My First Day Off Junk
Posted on September 16, 2004 at 7:01 pm | No Comments
No, don’t worry, folks. Not that kind of junk. I’m talkin’ about the caffeinated, nutrasweeted, diet cola variety. I’ve tried before, unsuccessfully natch, to kick my three-can-a-day Diet Coke habit cold turkey. Got myself worked up into mild paranoia after I googled all the supposed Aspartame side effects.
I mean, it’d be tough to name a Aspartame symptom not listed here: headaches, migraines, dizziness, unsteadiness, confusion, memory loss, depression, irritability, aggression, anxiety, personality changes, insomnia, trouble with contact lenses, phobias, tinnitus, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, itching without a rash, hives, menstrual changes, gradual weight gain, severe PMS, excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, bloating, increased susceptibility to infection, death, irreversible brain damage, birth defects/mental retardation, peptic ulcers, aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets, hyperactivity in children, suicidal tendencies, and…. death. Just plain old death.
Um, yikes? Me, I don’t really buy all that. And neither do the fine folks over at Snopes.
Still, every once in awhile I get in the mood to take a break from the stuff, stop the daily diet coke addiction, cleanse the system a bit. Lasted about a week last time, and now I’m trying something even more difficult: No caffeine whatsoever. Yes, I’m foresaking my morning Dunkin Donuts large coffee (cream & sugar, please), struggling through withdrawal headaches. That’s one of the reasons I’m quitting for awhile, actually. I don’t like the idea of being hooked on something so much that it hurts when I don’t have it.
So I’m supressing the urges, walking by the Dunkies, avoiding the soda machine in the room next door, drinking lots of ice water. There’s a dull pounding behind my eyes, my body trying to persuade my brain to give up the fight. One day at a time, right? At least, that’s what the bumper stickers say.
Paneled Page to Moving Pictures
Posted on September 14, 2004 at 3:55 pm | No Comments
This crazy four-year old phase of comic-book-to-film translations (which officially started with the X-Men movie, and exploded with Spider-Man) continues unabated, with some lesser-known, non-superhero series now riding the green-light wave. And it’s not just limited to movies, either… a couple TV shows are in the works as well. The ones that I’m really looking forward to, each in various stages of their development, are…
Kevin Rose: Is there a second one in the works?
Mignola: A couple of weeks ago I sat down with Guillermo del Toro, the director, and we came up with an original story for the sequel, and we pitched it to the studio, and they were real happy, and we’re real happy. He’s off making another movie in Spain, he should be starting right about now on another picture. Hopefully when he comes back we’ll be going into Hellboy 2.
KR: Can we get any hints on what that story might be about?
Mignola: The first movie was very much an adaptation of the first hellboy series called SoD… this one is completely original. The first movie focused on something that’s, y’know, a big part of Hellboy: the mad scientist, and the Nazi’s, the Lovecraft kind of big-tentacled monsters, but one of the things that’s always been an important element in Hellboy is folklore and mythology, and the real old-world ghost story stuff, so we wanted to a picture that addressed that side of the Hellboy thing.
Sounds good to me. Nice to know that’s in the works.
“Well, without admitting to anything whatsoever, maybe you’d better switch from casting your fantasy Fables movie, to casting your fantasy Fables TV series. No, I won’t be taking any questions about this subject.”
OooooOOooo… I can only hope that’s even slightly true. If you haven’t picked up Fables, do yourself a favor and grab the collection “Legends in Exile”, which collects the first five issues. The next collection, volume 4, is out next month, with volume 5 out in March of next year. Being patient enough to not buy the monthly books has been quite a challenge.
The latest movie news I’ve heard is that screenwriter John Rogers completed a couple drafts of a screenplay, which Rucka called “phenominal”, and that it focuses on the first two storylines from the series. Can’t wait to hear how it’s coming along.
Any other comic-type adapatations you’re excited about? (and you’d better not say Constantine.)