NYC more in depth...

As I drove to work in the dark this morning, my first holiday fever hit me. I'm ready for fall and the crispness of winter. I suppose I'm one of the rare few who actually enjoys the changing seasons. Summer all year round would make me appreciate it less, I think.

All the anger and disdain of yesterday was slept off. My day spiraled into shit somewhere around 1pm when the files that made me work 12 hour days last Mon/Tues didn't work after all. But what really pissed me off is that our expo people tried to blow smoke up my ass about a process. I'm not an idiot. I do this for a living. And if it takes their people 10 hours to lay something out that they're copying exactly, they either have the worst graphic designers on the planet, or they're being robbed blind for hourly pay.

I love NYC. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. I mean, I love Chicago, and New Orleans, and utterly adore Toronto, but NYC is it's own animal.

Wednesday, I had the fastest cabbie of all cabbies EVER. The normal charge for a ride from Laguardia to Times Square is $45. I paid like $32. He was passing every cab on the street and cutting down back streets. I tipped him well. I checked into my hotel and immediately jumped on the subway and then walked to the Metropolitan Museum.

I waffled for weeks on which museum I wanted to go look at on Wednesday afternoon since it was my only day off alone. I considered the Gugenheim, and I really wish I had walked down and at least touched it and taken a picture of it before going back to my hotel. I worship Frank LW. He looked at the world in a way no one else could and had such a complicated understanding of it.

The Met was awesome. I'm a huge museum nerd, and I love nothing more than spending an entire day in a new museum. I have tons of pics, but I need to download them off my phone. That thing has a great camera. I was slightly disappointed by the Greek/Roman section. I dunno. Maybe I expected more than tan pottery. The sculptures were fascinating, but…I dunno.

The Egyptian section was amazing, and I really enjoyed the arms and armor. They had some sweet crossbows on display. I loves me some crossbows. I also took some pics of interesting patterns that I'm thinking about incorporating into the house somehow.

I loved it. I saw everything I wanted to see, and then most of everything else. I wasn't as interested in the paintings, so I save those for the last 45 minutes and kind of hustled through looking at the Rembrandts and Degas. I was disappointed that the Medieval art section was closed for renovations, though. I had wanted to see that; although, medieval art pretty much consists of Christian paintings and junk. Been there, done that.

That night, we ate in Little Italy and got a table full of desserts afterwards. I'd just like to say that coconut gelato is the food of the gods. nom nom nom. Thursday night, we ate at Jekyll & Hide, which wouldn't have been bad had it not been 80 degrees in there. As soon as I walked in, I got hit with the barf bat. I spent the whole time in there feeling like I was going to hurl, and it ends up Phenergen takes about 1.5 hours to actually kick in. Urgh. And when I feel ill, I have the attention span of a gnat. So I spent the whole evening feeling spacey and out of it. Around 8:30-ish I finally stopped feeling sick, but I was in the hotel room laying in bed.

Friday, Angi collected me after work and we ate in Jersey City at a place called Taqueria. Holy god. How good could tacos be, I asked myself. Though, oddly, I ended up fantasizing about eating them all day Friday leading up to it. Heh And I wasn't disappointed. I was unconvinced that taco without cheese could be delicious. And I was oh-so-wrong. They were PHENOMENAL. I could have eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner there every day for the next month.

Saturday, we shopped our asses off. We meandered all over southern Manhattan. She refused to show me exactly how much ground we had covered until we got back to the apartment, for fear my ankle might explode at the very thought of it. But we covered a LOT of ground.

I got some kick-ass t-shirts, a cool punky jacket, and some delicious NY pizza. I love how the crust is so crispy and delicious. Mmmm I was also ecstatic that I got to go to the Giant Robot store. I happened to remember that there was one in NYC while we were out shopping, and Angi called the fiance to find out where it was. I got a t-shirt and a calendar, and I contemplated getting some other stuff but held off. I can always order from their website later. But I was thrilled just to get to go to one finally.

I'm kicking myself I didn't buy that damn hat at Century 21, which is an enormous multi-storied version of TJ Maxx but with higher-end discounted stuff. And there was something else I was wishing I had bought, but I've forgotten now. Which I suppose is good and probably means I really didn't need it anyway.

We had dinner at some pancake house that was featured on Dives, Drive-ins, and Diners--or whatever it's called. I got a burger that wasn't very good. But I learned the valuable lesson that if a restaurant is named for a certain food, you should probably just order that food if you want to be impressed. Next time…

I had a great time. And I'm grateful to Angi for taking me around. I've decided I'm old and need to eat dinner at 4:30, as I was in bed and asleep almost every night by 10:30. Oh well. :)

...but really, he was just talking to his backpack.

Good lord. Spent last week in Manhattan.

I've discovered I loathe Times Square, but I love the rest of Manhattan. My seminar was fantastic, and Angi and I had a great time. Thanks for the horse brutality, girlie. I got some t-shirts, an awesome jacket, and tons of delicious food. I can't wait to go back next November for her wedding. :)

I made my connecting flight by a god damn minute yesterday. I had to RUN between the 2 furthest points of the Atlanta airport just to make it. I decided I wasn't going to go around people; they could just get the hell out of the way of the giant running with a 20-lbs backpack and a rolling carry-on suitcase. And wisely, they did.

I'm tired. I spent today drinking from an open bar and riding around in a golf cart delivering beer to hoity-toity doctors playing golf. Rough life, I know. heh

Kev is demanding to go to the grocery, so I must log off and drag ass through Kroger.

Can Batman save Watchmen?

September 23, 2008 - The legal battle between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over the right to produce and distribute the film adaptation of the graphic novel Watchmen continues to rage on, complete with threats of a postponement of the film's March 6, 2009 release date -- a move that would put a serious crimp in Warners' '09 plans. But a new report claims there could be a possible means to settle the dispute and it involves none other than the Caped Crusader.

Batman-on-Film points out an article at the Comic Book Resources column Lying in the Gutters, which claims that Fox isn't necessarily just looking for a mere payoff from Warners in order to let the latter release Watchmen. "Sources tell me that Fox want the 1960s Batman TV series. Currently Fox own the TV footage, but Warner Bros own the characters and trademarks, via their ownership of DC Comics. [EDITOR'S NOTE: That's not exactly true; please see the paragraphs below.] The rights to a DVD release have been held up for a long time now, and this case looks like it may be the instrument to release them," CBR claims.

The article adds that "Fox will get a wodge of cash as well - many millions of dollars it seems. But it seems they also want the rights to release the Adam West-starring Batman on DVD, something long denied fans of the series. And Warners will get the Watchmen film, to release as planned."

But, as TV Shows on DVD makes painstakingly clear today, there are a lot more parties that Fox would need to haggle with than just Warners if the Batman series were to come out on DVD.
Although TV Shows on DVD does not say that CBR is wrong in claiming that Fox is trying to use their Watchmen film lawsuit as a means to settle their long-standing Batman on DVD issue, they do point out that there is a huge array of parties that new contractual arrangements would have to be negotiated with before Batman could be released on DVD. These parties include: on-camera talent (both the main cast or their estates, as well as guest stars, cameos, and their respective estates), behind-the-camera personnel (e.g. writers, directors), music, Greenway Prods.The Dozier Estate, costume makers, and the makers of the Batmobile and other props on the show.

The original deals that were struck in the 1960s apparently only covered televised airings. As the site points out, we're talking about several years' worth of legal work that would need to be settled let alone how pricey the whole endeavor will become. And then there's DC Comics to contend with, which owns the rights to the Batman character not Warner Bros. (who are behind the Bat-films) or Fox (who has the '60s TV series).

Holy headache, Batman! Now there's a legal morass and history of tangled rights lengthy and complicated enough to make this Watchmen movie mess look simple.

totally insane

So as punishment for having a free 5-day weekend last week, I was crushed beneath a mountain of work that I had to have completed by today. I worked till after 6:30pm last night and still had to come home and fold cards and stuff and label envelopes. Then I had to go in at 7:30am and stayed until almost 6pm again tonight, working through lunch both days. I told my boss that if I forgot something, I'm really sorry, but I can't do anything about it till I'm back in the office next week.

The yoga retreat was great except for the persistent feeling of feeling like I was going to hurl from sun up to sundown.I had a blood test yesterday, and no I'm not pregnant. But apparently, going off THE PILL after 14 years can cause severe withdrawal symptoms that are EXACTLY like pregnancy. It's ridiculous. My doctor gave me Phenergen so I can get through my trip to NYC this week, and she gave me something to get me regulated again. But I'm not taking that one till I get back from NYC. Who wants to go through THAT while traveling?

Apparently, a few minutes after I left the retreat Sunday morning, Lorie's bf showed up to tell her her dad passed away. I had just gotten home when she called me. My heart breaks for her. We had been talking about his health all weekend, and well, I guess when it's your time, it's your time. Send her some positive thoughts, vibes, prayers, whatever. I talked to her for about an hour tonight. She seems to be doing pretty good, but that first week is a whirlwind.

Tomorrow, I go to NYC. I'm hoping to get to go to the Met Museum for a few hours, provided my flight is on time. *crosses fingers* Thursday & Friday I have a business writing/editing class from 9am-5pm, and I'll probably have dinner with Angikins those nights. And then I'll be staying with Angi Friday-Sunday, returning home from Newark Sunday afternoon. I'm excited. This is the first time in a long time I haven't been freaking out about flying. I actually feel pretty good about the whole thing. Hurrah for yoga making me sane again.

NYC is so big. I don't even know where to begin as far as what to do in my spare time. I'm relying on Angi to take me to some interesting places for fun, frivolity, and most of all shopping.

I can't see this lady, it's shady

I can’t see this lady; it is shady.
Current mood: artistic

I have had this constant, persistant nausea for the last week. And no, I'm not pregnant, and yes, I am certain about that.

I did find out that it's probably because I went off the pill. I've been on it for 14 years; I expected my body to be totally jacked up, but this is super annoying. I constantly feel like I'm about to hurl, but I don't feel sick. It's very odd.

I'm back at work today, but trust me when I say I'm am sooooooooooooooooo grateful about having a 5-day weekend. We were lucky enough to have power, so it's been a nice break. I work 1.5 days this week and 2 days next week. Woohoo! I'll be in NYC with Angi next week. Well, outside of my work seminar. But I'm actually looking forward to that, too.

I've got my yoga retreat this weekend. I don't know how much I'll be able to do as far as poses every day, but I think I'll do all right. I rolled my ankle outwards Monday while cleaning up the yard, and it's hurt since then. I've avoided doing anything strenuous in the meantime. Hopefully, it'll be okay this weekend.

Holy f-ing hurricane, Batman!

We had 80mph straight line winds yesterday. Our house is undamaged, and our trees are more or less intact. But we had 300,000 people without power in the Miami Valley last night, and it's now been reduced to 200,000. Business are being told it could be 3 days before the lights come back on. Kev and I were told to stay home by our employers, as neither has any power.

We were without power for 11 hours yesterday, but we were the lucky ones. Our power kicked on at 2:30am, and Amanda, who is just down the street, is still without power. Go go City of Kettering! The DP&L trucks were circling our neighborhood for hours last night, trying to find the transformers that blew. We heard three small explosion in about 3 hours yesterday, so we knew why were without power. And exacerbating that is the fact that DP&L sent a large chunk of their service vehicles and manpower to Texas to help residents there regain power after Ike. They never dreamed we'd get blasted by Gustav all the way up here.

The devastation here is unbelievable. We were really lucky, though. We've got one 10-foot-long, six-inch-wide branch that broke off the top of one tree and landed in another. It's not precariously balanced over a power line (possibly cable) that leads into our house, not to mention that if it comes crashing down, it could do some serious damage to our house. I put in a service request, but they said it will be the end of the week before they even start attending to them.

The amount of trees that were just blown over and uprooted is amazing. I took some pictures around the neighborhood, but my cell service sucks, so I'll try to upload them later this week. Every single street you look down has trees across it. I've never seen anything like it. It's like tornado-lite.

I spent a total of maybe two hours over the course of the day getting my yard cleaned up. Kettering will begin debris removal this week, and I had to get everything hauled and raked to the curb. I've barely touched the backyard, but I'm going to try to get my hands on a leaf-blower to take care of that. I've got all the big branches cleaned up and cut down to manageable sizes, and I cleaned the gutter that was buried in leaves.

Mike and Leah stopped by last yesterday; Leah and I were supposed to go to the movies. But the stoplights were out all the way there, and everything up by the Dayton mall lost power. So we hit the highway to come home. People are either too stupid and too selfish to obey the traffic laws when stoplights are out. They're supposed to be treated as a 4-way stop, people. DUH. You don't blow through major intersections at 40-mph without even looking, as one enormous moving truck did at the 741 - Dixie Drive intersection. He almost obliterated a pick-up truck who was taking his turn. Leah and I were freaking out.

Because my cell was dead and the power was out to prevent me from charging it, I didn't get the message from my boss that work was cancelled. I should have guessed, but I drove all the way there only to find a "Closed" sign on the front door, and a 60-foot-tall tree laying across our parking lot. If this storm had happened today, about 15 of my coworkers would have flattened cars.

Awesome.

I'm moving out of this hospedaje; I'm afraid you'll cut me, boy

Okay, so I seriously just had a doctor, who is attending a training session here, walk into a window from the outside, thinking it was an open doorway or something. Why she would think an office building would have a huge opening with no door in the middle of a wall, I don't know.

She hit it so hard that she left a face-print on the glass, smudged her lipstick on it, and her glasses were half-knocked off.

Yes folks, these are the ER doctors saving our lives.