MARVELS & KINGDOM COME

HotFudge, Mulysa, and I recently saw X-Men 3. Before the movie, during one of the trailers, HotFudge called me a geek (or was it "nerd") because I immediately recognized and correctly guessed the trailer for "Ghost Rider" before the ending of the trailer.

Well... Being the geek that I am, I'm going to step back from the Italy trip for just a moment to announce the following:

To any comic book / graphic novel readers out there... I've finished reading Marvels & Kingdom Come...

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. The story, the art, the writing.

MARVELS - What can I say? Our beloved mutants as seen through the eyes of everyday people. A solid story.

KINGDOM COME - Things that made an impression besides the overall story, art, and writing:

Batman being "held together" by a metal frame. I was actually saddened to see the Dark Knight depicted in this manner. And yet, there was something realistic about the whole thing. He couldn't stay young forever, right?

Superman with a ponytail. Superman not knowing what to do. Superman bleeding. Kilatzin, perhaps you (or someone else) could shed some light. I'm not too familiar with Shazam. Did Kingdom Come accurately depict what would happen if Superman and Shazam fought? Is Shazam Superman's "equal"? And is it true that Batman and Superman have fundamental differences in philosophy when it comes to dealing with evil?

The Flash. I liked the way the Flash was drawn. Kind of like a "blur"; not stationary.

Green Lantern. Liked his costume/armor. A lot more "tough" looking than the typical skin-tight outfit.

[On the opposite end, I tried (I really tried) to read Marvel's "Secret Wars" again, but just couldn't get through the crappy writing... This 12-Issue Limited Series is absolutely unworthy of taking up space in my collection. It is unworthy of being used as kindling for a fire. What an utter waste of paper and ink. However, there is the part of me that cannot just toss or recycle them. So I will throw them into a grocery bag and toss them into the pile of books next to the Bookstore on campus for anyone to pick up for free...]

That's it... Just wanted to share my enthusiasm for Marvels & Kingdom Come with any other geeks/nerds out there...

ITALY 2006... (MIS)COMMUNICATION

Welcome back my friends
To the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside, come inside...

-from the song: Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2 by Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP)

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Well, dear readers, it has been awhile. Over one month, as a matter of fact. The ScregMan has been preoccupied (and is still preoccupied) with creating a massive backup of his entire audio (music and audio books) collection in the mp3 format. More on that later...

But for now, let's get back to Italy 2006...

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Well... the answer is D.

Ronin kind of ran ahead, but kept looking back at HotFudge's progress. [In fact, a lady in high heel boots passed Ronin along the way...] Ronin reached the lead car, and all the doors were closed. Meanwhile, not too far behind, HotFudge was cursing up a storm. We stood outside the train just staring at the doors. It wasn't just HotFudge and me. There were a few others staring with puppy-dog eyes at the dark windows of the train. About 15 seconds later, the doors hissed open, and we happily climbed on board.

This was supposed to be a 40 minute trip. The pressure on Ronin's bladder was an annoyance, but not yet unbearable.

HotFudge sat down while I remained standing. The car was filled with what looked like middle/high school students. After about 10 minutes of riding through a graffiti filled countryside, we came to a stop. I couldn't see any signs, so I asked one of the passengers... [Now here's a prime example of (mis)communication. Although Ronin had listened to several Italian CDs before the trip, he was not feeling that confident.] I stopped one of the teens and pointed down and asked "Frascati?" The boy nodded and then bounded off the train. I motioned to HotFudge that it was time to get off. Her response: "That wasn't 40 minutes..."

HMMMMMMMMMM.... Ronin also realized that 40 minutes had not elapsed. This was not logical. His response: "I know, but that kid said this was Frascati."

We disembarked and found ourselves in a graffiti covered stop. There were some teens adding to the graffiti near the stairs. It was a depressing, dreary, and destitute scene, lacking any kind of life. You can't judge a book by its cover, but the tiny train stop, with all the graffiti and flies and lack of noise and activity seemed like the perfect place for a rape, murder, mugging, etc.

Imagine our surprise and dismay and anger when we saw the name of the stop. The sign said: Ciampino. WTF?!! We'd gotten off at the wrong stop!!!

Now, retrospect is a wonderful thing. When Ronin and HotFudge realized they were in the wrong place, they were both ready to kick the crap out of anybody who might cross them. Perhaps the little shits who were defacing the train stop in broad daylight. And all the graffiti only added to Ronin's already tense mental state. Being "lost" in a foreign country did not sit well with Ronin. Did that teenager want to mess with the tourists by giving wrong info? Were he and his friends laughing at us? Were they just out of sight rolling on the ground? As Ronin cooled down, he realized that that was a possibility. But on the other hand, Ronin didn't specifically ask: "Is this Frascati?" All Ronin did was point at the floor of the train and say "Frascati?". For all Ronin knew, the boy could've interpreted the gesture as: "Is this the right train for Frascati?" or "Am I headed in the direction of Frascati?" or something similar...

Or maybe the kid really did want to f**k with us...

By this time, Ronin's bladder was becoming more than just an annoyance...

Would HotFudge and Ronin ever get to Frascati?