Feature Article: When it rains, it pours
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     As I write this, I see the rain coming down outside,
collecting into pools & running down my driveway in a makeshift
stream. The roof gutters are clogged, so the water overflows in
fat drops, upsetting the dirt and eroding the ground. The power
already went off for most of the afternoon, but it came on again
later. Mom came home around four today, her boss had closed the
practice around three, but the flooding on the roads and the low
visibility doubled her commute time. The cul de sac is six inches
high, but the forestation in the area keeps the wind from being
too bad.
     I think of how only last week I had worried that one of you
in North Carolina might be in trouble because of Dennis. Irony
permeates mind. School was closed today, but instead of feeling
glad for the delay of my AP Physics test, I worry about Rice in
Bergen County, about T Smoove in Hillsborough, about Payal in
Voorhees, about Nancy in NY. I know that weather reports are
overly dramatic, but the same has been said about me.
     In the afternoon, I was left without a computer, or music, or
even light. Even my phone wasn't working (the fallacy of
cordless). I was left in contemplation of my isolation. Just me
and a candle. But I didn't feel alone. Because I knew you guys.
And that made me feel better. I miss you terribly.

News Briefs
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I wrote that right after the power went back on. I dunno, I
was feeling less serious, but not sad. I guess the deeper side of
felt like speaking out. . . Film appreciation had its first
assignment. A real 2-3 page paper! But luckily, I weaseled my way
into reviewing "Clerks." . . . I noticed that the eCirlce looks a
little abandoned, cuz nobody else has been putting stuff up but
me. For shame! I even put up my baby picture for public
scrutiny... I don't know if I'll be able to make any good WinAmp
skins. I need a good paint program, not this crap MSPaint thing
that gives me zero extras. So I may have to hold off on making the
skins...
Before Dogma comes out, I'm going to make a trip to Jay & Silent
Bob's Secret Stash. If you want any Kevin Smith related
merchandise, tell me...

     Let's see. Crises was originally a twelve part comic book
miniseries. At about 30 pages a comic book, that puts the
collection to be... 360 pages! And all of it is good stuff! Ever
wondered how Superman and Batman debuted in the 1940s, but still
looks in his thirties right now? No, they didn't keep the
characters at the same age while the years went by. That's what
Marvel Comics did. (Ever notice how Jubilee has been a teenager
for ten years?) Contrariwise, Superman actually married Lois and
went gray. Wonder Woman had a daughter. Batman's daughter
eventually went out with a grownup Robin.
     No, the passage of time was recognized at DC Comics. But to
keep the new readers interested, they debut another Superman, one
who didn't appear around WWII but in the seventies. In fact,
nearly all the heroes had some younger counterpart. To explain
this, they came up with the theory of a multiverse. In the
multiverse were an infinite number of earths, each with their own
moon, their on sun, heck, even their own universe! Each of these
universes were separated by vibrational moments in time. Each
universe had a unique inner vibrational frequency shared by
everything in that universe.
     Unfortunately, new readers never knew which superman they
were reading about, or how two comics had two different people,
both of them named the Flash. Simply put, DC Comics was confusing
as hell to read. What to do? The only thing they could think of as
to put everybody in the same universe and relate them all. but how
to do it?
     Crisis.
     Crisis killed hundreds of heroes and villains. It changed the
very nature of comics and started the general trend of annual
company crossovers. It was and still is the best comic book story
ever told, its success never to be repeated. If you ever see a
silver slipcase with the words CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS on the
cover, buy it, no matter the price. Only ten thousand of these
collected editions exist.
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"I will miss you. The days will seem shorter now, the nights
that much longer. Sometimes I forget how mortal we really are. I
don't think I'll ever forget that again. I remember when you
landed on Earth, a girl of fifteen, filled with life and hopes.
Linda Lee, hidden in that orphanage,secretly practicing your
powers each night. Lord, I remember how proud I was the day we
revealed your presence to the world. And now, Kara, you are gone.
And I grieve. I live on. Hurt, but not disillusioned. Sad, but
still hopeful that the dream shared by you and me and all those
others -- those with special powers, and especially those with
none... those dreams of peace and hope can still come true. We
live on remembering and honoring the past, but always looking to
the future. Good-bye, Kara... Linda Lee... Supergirl. I will miss
you forever."
- Superman, at Supergirl's burial. Crisis #7