Archive for November, 2007

If you were thumbing through the latest issue of Diamond Comics’ PREVIEWS catalog, you may have seen this:

Uncle Scrooge #375

by Carl Barks, Cesar Ferioli & Terry Laban

Scrooge blasts off for Carl Barks’ “Twenty-Four Carat Moon.” Next, he seeks “The Laurels of Julius Pecunius,” an ancient crown with the power to hypnotize its wearer. Then the Beagle Boys swindle Scrooge with Cesar Ferioli’s “Oracle Turtle” — and Terry Laban (Edge City) pits Scrooge and Magica against each other in “Curses!”

What you won’t find in this listing is that this book is #4 of 12 in our “Scrooge’s 60th Anniversary” series, which features pinups by Don Rosa on each back cover. Here’s a peek at what you’ll find when you flip over this bad boy:

Now like I said, it’s #4. That means if you want the entire set, you’ll want to grab these other issues, too:

• Uncle Scrooge #372
  In honor of Uncle Scrooge’s 60th anniversary, celebrate in high style with several extra-classic McDuck adventures! Carl Barks’ “Christmas on Bear Mountain” marks Scrooge’s 1947 debut…
• Uncle Scrooge #373
  Why did the Scottish tycoon join the French Foreign Legion? Find out what “Special Agent Scrooge” hopes to gain in a feature-length adventure by fan favorites Romano Scarpa and Giorgio Cavazzano…
• Uncle Scrooge #374
  When Scrooge finds “A Gal for Gladstone” on Valentine’s Day, he doesn’t realize he’s fixed his impossibly lucky nephew up with evil sorceress Magica De Spell…

If you want to see all the pinups we’ll be featuring throughout the year, just head on over to the INDUCKS summary. You can use it like those baseball card checklists we used to get in every other pack. Wasn’t that always a bummer, when you’d get ripped off by having a whole card wasted on a card checklist? It was almost worse than getting that 7th “Ricky Baggs” card when you were only 3 shy of a complete set. Nowadays we just put that stuff on the web!

I updated the previous post, but forgot to write a new one. Whoops!

We don’t have a TV, so I read over the transcript for last night’s CNN/YouTube Republican debate. Romney and McCain are becoming more interesting. I’m disappointed that Paul is appearing myopic (really, can all of our problems be solved simply by closing military bases and the IRS?) and marginalized (CNN decided to spend a question on conspiracy theories? C’mon!). Huckabee… eh. But Giuliani just seemed defensive and beaten.

In other news, a press release was just issued this morning announcing that Egmont (among other things, they’re the source for much of the comics we print at Gemstone) has teamed up with Random House and will be opening a U.S. division. Interesting…

The kids’ rooms are probably the most ordered places in the house right now—I mean, they have to be if we’re going to send them in there to play! The living/dining area, however, is another matter entirely:

One of the things that makes unpacking difficult this time around is that what had been our two bookcases have been commandeered for use in the kitchen and Joshua’s room, respectively. That leaves the rocking chair surrounded by about a dozen boxes that are displaying utter disregard for any concept of “personal space.”

Meanwhile, we’re certainly getting more exercise. Back in Timonium, we could avoid using stairs all day if we just stayed inside. Here, the bedrooms are upstairs so if nothing else we have to go up and down whenever Joshua needs changing. It’s all part of my “get in shape without really trying” plan.

Now once we really do get unpacked, we’re going to have lots of boxes lying around (or more accurately, collapsed and stuck in a closet). Before we toss them, do you have any clever ideas for ways we can entertain the kids with cheap, used corrugated cardboard? Here’s my list so far:

1. Cardboard Castle
   I like this, but it seems pretty involved. I’m most likely to get halfway done, grow bored and move onto something else… leaving the monstrosity in Nicole’s way.
2. Tunnel Network
   It’s quick and easy, so it’s got that going for it. But where would the tunnels run? If we set it up in the attic, then sure… but somehow that doesn’t strike me as very safe.
3. Puppet Theater
   The kids love puppets, so this one’s a no-brainer. Except that I don’t think we have any puppets. We could make some with socks, paper bags, etc.—but that would start getting as involved as the castle idea.
4. Cardboard Furniture (submitted by Elaine)
   Make some funky chairs, stools or rocking chairs with these printable PDF blueprints.
5. Recycle Them, Before The Kids Make A Mess (submitted by Jodie)
   Jodie, you’re so practical.
6. Cardboard Box Races (submitted by Audrey)
   On a carpeted floor, set the box on its side (like “]”) and put your head and arms inside, then run blindly forward. Great for laughs, and a good workout, too!
7. Canvas-ize ‘Em (submitted by Audrey)
   Instead of the walls (or even the paper that’s still packed away… somewhere…) break out the finger paint or brushes and let the kids go wild on some empty boxes! (This could also work alongside most of the other tips, too—who wants a drab, tan puppet theater?
8. Car Tunnels (submitted by Audrey)
   Remember when Mattel and McDonald’s would team up and we’d get Hot Wheels with our McNugget Happy Meals? Remember how the Happy Meal boxes would come with punch-out openings so your new die-cast car could drive through a cardboard city? Pass that experience along to the next generation by punching out a few holes and turning those empty boxes into tunnels and buildings to drive the cars through!
9. Doll House (submitted by Audrey)
   You know, until I get around to building the fancy one Nicol– er, Katie has always wanted.
10. Drums (submitted by Audrey)
    All you need is a large stick (or unused tension rod) and the kids can rock out.
11. Hats (submitted by Audrey—girl’s on a roll)
    Okay, I think you’re reaching a bit here, Aud. Sure, this is a great idea… with smaller boxes. Maybe it would work with the larger ones, too, but I can’t help thinking the kids would look like this.
12. ?
    That’s all we’ve got. How about you? Leave a comment and I’ll add your own great idea(s) to the list!

Hey everyone, I’m back!

Did you know the Wall Street Journal displays trackbacks at the bottom of its articles? I didn’t realize this until I started getting a bunch of comments on Friday from people I didn’t know. Friday may have actually been my highest-trafficked day since starting this blog.

Of course, I had to be moving at the time.

We’re in Marietta now. Boxes are all over the place, but everyone seems to love the new digs. (I was really worried there would be something that Nicole hated about the place—she never saw it before Saturday!)

I want to take a moment and publicly thank our friends and family who helped us move: on Saturday, we had Nathan Bartlebaugh, Steve Cole and Brian Powell helping us take our junk down from our 3rd-floor apartment into the moving truck (and special thanks for getting the treadmill! That think must’ve weighed half a ton…). Brian and his wife Jo came up to the new place that evening, and brought us dinner (perhaps the best lasagna I’ve ever had)! On Sunday, my mom and dad, Jordan, Naomi and Sarah came up to help us unload, and our new neighbor, Jason, pitched in too. I think this may be the first time I’ve been invited to a neighbor’s home for dinner before we’d moved into our new place!

Unpacking is going well, but I’m still looking for some nuts and bolts so I can reassemble the end-tables in the living room…

The Wall Street Journal has just published a decent article on the fight against the tithing heresy, and it’s scary how similar my own story is to that of one of the believers in the article:

When he objected to his church’s instructions to tithe, Kirk Cesaretti took it up with the church leaders. In response, he received a letter from the pastor and elders of Hydesville Community Church in Hydesville, Calif. “At this time, we believe your concerns do not warrant any change in our church policy or positions,” the letter read.

The letter closed with a verse from Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls; as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

Mr. Cesaretti, an engineer in Fortuna, Calif., says he took the letter to mean he was no longer welcome at the church. Hydesville’s senior pastor, Michael Delamarian III, says he believes “the more you give the more you’re going to be blessed.” He says he did not bar Mr. Cesaretti from the church.

There’s a lot of passive-aggressive manipulation happening on the part of these pastors toward the flocks under their care. The article also mentions the practice of pastors making applicants sign a document essentially vowing to tithe. Are there so few people who understand that inclusion in the visible expression of the Body of Christ is not something to be held for ransom? My heart breaks for the people who have turned (or rather, been turned) away from Christ on account of grinning, greedy wolves like this at the pulpit.

So yeah, if you were wondering… the wound’s still a bit fresh.