Comfort tune

Eric and I got the leaves raked up this weekend, it’s a Sunday Autumn evening, I’m in a contemplative mood, and this recording evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia in me.

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Audio/2011/Nov/MR1.mp3|titles=Moon River by Henry Mancini]

Why I don’t subscribe to the Economist

The Economist, published in England, is supposedly one of the few weekly print magazines that’s making money. I’ve thought about subscribing to it, but I don’t care for its editorial slant. Here’s an example from the October 28 issue.

“Thousands of anti-capitalist protesters” it says. I grant you that some in the Occupy Wall Street crowd are nascent Socialists who feel they have found an outlet, but a blanket statement that they’re all anti-capitalist is an inaccurate and slanted assertion, and that’s why I don’t buy The Economist. I subscribed to Business Week for years, until I got fed up with the puff pieces that offered uncritical praise of sham “job creator” corporations like Enron and Worldcom.

Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party both believe the big banks should be held accountable for what they did to trash the economy. This is where left and right meet, and I think politicians should take the hint and realize they’re going to get squeezed if they don’t start representing the voters instead of vested financial interests.

Home, Cold Home

There’s still no electricity at home. The utility company says it should be back on by Wednesday night, but if it isn’t we’ll be looking for a hotel room. I’ve got the fireplace going in the evening, and I can run space heaters off the portable generator. I have a 5-gallon gas container, but I wish the generator’s tank were bigger. We have oil lamps, and they work great. I can see why sperm whales were hunted to near extinction before petroleum took over. My GE Superadio III, 17 years old, has been our primary source of entertainment.

Compliments of great guy Mark Sinnott, here’s a follow-up pic from the Albany Comic Con, with me on the right, with Denro and Joe Sinnott. Men with caps! As always, I make a point of not looking directly into a camera flash, which is painful for somebody who has lattice degeneration.

Albany Comic Con

After a harrowing drive in a freak snow storm last night, especially nerve-wracking when going through the Berkshires, Denro and I are in Albany for a comic book convention. These one-day shows are nice because they’re small and manageable. Joltin’ Joe Sinnott is here, and this is a picture of Denro with Joe.

Dennis is holding the original art to page #19 of Fantastic Four #46, the third issue of many that Joe inked over Jack Kirby’s pencil art. Technically, it’s the fourth issue of FF Joe handled because he had inked ish #5, before leaving Marvel for a while when he was under contract with Treasure Chest comics.

The power is out at my house and at Dennis’ too. I’m told there is a large tree down that’s blocking my street. It’s a dead end, so I’ll be returning to a dark, cold house in a neighborhood I can’t leave!