A long, strange trip

With only two left, the dastardly duo tries to recruit the final member of their triumvirate to create the ultimate Joker to battle Batman: the Red Hood!  Batman: Three Jokers 2  Written by Geoff Johns Pencils and Inks by Jason Fabok  Colors by Brad Anderson  After the Red Hood killed one of the Jokers in the first issue, it emboldened Jason Todd to go after the other two, but it also adds more conflict than just with the other two Clown Princes of Crime. He's also drawn the ire of Batgirl, who is appalled he would kill a Joker, and the concern of Batman, who still has pangs of guilt stemming from his feelings of having failed Jason.  All of those feelings, however, are turned on their heads when the remaining Jokers capture Jason in a swimming pool filled with people poisoned by Joker gas. Their plan: to take Jason and use his anger towards Batman and his cohorts to turn the Red Hood into the ultimate Joker. His defiance to the Jokers' plan forces them to chang...

 While we wait for the return of the Geekery, I figure it's best to look on the bright side. There are, after all, new comic books to read today!  It's the dreaded Fifth Wednesday, which are usually filled with specials that are outside the main line of comic books. This week is no different, and I was surprised at how many books I picked up.  Batman once again dominates the pull list, with 5 books that star or feature prominently Gotham's Dark Knight. This may be the future of the company moving forward, as the coming implosion and cancellation of titles may leave every week feeling Bat-heavy on the DC side. Joker Warzone picks up the thread from the ongoing Joker War happening in most of the Bat-books, while Three Jokers will give us another look at what Geoff Johns thinks a Batman story should be.  It's also a pretty big week for Wonder Woman, with 4 books for the Themysciran Princess. Diana continues to battle Max Lord in her main title, while a tie-in to the upc...

  Coming to you from the Thunderdome in Orlando, the latest WWE Network Special features championship matches up and down the card, and it's highlighted by the family feud between WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns - flanked by his special counsel Paul Heyman - and his cousin, Jey Uso, in Uso's first-ever singles championship match.  I don't think anyone watching this show expected Uso to come out of this on top. He's been a tag team wrestler since he made his main roster debut in 2010. In fact, the whole story of the match was that Uso was out of his league challenging his cousin, a multi-time champion who's been in the main event almost his entire WWE career. With the exception of some offensive flourishes from Uso, Reigns dominated the match, talking smack at his cousin for even thinking he could challenge the "Tribal Chief." Reigns wouldn't even deign to pin Jey, prompting twin brother Jimmy to come out to throw in the towel to give Reigns the win...

Another day, another chance to read some comics on the train ride home. Last night's reading included three new number 1s from DC Comics as the company continues its "Rebirth."

Thought maybe I would try something new here. While I buy and download my comics every Wednesday - like most people - I usually wait to read them until my ride home from work on the subway Thursdays through Monday (or however long they last). So, as I go through my stash, I figured I could give a running review through the week of the new comics I read the night before right here.

This is going to take some getting used to. A bit of a late start today, while I get things going here. Had to refill a cartridge of insulin and I figured I would switch out my infusion site, too. Should have been simple, and I hope it will be soon. I had a bit of a misfire with the infusion set as I was trying to prime it. Not sure if it was safe to reload it, I figured it might just be safer to toss it and get a new one. When I went to prime the tubing, it turns out I connected the cartridge to the bad infusion set, so I had to start over. Third time was the charm, though, and I finally got everything right. I'm still adjusting my numbers to avoid some morning lows, evening lows, just lows in general. But I know it will be worth it once I get everything figured out. I'm on my way to work, so this is the next big test. A day of stress, plus a trip to the gym afterwards. Hoo boy. Wish me luck!

I've never been much of a Stephen King reader. When I read "The Shining" in college, I couldn't sleep for a week. As an insomniac, I didn't need any more help staying awake. But his last book "Under The Dome," intrigued me and I really enjoyed it, so I decided to try his latest effort, "11/22/63." The book follows the adventures of a guy from 2011 who goes back in time to try and stop Lee Harvey Oswald from killing JFK. King starts the book off strong, and for the first few hundred pages of this 800-plus page novel, it's a compelling story. Before stopping the assassination, main character Jake Epping sets out to fix some other injustices. The parts of the book dealing with completely fictional characters flows amazingly well and I had trouble putting the book down. The problem arises when Epping begins to focus on Oswald. The flow grinds to a halt with agonizing minutia, meant to establish Oswald as the sole shooter of Kennedy and gi...

Another great issue of the Queens Tribune out today, with a lot of strong work done by the staff. Flip through the digital issue by clicking here . Also, if you have an iPad and you enjoy the Tribune, make sure to download the paper's app. The paper looks absolutely fantastic with the new iPad's retina display. The photos are vibrant, the text is crisp. You can't ask for a better way to read the paper. I even contributed to this week's issue with a story on U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (founder of the Queens Tribune) and his decision to retire from Congress at the end of the term. It's a great companion piece to Domenick's story on the Congressional Sixth District race, which is featured on the cover. And don't forget about the editorial .

One of my favorite things about the middle of the week used to be the new comics released on Wednesday. I would finish work and head over to Comics For Collectors and drop $30-40 every week on new comics. It seems so long ago now. I used to love heading out to get my comics. It wasn't just getting new books; it was a chance to be social with people with similar interests. I could spend hours at my local comic shops. The staff at CFC, Moose over at Main Vein Comics in Western Massachusetts - I considered these folks my friends and I always looked forward to seeing them. When I shopped at these stores, there was always such a friendly atmosphere, I would never consider doing what I've done the last two weeks. I downloaded my comics digitally. Not illegally - I paid for them to read on the new iPad. No storage problems, they look fantastic and I didn't have to wait til after work or the weekend to pick stuff up, since I downloaded them over lunch. I have nothing agai...

My story last week didn't make the paper's website, so I'm posting it here.  Vigilance Called For In Redistricting Battle Panelists at a forum on redistricting Tuesday night, Feb. 21, urged a largely Hispanic crowd in Elmhurst to call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto the proposal as it currently stands.             “The Governor made a campaign promise, if the lines weren’t suitable, he would veto the lines,” Kenneth D. Cohen, regional director of the NAACP NYC Metro Council, said. “If we allow what has been proposed to happen, you won’t be represented fairly.”             The forum, held at the Make The Road New York offices at 92-10 Roosevelt Ave. , was meant to be an educational tool on the redistricting process. It quickly became an indictment of the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment – LATFOR – the committee charged with redraw...

I just wanted to get my comics, maybe go to the Apple Store and ogle an iPad a little bit. Two months ago, it wouldn't be so hard. Get on the 7 train to either Grand Central or to Times Square. Walk a couple blocks and there you are. Then the MTA shut down weekend service between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza. Now I have to transfer once to get to Times Square, twice for Grand Central (I find it a bit ironic that only a handful of subway lines hit Grand Central Station). So I make my transfers and get my comics and do the whole thing in reverse on a lazy Saturday. I don't really understand why the MRA would cut off weekend service into Manhattan. Why not overnight? Are there that many people using the trains between midnight and 5-6 a.m. weekdays that it would be more of a disruption?

It's chilly, but it's still a beautiful day out.

Links a-plenty on this Groundhog's Day! Check out this week's e-paper here . Flip through it like it was actually printed! If you just want to read things that I wrote, here's a link to this week's editorial, railing against the proposed district lines for the NY State Senate and Assembly. And here's a link to my story previewing Larry Miller's show at Queens Theatre this weekend. Can't wait to see his show!

For those of you that rely on me to go tell you when to check out my paper, well, it's that time! The Queens Tribune is online and you should all check it out. If you're so inclined, you can read the online pdf of the paper here . Just click the link and flip through the Queens edition of the paper page by page. If you're feeling lazy and just want to read my stories, I can help you there, too. Click here for a link to my editorial on how the 7 train renovations are causing headaches. For those who enjoy comedy, click here for my interview with John Fugelsang, who is coming to Queens next weekend. And last but not least, click here for a restaurant review of Sidetracks, where I had brunch last weekend. Enjoy!

Early morning for me, here's what I'm riding into today. Happy MLK Day, all. I'll be working.

This week's Queens Tribune came out yesterday. Here's a collection of links that mean something to me. Click on things! If you're interested in reading the e-paper, the online version of the print edition, click here . This week's editorial can be found here .  I also wrote a couple stories this week.  Two Queens health clinics recognized for quality of diabetes care. Click here .  A review of my favorite restaurant! Click here .  Let me know what you think of everything and make sure to read the Queens Tribune every week!

To my fellow straphangers, The train will still be there in a couple minutes, after everyone gets off. We're at the end of the line for the 7 train, not halfway to Manhattan. You have more than just 30 seconds or so to hop on. So please, just back up. Let us off the train, give us more than a single-file space to maneuver. I'm a big dude, and my balance sucks, so sometimes I need a little more space. Oh, and to whoever it was that grabbed my ass this morning: my wallet was in the other pocket. Thanks for playing!

I spoke too soon yesterday, and now we're expecting snow Sunday. As I write this, from the Q15 to Whitestone on the way to work, I'm drenched from a January rain. I prefer being cold to wet, so bring on the snow. Until then, enjoy the first picture I took in my neighborhood in Queens in July.

Saying it's been a mild winter is putting it, well, mildly. We've had only one snowfall in the city so far, and it was before winter even started. I'm not complaining. Here's a glimpse at what things should look like right about now.

Waiting on a rather long line at Port Authority Gate 22 for an 8 am trip to Syracuse. As my father would say, "Get on the bus, forget about us." Hmm. The rather long line may have been for an earlier bus to Montreal. Must investigate... Update, 7:18 am I don't know if I'm on the right bus, but it's going to Syracuse, so here I sit. I ran upstairs before boarding to use the restroom - the one downstairs at the gate was posted as out of order - and I saw the statue of "The Commuters" by George Segal. I took a picture. What creeps me out about the photo is the three people walking through the door with their eyes closed. It's just disconcerting. Anyway, I walked back downstairs a couple minutes later and the bathroom at the gate was now working. Maybe someone just wanted me to see the commuters... Update, 7:47 am My 8 am bus was boarding at 7 when I got there and we left around 7:30. By the time my scheduled time hits, I'll be well in...