We got Beebo in January of 1998. Or maybe it was 1999. I think it was ‘99. Well, whenever it was, we went to the Humane Society looking for a small dog, as we were still in a small apartment. We first looked at a Dalmation named Mistletoe, but she seemed a bit hyper for us. Then we chanced on a fellow called “El Nino”. (The shelter gave them temporary names.) He was a grumpy looking fellow with a sign on his cage saying he was “shy”. We brought him out to the “get to know you room,” which he first sniffed all the edges of before pooping right in the center.

“We’ll take him!”

Ever since then, there have been three constant questions concerning him:

• What’s on your nose?
• Do you want to go outside?
• What the hell is he?

The first two will be asked forever. The third one may have finally been answered.

There’s a hot new breed of dog in town, and it’s called a Puggle. As you can tell from the name, it’s a cross between a Pug and a Beagle. More than one person has recently brought to our attention the similarity between Beebo and Puggles, and we have to admit, the resemblance is striking:

BEEBO

J. RANDOM PUGGLE

This is also in line with current Beebo origin theories, namely that he’s got some Beagle in him. Although Pug being an ingredient wasn’t really seriously entertained (as much as, say, Pit Bull was), we can’t deny the photographic evidence.

Puggles are hot stuff, too! They’ve been featured on morning shows and news spots and everything. We’ve not let on too much to Beebo because we’re not 100% certain of his Puggle heritage and also we don’t want it going to his head. But at last, when someone asks us what he is, we have something to answer other than “bad”.

Another advantage is, when we got Beebo he was already about three years old, according to the vet. We’ve always wondered what he looked like as a puppy. Could he have looked like this?

BEEBO AS A PUPPY?

So tell us, Dan. Does it feel any better knowing you may have been bitten by a trendy new breed of dog?

Taste for Space Is Spawning Mansions Fit for a Commoner:

In the two years since they moved into their voluminous 8,000-square-footer on the edge of Virginia’s suburbs, the Bennett family has not once used their formal dining room, where the table is eternally set for eight with crystal, an empty tea set and two unlighted candles.

Not even guests use the palmy, bamboo morning room beyond it; and the museum-like space Bonnie Bennett calls the Oriental Room — all black lacquer and inlaid pearl, fur, satin and swirling mahogany — is also gloriously superfluous.

“It’s kind of stupid, because we never sit in here,” said Bennett, 32, who bought the largest house she could for the investment.

But she carried around a crumpled photo of the furniture for eight years, and now that she has space for it, she admires it as others might a work of art.

“It’s just me ,” she said.

“Me and my friends joke about this, but I think Pottery Barn is responsible,” Skinner said. “You get the catalogue showing playrooms, then there’s a craft room, and you’re like, ‘Yeah, I need a craft room.’

“The irony is, the bigger the house, the more junk you buy. Then you have nowhere to put it, so you want more storage.”

As the Psihases saw it, moving into a bigger house was not something to be questioned, but something to be accepted, an axiom of American life.

“Bigger bigger, better better,” Georgia Psihas said. “It’s just a part of life.”

It has a guest wing, five fireplaces, three laundries, a hobby room, an elevator, a spa, a home theater, a summer kitchen, a chandelier lift — not things that the average American can necessarily afford at the moment, Hannigan said.

But, he added, “we figured we’d make this home in keeping with where our country’s going.”

I am available as a consultant on how not to fly an airplane. For a fee, I will use my complete lack of piloting skills to help improve your company. Email me for a list of rates.

PS: Any hospitals out there? I’m totally unqualified to perform surgery as well. Let’s talk.

…going to the public library and not checking out Louis Reil (Chester Brown), King (Ho Che Anderson), Cromartie High School vols 1-3, or The Rabbi’s Cat (Joann Sfar) because you’ve already decided on Epileptic (David B), The Push Man (Yoshihiro Tatsumi), Through the Habitrails (Jeff Nicholson), and Clyde Fans Book I (Seth).

Whoever is doing the graphic novel ordering for the Springfield Public Library is setting new standards in asskicking!

Haven’t talked much about comics lately. We’re at the point now where the budget I went on has started to hit home, especially buying stuff from Amazon. Thing is, it’s one thing to look and see you can get an item cheaper through Amazon. The next step is, then you gotta order it, and that’s where I’ve been falling behind. I have all this stuff that I budgeted for, but never actually purchased any of it. That means fewer books for me, which means I don’t talk about them as much.

So here are what I have purchased and read fairly recently, in whatever order they happened to be piled next to the bed.

Peng (Oni Press) - I’m not as in love with Corey Lewis’ art as many other folks are. Every now and then I want someone to turn the flashy funky hip-hop anime machine off and show me what the hell is going on. But the exuberance and lack of restraint in the writing and yes, in most of the art, gets me past this. Peng, like Corey’s Sharknife is an utter joy, non-stop fun and laffs, just what you would expect from a book about competitive kickball. If you like Scott Pilgrim (and who doesn’t, other than TJ, who’s a freak anyway), Peng will get you through to the next volume.

Lost Squad #1 (Devil’s Due Publishing) - Speaking of TJ, both he and my comics pimp, Jim, recommended this title to me, knowing that I likes me some pulp adventure. It’s about a team of WW2 soldiers on a mysterious mission to keep those Nazi bastards from getting their hands on ancient artifacts of great power. It was okay, but the cliched characters (and note to writers: having your characters be aware that they are cliches doesn’t make it any better) didn’t do anything for me and I really disliked the squiggle-full art. Sorry guys, just didn’t connect.

Astro City: The Dark Age (DC/Wildstorm) - So we reach the end of Book One of this four-part series. I know that at some point I loved Astro City, but this storyline never, at any point, grabbed my interest. Nothing that was happening excited me at all, and now I’m thinking I might take a pass on the rest of the Dark Age. One of us, me or Busiek, isn’t doing his job here, and I’m not sure it’s worth three bucks a pop for me to find out who. Any other Astro City fans care to weigh in on this? I really haven’t seen much of anyone talking about it.

Paris #1 (Slave Labor) - Now, I like me some Andi Watson, even if I didn’t really enjoy Love Fights too much and I passed on My Kid Is Cute, his other current series. Paris is why I like him. The angled, blocky art (not by Watson but by Simon Gane, whose name isn’t familiar to me) might normally have turned me off, but it actually works here, and Watson’s usual feel for his characters shines through. This is quite a pleasant comic.

Shaolin Cowboy #4 (Burlyman) - There is so little on the surface to recommend here. Little to no plot. Awful, awful writing. Humor that, more often than not, isn’t funny. The knowledge that buying each issue gives money to those ‘Matrix’ goofs. But the art, oh god the art. Geof Darrow’s art makes it all worthwhile to me.

Strangehaven, vol 1: Arcadia (Abiogenesis) - Who was it that recommended this? Alan David Doane, maybe? I don’t remember, but someone really talked it up in a blog entry, so I gave it a shot. I’m sort of glad I did, too. It’s a tale of shadowy, mysterious doings in an odd English town that the protagonist quite literally can’t seem to get away from. There’s mystery, murder, and a secret society lurking in the background. I’m on board. There’s only one problem. This trade paperback collects issues 1-6 of the comic. Issue 18 came out recently, just in time for the comic’s tenth anniversary. Do I really want to sign on for a biyearly comic? Especially if I plan to buy it in trade? I liked what I read, but knowing that I could wait a few years before picking up the next trade and still be just as far behind is kind of disappointing.

Hikaru No Go, vol 5 (Viz) - Still as enjoyable as ever. I really would like to see some attention paid to Hikaru’s life outside of Go, but I know that’s not the idea here.

Long Hot Summer (Image) - An artifact from a parallel earth where Chynna Clugston-Major is a guy, and his comics are produced by Image instead of Oni, it’s a tale of hipsters, mopeds, jerks, and romance. Normally some pretty run-of-the -mill stuff, but I actually found the ending of the story to be quite surprising and not at all typical of how these things usually go. The artwork was a little off-putting, though. I like clean, crisp lines as much as, if not more than, the next guy, but these characters are a little too crisp. I kept expecting them to show me where the emergency lifeboats were in the unexpected event of a water landing.

Local #1 (Oni) - The eagerly awaited follow-up project to Brian Wood’s critical success Demo unveiled it’s first issue, and I gotta say, it was okay. Really, it was okay. I mean, I dunno. I liked it, but I can’t say it really knocked my socks off. It’s weird, because if it had been some minicomic I’d paid two bucks for, I probably would have really liked it. As it was, I felt like it was pretty slight. I’m assuming there will be a trade for this, since Oni’s good about that sort of thing, and I’ll give the remaining issues a pass and see how I feel when said trade comes out.

Tomorrow Stories Special #1 (DC/ABC)- I feel like a heel for saying this, but every single story in this book — yes, even the Will Eisner tribute — went on too damn long.

Optic Nerve #9 (Drawn and Quarterly) - I came late to the Adrian Tomine party, but after reading Summer Blonde from the library, I’m jumping on the bandwagon. Got me this issue, gonna get me #10 when it comes out, and I’ll pick up some trades in the meantime. Always nice to find something new!

Eden, vol 1 (Dark Horse) - Got this because of the post-apocalyptic vibe. I like the artwork in it, and there’s some interesting bits, but man, I could do without the tired religious imagery. The endnote by creator Hiroki Endo didn’t help either, saying essentially that this was his attempt to take a stab at Neon Genesis Evangelion. I was just glad I read that part last. Still, there’s enough here that I’ll pick up the next volume and give it more of a chance.

That’s mainly where I’ve been, comics-wise. I’m probably the only person who opted not to pick up the new Grant Morrison Superman comic, but I’m sure I’ll get the inevitable trade. I also enjoyed the hell out of the DC Showcase reprint books I got, and I’m looking to grab some more of those. I got the first volume of Fantagraphics’ Mome anthology and mostly enjoyed it, and Or Else #3 was the bee’s knees. There was also an issue of Action Philosophers in there, which is always a good time. I know there had to be more that I’m just not remembering. If you can think of something you think I might dig on, please let me know!

   2 inches of snow
+ 50 bags of leaves
———————-
= TJ is the winner!

Yes, waking up to a couple inches of snow on the ground this morning meant it was time to call the contest. You all performed well and really, there are no losers here, but TJ’s spot-on guess of 50 bags is what will take home the prize — as soon as I figure out what the prize is. (Begins rummaging through desk drawer…)

Monday night, our final TV broke. Our original main TV, the one we bought when we first got married, gave up the ghost earlier this year after 12 years of service, which is not a bad run at all for a current piece of consumer electronics. At that point we moved another TV into the main room, a combo TV-VCR we’d bought a while back that had formerly lived in the bedroom. On Monday it got into an argument with a videotape, which cause its innards to get all confused. We pried the tape out but still it raged against it, shutting itself off when its desire to eject the tape no longer inside it went unfulfilled. Alas, we were TV-less!

Now, you all know how I feel about that. The only show in recent memory I watched on a regular basis was Lost, and I gave up on that early into this season. (For no particular reason, I just stopped watching it.) As far as I’m concerned, the TV mainly exists as a medium for the Playstation 2, and since that’s been acting up as well, my solution was simple: throw the whole mess out. Get rid of the broken TV, the broken PS2, the broken DVD player, and the VCR which no doubt is succumbing to the forces of entropy as we speak, and free up the space, the concern, and the cable bill for other things.

This wise and rational plan, dear readers, not only got vetoed down, but it got me called a Luddite!

So Tuesday we went out to get a new TV, which was more difficult than it would seem. The TV we were replacing was a 21″ set. We first found out that there are two types of TVs nowadays: Ridiculously Expensive and Not So Much. In the Not So Much category, you can either buy a 20″ set for about $140 or you can buy a 27″ set for about $160. And the $140 sets are of brands like Soney, Parasonic, Shadytech, and so forth — names you’ve either never heard of, or names that are close to ones you have heard of but not quite there. The message pretty much is, if you’re not going to be a good American and buy a huge TV you can’t afford, at least let us steer you to more TV than you want. Sure enough, we went with a 27″ Phillips.

Is it any good? Meh, it’s a TV. It does the job. I’m glad for the bigger screen for the sake of PS2 games and the occasional subtitled DVD we watch. It’s got an S-Video thinger which is supposed to be good for the PS2 as well, but I think you need to buy some special cable for that. For us, of course, a 27″ screen rates as “hugelarge” but I know most of our friends will snicker at that. Hopefully this one will last a dozen or so years as well.

I finished my first game of Tigris and Euphrates (a/k/a, “Euphrat & Tigris”) yesterday. Came in third out of four, which isn’t great, but I didn’t do too badly for my first time (though I had help). My opponents were mdp4828 (who won), xandryyte, and jmilum. The reason their names are weird is because we played using BoardGameGeek’s online game system, which offers T&E as one of the options. (I’m currently playing Auf Heller und Pfennig — a/k/a Kingdoms — on there as well.)

Tigris and Euphrates is considered something of a masterpiece in board gaming circles. Created by famous (to boardgame geeks) designer Reiner Knizia, it’s considered his magnum opus. As its name implies, its set in the dawn of civilization, in the fertile crescent. Each player controls a dynasty trying to exert its influence in the region. You build, scheme, and fight for power. It’s also been proposed as one of the few games of recent development that still may be quite popular in 100 years, ranking up there with the likes of Chess, Backgammon, Go, Parcheesi, and Mancala. Once I started hitting BoardGameGeek (BGG) pretty regularly, I knew I had to try this out.

A couple of weeks ago I went over to Dan’s to play some games. Dan’s got him a copy of T&E, which he had never played. He’s been understandably intimidated by the rules, which are notoriously difficult (consensus is that the game isn’t hard to play, just tough to teach and learn.) I offered to borrow it and learn the rules so we could finally play this thing. He agreed, and I instantly revealed that our “friendship” was actually just a two-year long ruse to get my own copy of T&E.

Beebomancer: man, I only listed it last night but already your copy of T&E is up to $20 on ebay

Riggy469: haha

Riggy469: nice

Riggy469: get cracking on those rules, biznatch!

Beebomancer: I started reading them. you roll the dice to see who goes first

Beebomancer: every time you pass start you get extra armies to put on your battleships

Riggy469: hmmm

Riggy469: I must have missed that

Beebomancer: if you land on another player you can send them back to start or put them in jail or try to guess who killed Mr. Boddy

Beebomancer: combat is done by making your opponent guess secret words by giving hints, but you can’t use any words in your hint that contain the letter E

Riggy469: hmmm

Riggy469: maybe you should throw it on Ebay

Riggy469: it sounds hard

So I hunkered down, read the rules, printed out some player aids, and got to the point where I thought I had a pretty good grip on the game. I downloaded a copy of a Java program that plays the game and found I didn’t quite have everything down, so I read more. At last I was ready for a real game, and that’s where mdp4828 and friends came in. He set up a teaching game on BGG and they showed me the ropes. By halfway through I was making decisions on my own (for good or ill) and when I played poorly, at least knew why the move wasn’t so good (albeit after the fact).

The difficulty in Tigris and Euphrates is that it uses a lot of familiar mechanics in unfamiliar ways. For example, there are four colors on the board: red, green, black, and blue. Yet no player controls any particular color. In fact, you will play tiles and markers of all the colors. Also, you don’t own anything on the board except your leaders. You play tiles to the board, and you score off of them, but they’re not yours, they get added to the map and others may be able to take advantage of them. Your kingdoms aren’t your own, either — it’s very probable that you will share control of some kind with another player. The scoring is also atypical (though not so much by Reiner Knizia standards). You’re scored according to the area of influence (temples, settlements, farms, and markets) you did worst in. So if you got 10 temples but only two markets, and your opponent got three of each, you’ll lose. These are tough things to wrap your head around at first, but eventually it all clicks into place.

I now do pretty well against the Java AI and am eager to play the game “for real”, as in, face to face. Becky may have to be a guinea pig for this. I also wouldn’t mind another online game. I now know what all the fuss is about, and I’m fairly certain it’s well-deserved. I’m pretty sure I won’t give Dan his copy back, though; he should have known better.