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All Knowing Geek - January 2009

The Comics Pull List (Jan. 21)

January 17th 2009 19:08
Seems like every comic book I regularly pick up or think about picking up is a part of a major universe story/tie-in event book for the coming week. Really finding this trend annoying. Say your Marvel book (as an example) gets 12 issues a year. The Jan. ish is a Secret Invasion that shipped late, the March and April books are Dark Reign related, and lets say the December book is some other crossover book. So you essentially get 8 self-contained issues? That sound right? Granted that's an extreme example, but its not out of the realm of possibilities. Way I see it, if the story is not strong enough to get a stand-alone book why ruin an on-going I already like, And if standalones like Secret Invasion:Thor, Inhumans don't sell as good as you like, maybe its because the stories are uninteresting and are paced at 3 issues when it can be told in an extra sized. Honestly, the only standalone tie-in I was interested in throughout last year was WWH: X-Men. And its hook was action, not so much story but worked for what it was. Most other types of books of its ilk didn't even give you that. Just my gripe. Most tie-ins really only give you one panel or come up at the end so it doesn't necessarily have to affect your book. Feels like a crutch that doesn't have to be used though.





Black Lightning Year One #2 - Like the costume/character of Black Lightning. Too bad nobody has ever written him in an interesting way. My cousin liked him waaaay back when in the Outsiders. Read those issues and didn't have the same reaction. They revived him after Zero Hour and tried to turn him into their version of the 70s Luke Cage. Didn't work for me. Giving him the rub in JLA is awesome, but doesn't mean he's gonna sell books. Trying to tell "urban" stories isn't going to work. Main problem is that isn't the audience for comic books. Anyone read a Milestone issue in the last 15 years? Make him deal with family, have him deal with how other heroes view/deal with him if you're stuck on the Afro-American thing (pun from the 70s look), or god forbid put him in a more super-hero friendly setting.


Faces of Evil Deathstroke - One of my favorite villains/anti-heroes so I'll pick it up even if its bad. The Calculator the focus of Birds of Prey this week also another villain pick up.

Superman/Batman Annual #3 - Composite Superman issue (Amalgam of Batman/Superman) for fans of old time stories that didn't worry about continuity. Book seldom disappoints.

Avengers galore - Dark Avengers premieres and Mighty Avengers premieres its new roster. Dark Reign will obviously have an impact on both books. Marvel Adventures Avengers deals with the how superheroes deal with the IRS apparently. Gotta love the premise and this kid friendly book is one of my favorite reads.

There's a couple of War of Kings tie-ins, the penultimate Angel:After the Fall ish, and some graphic novels that people have been waiting for out as well. Star Trek's countdown to the upcoming movie hits the shelves this week. In the same vein, another prequel book to the next Transformers movie is gonna come out. And the Spidey/Barack Obama book's second printing comes out also. Looks like a solid week to beat an hour of cold weather in your local comic book store
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Fantasy NBA 08-09 V1

January 16th 2009 21:12
Halfway point is coming and now is time for strategy.

1. Watch your percentages
If you need points in the percentage spots, you have to adjust as soon as possible. The higher percentage guys that can have an impact are all owned by now and they have to be traded for before people start quitting your league. I find that a high % of quitters tend to start dropping out around early January to the 2nd week after the All-Star game so trading from lower tier people in your league should be a high priority right now.

2. Don't let roto stats fool you.
Got the lead in my main league by 5.5 pts but the max points I can get at this time is 85. The guy that's 5th in my league who hasn't made a roster change since December 28 is 20.5 pts behind me and looks to have given up. But according to my calculations, he's the only one of my 4 closest competitors who can beat or tie the max pts I can get at this time.

3. Take game limits into account.
In that same league, I am 2nd in the pts cat trailing by 188 pts. Staggering amount right? Not if you take into account that the guy in the lead has 38 more games played than I do. Manage your game.

4. Trade depth for higher quality
Two for one trades to players with less depth are your best bets right now. Reading one Yahoo blog where a guy is trading David Lee and Iguodola for Chirs Paul and he's the one that has to accept the trade. Now, I would never trade CP3 for just that, but that could be a need trade and the blogger gets a steal.


Lot of useful specialty guys still out in my various leagues. Daequan Cook in Miami putting up 3s with good percentages. Verejao still around in all of my leagues and he's good for boards and steals. If you can't trade for needs, specialists can help.

Keep an eye on Monta Ellis and Boozer's health status. They each might be a month away, so getting them on the cheap might be now or never.
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Not working

January 16th 2009 20:23
Doubt anyone would still be looking in regularly, but after a couple of months of chillin maxin and relaxin I decided to not take a buyout and just sit on my rear collecting a check for the next 3 years.

Could've taken about 10 cents on the dollar to get out clean and start my own firm/work for a competitor or work in the finance sector in general but I don't see that being wise.

Starting my own firm would require cash and the banks are holding onto the bailout cash like it was theirs ( WHICH IT IS NOT). Working for a direct competitor would allow me to hurt my former company by taking clients who may have some loyalty/generally like or trust me, but I think it would be a lateral move in terms of cash/job satisfaction/et all. And finding a job as a banker/analyst/accounting is hard enough at this time not taking into account I would be taking less money to work than sit at home with my guaranteed contract.

Just wanted to write that out to justify my decision to myself and it looks pretty damn rational as I sit here writing it out.
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