFC fighters and they should provide us with an excellent main event.  Sanchez is coming down in weight, but I don’t believe that will be much of a factor.  Both are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter tv tournaments.  I’m giving the nod to Sanchez.

Kyle Baker Stays Busy

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Kyle Baker is a busy man.  He’s currently producing, directing, and starring in an animated version of The Bakers for Fox.  He just completed the first Special Forces storyline,  He’s doing a biography of President Obama and is on tap to create two new comic series this year for Image. He also wants to do a new Bakers book to appear with the Fox release.

Whew!  Talk about a workload.  Everything Kyle Baker is involved in, is worth a look.  It shouldn’t be hard to find something he’s involved in.

Big Year for Aliens & Predator

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Chris Warner has been at Dark Horse Comics since their very first issue over twenty years ago.  His Black Cross character was featured in their premiere title.  Warner went on to work on other Dark Horse properties like The American, Predator, Barb Wire and many others.  Occasionally he would even come up with a new Black Cross story.  [It’s way past time for another Black Cross mini-series!]

Eventually Warner moved into an editorial position where he suggested the first Aliens vs Predator mini-series [years before the movie came about].  Chris Warner is now the editor in charge of both the Alien and Predator properties for Dark Horse and boy, does he have plans for them this year!  He tells Newsarama [and you] all about it [if you click here].