Is really December 2010???

I am so remiss in keeping up with this. There's been a lot of life going on here lately. I do appreciate the emails folks have sent me. It's nice to know that there are people who have read this blog and want me to do more reviews. Having an audience makes it a lot easier to come back and do more stuff here. A review typically takes 6 to 8 hours - a big enough time commitment that I would not continue if no one was reading what I post here.

Bone is going to be the next review, followed by some commentary on the 2010 shake down of the scanlations manga websites plus updates on popular stuff I've already reviewed like Bleach and Naruto. After that, I want to look at the two classic bandes designees, Tintin and Asterix. i wanted to get Bone done before Christmas but most of December turned into the business trip from hell. I'll get Bone done over the weekend and want to do the rest of stuff I just outlined by the end of January. Please don't be shy to email me and nag me to get off my ample butt and post. The feedback, even the negative feedback, helps me keep going instead of just shutting this blog down.

It's not been easy as of late. The unemployment blues make it hard to be excited about much of anything - and my bum knee is gotten bad enough that I can't even go to martial arts practice for the catharsis of beating other people up legally. My program got cut at the national lab I was working at in 2007. I landed an oil company job and moved to Houston, only to get laid off in early 2009. I looked for a new job ANYWHERE for months and months and sent out close to eight hundred applications - not to mention numerous phone calls to headhunters. After we buried my mom in September 2009, I just plain gave up. GSA in October 2009 was my last gasp of trying to get a research or teaching job. This isn't a total disaster since I have enough in the bank to retire right now if I'm careful with the money - and getting a little cabin up in the mountains in Idaho and spending the rest of my days fishing has a lot of appeal. But the bad times took their toll and I have not done any painting or drawing or leatherwork; I haven't done the relatively small amount of work to finish the boat I've been building; and I haven't written anything for either science journals or non-fiction magazines lately. I have neglected both my blogs all year. But it's time to move forward. Further hiding under a mushroom isn't going to do me any good at this point.

Watch this space for a Bone review - and thanks to everyone who's encouraged me to revive this blog.