I guess I'm in the 'whatever' classification

Political burnout

I’m done with the election season.

Finished.

Finito.

For the past 12 months, there’s been a never-ending stream of news and gossip pertaining to the 2008 presidential election bombarding us from all different directions.

Republicans keep telling me Barack Obama doesn’t have experience and his plans are borderline socialist while dems say Palin’s dumb as a post and McCain’s lost authority in his party.

I don’t care.

Don’t get me wrong — I was much more into the discussions over the summer when the topics were fresh. But everything’s become stale in the past month as the opposing sides are just rehashing tired arguments.

Makes me want to pledge my vote to Gene Amondson of the prohibition party and enjoy a few brews at a bar on election night.

(Don’t worry, I’m not throwing my vote away — but it playing quarters with a cake looks fun. Heck, ginger ale pong could be fun, too.)

And everyone I meet seems to have an opinion and feels it necessary to inform me about it. But saying you’re voting for someone just because he says he’s going to bring “change” or because he’s a “straight talker” means nothing to me.

Oh, Nov. 3 — so close, yet so far away.

Great 16-day e-mail flood

With 16 days left until the election, there are two names that I am becoming well acquainted with.

And neither begin with Barack or John.

David Plouffe and Tom Kise, the respective e-mail gurus for the Obama and McCain campaigns, have been bombarding me with electronic spam for the past few weeks, and it's increasing as the election inches closer.

Plouffe's sends a daily e-mail asking for money. While Kise sends dozens a day about random things. I counted 25 e-mails during the course of the last debate.

Look, I know both sides are exaggerating the truth. I know these up-to-the-minute factual errors incite those who tow the party lines, but I don't care.

Makes me want to vote for Gene Amondson and the prohibition party.

Sentinel Online v.2.0

It's coming.

(This is 2.0 for me. I think this may be the paper's third website)

Crappy Halloween costumes

Saw this on AngryAsianMan's blog.
It's called the "Old Chinese Man" wig. I suppose it's because Chinese men go shaggy and brownish-gray rather than just gray with age. Looks more like a caveman to me.

My reading list for the week of Oct. 1

I've seen many a' comic book blogger do this with their weekly pick-ups. So here's what I picked up off the racks this week (and you'll quickly notice that I'm a big Marvel fan):

My pick-ups

Marvel Apes #3
Review: 3 out of four stars
Marvel Apes can be summed up in three words: Super-powered monkey vampires. You heard me. Writer Karl Kassel's whimsical story about the Gibbon traveling to an alternate dimension where Earth is inhabited by monkeys has become one of my favorite pick-ups over the course of the past month. It's a light, silly read with twists that are absurd and unexpected, but amusing. It's a guilty pleasure, no doubt.

Four Eyes
Review: 2 out of four stars
I picked up this issue having high expectations. Writer Joe Kelly's "I Kill Giants" has been among my favorite monthly pick-ups. So when I heard about his new book following a boy who takes care of a dragon after his dad dies, stealing it from its mother, it instantly went to my must-have list. The problem with the story, however, is that it moves at a methodic pace. I understand Kelly's trying to show the rough world of 1930s U.S. during the depression, but it just prods along — unlike Greg Pak's story about Magneto during World War II in "X-Men: Magneto Testament." But the end scene sets the tone for the rest of the series, and it's intriguing enough to pick up another issue.

My impulse buy

Daredevil #111 — 1:25 Aja variant

Yet another pick-up because it's a cool cover.

What I'm planning on picking up next week

Deadpool #3
He's hilarious, certifiably insane and can kill you with anything he finds. This is one of my favorite "Secret Invasion" tie-ins. Can't wait to see what happens in this final showdown with the Skrulls.
I Kill Giants #4 (of 7)
Kelly's story about a socially awkward fifth grader is slowly showing the full story.
Marvel Zombies #1 (of 4)
Super-powered zombies? That rocks.
X-Men: Magneto Testament #2 (of 5)
Writer Greg Pak tells the chilling tale of how Magneto begins to gain his powers amid the political tension of Nazi Germany. It's one of the best books on the market right now.

What I may pick up, but can't decide

Presidential Material Flip-book — $7.99

IDW Publishing is releasing the "origins" of Barack Obama and John McCain. I already have a bunch of collectible presidential race '08 junk on my desk (just ask my co-workers), but I don't know if I want to add this to it.

Amazing Spider-Man — Stephen Colbert variant cover

'Nuff said.

A year older, somewhat wiser

There are only 10 shopping days left until my birthday. So, what are you getting me?

About this time every year, I reflect on what's changed over the past year. I fall into a notion that I need to become more mature, more serious, more "adult-like." So for a few weeks, I act more sullen and serious before my actual birthday arrives and then I tread backwards to a child-like mentality.

I still love comic books. I find quality time in front of my TV playing video games and watching cartoons. I can spend hours at the arcades — though it is much more expensive than when I was 14. I still eat waaay more than I should in order to compete when someone else does.

But I have noticed that I'm paying attention to certain things that I didn't before.

I was never big into politics, but seeing the ramifications of what happens when an unqualified person is elected into a power of authority has made me much more active to inform myself.

I never thought much about a retirement fund or IRAs or financial security for my retirement years until I got a job. I'm sure my focus is stronger with the economy in the state it is. I mean, my bank's been bought out twice this year.

Perhaps I would still be wallowing in ignorance if the country was running smoothly and the economy was in stellar shape, but I'm sticking to my feeling that I'm getting older.

Now let me get back to the latest issue of "Marvel Apes." Superheroes in monkey-form — can't beat that.