Geeking Out on Graphic Art, Sidling Up to Sci-Fi

I just stumbled across MonkStyle.net, the website of Aaron Booth, a Sydney, Australia-based web designer that was trained as an illustrator at Joe Kubert's renowned World of Cartooning (NYC). In addition to the expected ranting and comic book musings, his blog contains links to his eye-catching drawings and photographs.

Some of the art is suprisingly amateurish considering his training (not bad, just a little flat) -- but a great deal of the newer material is staggeringly good, especially his Flash/Illustrator work that transforms mundane photogaphs into vector images that rival the best comic book artistry I've ever seen (and I've seen oodles, let me tell ya).

Booth (aka Dr. Snafu) is particularly apt at capturing a sense of emotion in the silent pauses and glimmering eyes of his portraits. If he can sustain this level of quality over the course of sequential panels and action sequences -- and mix in some delicious backgrounds -- then illustration wunderkinds such as Josh Middleton and John Cassaday will have a run for their pencils. Do yourself a favor and visit his site for more sumptuous visuals. Or go directly to his Flickr gallery.



(The images above are copyright Dr. Snafu; the other images on this page are copyright their respective owners.)

***

As recently hyped by Wired magazine, Star Trek: New Voyages will be releasing a new Star Trek episode soon. This one staring Walter Koenig, the original Lt. Pavel Chekov. It's amateur fan-boy TV-show freak-out time, as the New Voyage kids finally have one of the real Star Trek actors acting alongside their hazy facsimile versions of Kirk, Spock, and crew.

***



I finally got around to reading the first volume of Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima, which was excellent.






Jason Lute's sublime Jar of Fools: A Picture Story and Dan "Ghost World" Clowes' suprising, twisting David Boring were also mind-blowingly superb. And Kyle Baker's Plastic Man: On the Lam! was a wacky, Plaztastic, double-entendre filled surprise.


However, Rick Veitch's Maximortal and Brat Pack graphic novels (the first two volumes of the as yet uncompleted King Hell Heroica five-part series) were not as mesmerizing as I'd hoped. Interesting, provocative, gross-out funny, and weird, yes. But not the best revisionist superhero epic in the galaxy (Veitch has had his hand in quite a few classics over the years, notably as an artist, but his solo works never quite reach the pinnacle of such superhero reimaginings as Planetary, the Invisibles, Watchmen, X-Statix, Miracle Man, Sandman, the best of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, even such oddities as American Flagg, Nexus, Zot!, Madman, Concrete, etcetera, etcetera). Brat Pack does offer lush black-white-and-grey artwork, the creepiest interpretation of Batman & Robin you'll ever read, the iconic/archetypal Doctor Blasphemy (one of the most memorable-looking comic creations ever), and the catchy tagline, "Live fast, love hard, die with your mask on."

And storywise Maximortal and Brat Pack tie together nicely while also seemingly forming the backdrop for exciting things to come. But overall the scripting can feel a bit hamhanded and rushed, wallowing in its own dirty jokes and contrivances while never living up to the best ideas and images presented. Maximortal, especially, substitues too much philosophy and psychedelia for action and plot. Perhaps Veitch will pull it all together if he ever gets around to completing his Heroica cycle, but in it's current shape it's a rough (but often rousing) beast best suited only for the hardcore comics fan.

***

Designer Mark Wasserman is Plinko. Plinko is cool. And funny.

Also worth a look is X-Ray Spex, the blog of comics writer/newspaper man Will Pfeifer, "Promising penetrating insight, delivering cheap cardboard glasses"

***

The Sci Fi Channel's online Seeing Ear Theatre has some great new radio-style audio dramas up, like Bebe Neuwirth reading the part of the Queen in Neil "Sandman" Gaiman's Snow Glass Apples.

And 4ColorHeroes offers a ton of links to free, super-rare Alan "Watchmen" Moore online goodies, including lost comics, scripts, MP3s, interviews, prose, and essays.

Reprogramming Science

Rather brilliant Pommy scientist Stephen Wolfram published A New Kind of Science (NKS) back in 2002 to much controversy and acclaim (the text is available online for free). The book shows how simple programs (i.e., sets of instructions underlying biological, computer, physical, and social systems) can produce complex results, and suggests that programs, therefore, can answer questions that traditional mathematics and science cannot.

The concepts can be hard to digest all in one swallow, but the gist is this: math and science wonks like to tackle a particular part of a problem and then reduce it to a very specific formula (say, E=mc²); while computer programmers tend to write very complicated code so that their programs can do relatively simple but specific tasks (like the thousands of lines of coding needed to create a word processing program so you can type up a sentence like this one). But if you write a very simple and general piece of code that doesn't create something very specific, but instead is designed to generate a lot of variations, then the results can be astoundingly complex. This in turn raises the argument that a simple program is a more powerful tool than a simple formula in terms of reducing the math and science of life to its fundamental roots.



The need for traditional mathematics and science still exists, and conventional formulas might be used within the programs themselves, but what is radical about Wolfram’s thinking is that neither creating a super-complex program or searching for the ultimate, compact mathematical formula is going to solve every problem. Instead, thinking in terms of simple programs and the complex results that can result from running those programs over a long period of time might lead to answers otherwise unattainable.

So while biological scientists have been able to figure out that the make up of all forms of known life can be traced back to what is currently called DNA, and the scientists continue to crack the puzzle of various DNA combinations, in the end no simple formula may ever explain how all of the possible DNA combinations relate to each other; but a program, using known DNA code as it’s base variables, could be written that would generate all DNA combinations, and thus help show us the likelihood of, say, a human developing from the muck instead of a dolphin.

For instance, a formula like E=mc² alone will never explain how a turtle evolved from a microbe, but a program could (theoretically) be written to trace the evolutionary development of the turtle's DNA while also generating the thousands of other possibilities of organisms that might have developed under different circumstances.

Anti-evolutionists that have evolved from simple creationist dogma on to Intelligent Design theory hold forth that Darwin's theory of evolution cannot explain the complexity of the creatures that now exist (especially man), so therefore a "watchmaker" (God) must have designed the basic templates. Wolfram's concept, however, shows that very simple programming code could generate all manner of results. Combine Wolfram's concepts with modern DNA studies and Darwin's concept of survival of the fittest and a more defendable view of evolution begins to emerge.

Wolfram sees his theories as being the “new math”—a math that may one day be used to explain the underlying processes that drive biological, social, and physical systems. Life, the universe, the stock market, music, art, sex, cellphone ringtones, etc.: All traceable back to the results derived from instructions (a.k.a. programs) generating all variations of repeatable processes and formulas under a confined set of conditions.

Of course, that’s just my own, highly inflammable, arguably off-the-mark interpretation of his theories. Look into it for yourself and discover the controversy and insight of Wolfram and his contemporaries (and try not to get distracted by all the claims of plagiarism and "I discovered that first" battles flying back and forth between all these modern thinkers, including Wolfram, that are ready to claim a seat of glory next to Einstein, Aristotle, Newton, et al.)

***

Related Post: "The Apocalyptic Battle Between Science, Religion, Republicans, the Environment, and Those Dreaded Neo-Hippies"

Not Related Post: Brian M. Palmer likes indie music, comics, comedy, and Arrested Development (AD). Thus, he is a good guy. Check out his exclusive and amusing interviews with various AD cast members.

Use It: David Harper recommends TheSage, a stupendous Dictionary-Thesaurus freeware program that trumps most related software I've seen, including some of the better dictionary websites and expensive stand-alone programs. Looking at the results, examples, and cross-references TheSage generates, the word "exhaustive" comes to mind -- although it's certainly not exhausting to use.

I also like the more simplistic, fast-loading WordWeb shareware program-- a powerful, international Dictionary-Thesaurus that you can set up to always run in the background (it doesn't use up much of your computer's resources): Highlight any word in any program and then click ctrl-W and boom!, WordWeb pops up with the definition, correct spelling, related words, etc. I use WordWeb all the time, at home and at work.

Corporate Governance

Most of both houses of Congress, and possibly a majority of high-level politicians these days (especially G.W. Bush and Co.), all seem to operate American affairs the way executives operate global businesses. Which isn't surprising, since so many politicians come from business and law backgrounds, scores having worked as CEOs or for corporate lobbyists and the like. The problem, though, is that modern business has become extremely top-heavy, eagerly rewarding everyone of the executive class regardless of how much work they're doing on a daily basis or how much they're truly contributing to the company overall. And thus that same attitude has crept into government thinking.

Yes, good management can do great things for a company, as can a CEO with vision and passion. But real day-to-day operations are successful based on good middle -management and the quality of the staff beneath them. While executive-level management spends 90% of their time taking meetings where ideas are discussed but nothing is accomplished, and then they all give themselves raises.

Sound familiar? Think it’s just an urban myth? Well, that's the U.S. government for you. And it's Halliburton, GM, and every other corporate business and big-city bureaucracy in the country.

Case in point:

When Delphi Corp. started considering bankruptcy as part of it's efforts to slash auto-worker pay in half and remove benefits from retired employees, they immediately commenced a flurry of meetings, in which the executives decided that, well, all of the executives in the company weren't getting paid enough. Also, if any executives were fired, it was reasonable to assume that they should be healthily compensated with at least six months of pay and a partial bonus. So for the sake of staying competitive in the market place, maintaining quality, and retaining the best workforce possible, the day-to-day laborers and bottom-level management types would have their salaries drastically reduced, while the executives would have theirs raised. What kind of logic is that?

Of course, many people cried foul and Delphi Corp. had to backpedal some. But the fact remains that even after all of the corporate greed and corruption uncovered in the aftermath of the entire 1980s and then, more recently, Enron and its spiritual brethren, companies such as Delphi Corp. will still happily, publicly, boldly, blatantly try to pull off schemes such this where the money of the masses is transferred to the pockets of few.

’Tis not surprising then, that Congress continues to give itself raises and increased health and retirement benefits while also turning down opportunities to bring better health, retirement, and education benefits to the general public. Will a senator or representative a give themselves a raise? Sure. And more power too ’em. But will they raise the minium wage by a buck? Nahhhhhhh....

***

Word of the day: Manichaeism, a philosophy that centers around the concept of dualism (good vs. evil, light vs. dark, yin vs. yang). The ancient religious form of Manichaeism combines Zoroastrian, Christian, and Gnostic beliefs and elements with Babylonian folklore and Buddhist ethics. Also see: Manichaean. Wild stuff.

Comic creator of the hour: Chester Brown, writer-artist of "The Playboy," "I Never Liked You," "Ed the Happy Clown," "Underwater," "Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography," etc.

Site of the minute: Dogsbody, TCJ reviews of art/indie comics, including archived reviews by good ol' NYC-Florida writer Daniel Holloway.

Ms. Hollywood Science, I'd Like You to Meet Mr. Government Bureaucracy...

I just read a blurb in Premiere magazine noting that the U.S. government is offering screenwriting grants to scientists, in the hopes of sexing up the science industry and recruiting today’s youth into such disciplines as nuclear physics, genetic modification, and other serious realms of scientific study that videogame playing, reality-TV watching, celeb-mag reading Americans are running away from in droves.

But after searching the Grants.gov and U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science grant databases, I was unable to unearth greater details or a grant application. However, a Google search did yield “Pentagon's New Goal: Put Science Into Scripts,” a related New York Times article by David M. Halbfinger:

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 3, 2005 - Tucked away in the Hollywood hills, an elite group of scientists from across the country and from a grab bag of disciplines - rocket science, nanotechnology, genetics, even veterinary medicine - has gathered this week to plot a solution to what officials call one of the nation's most vexing long-term national security problems.

Their work is being financed by the Air Force and the Army, but the Manhattan Project it ain't: the 15 scientists are being taught how to write and sell screenplays ... Exactly how the national defense could be bolstered by setting a few more people loose in Los Angeles with screenplays to peddle may be a bit of a brainteaser. But officials at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research spell out a straightforward syllogism:

Fewer and fewer students are pursuing science and engineering. While immigrants are taking up the slack in many areas, defense laboratories and industries generally require American citizenship or permanent residency. So a crisis is looming, unless careers in science and engineering suddenly become hugely popular, said Robert J. Barker, an Air Force program manager who approved the grant. And what better way to get a lot of young people interested in science than by producing movies and television shows that depict scientists in flattering ways?

... Teaching screenwriting to scientists was the brainstorm of Martin Gundersen, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California and sometime Hollywood technical adviser, whose biggest brush with stardom was bringing a little verisimilitude to Val Kilmer's lasers in the 1985 comedy "Real Genius."

More recently, he was asked to review screenplays by the Sloan Foundation, which awards prizes for scientific accuracy, and found most to be "pretty dismal," as he put it. "My thought was, since scientists have to write so much, for technical journals and papers, why not consider them as a creative source?" Dr. Gundersen said.... The Air Force is providing $100,000 annually for three years; the Army Research Office has added $50,000 this year....

Dr. Gundersen, meanwhile, offered Valerie Weiss, a participant in the 2004 workshop, as a potential success story. A film buff at Harvard while she was getting her Ph.D. in biophysics, Ms. Weiss switched careers to film four years ago and is now trying to sell a comedy built around a Bridget Jones-like biochemist who applies the scientific method to her hunt for a mate.

She said she hoped her background would give her film the kind of personal touch that Nia Vardalos brought to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as a Greek-American. "To write a film that is going to have impact like that, it needs to be from somebody that has direct experience," she said.

Ms. Weiss said Dr. Gundersen's notion that scientists could make good screenwriters stood the test of reason.

"They're inherently creative, and willing to take more risks than other people," she said. "They're searching for the unknown, they're compensated very minimally, they're going on blind faith that what they're searching for is going to pay off. And filmmaking is exactly the same way."

I’d like to argue that a good screenwriter—or a good writer of any sort—can write a great story without having the “direct experience” that Valerie Weiss claims is required. Also, Nia Vardalos’ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," although highly profitable and occasionally funny and touching, is not a masterwork example of impact-laden cinema. It’s a goofy little comedy.

Writers need to do their homework: reading, research, interviews, and endless imagining. But you don’t have to be a female Harvard science PhD to write a dating comedy about a female science PhD. The education, skills, and experiences of a writer will likely culminate in a better story than a “direct experience” person throwing ideas down on paper. “Direct experience” does pay off with memoir writing, but for romantic comedies and action thrillers? Not so much.

Novelists such as John Le Carré (aka David Cornwell) are the rare exception. Le Carré, a former spy that writes spy thrillers (“The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” etc.), is probably a better fiction scribe than actual espionage mastermind. And there are others in this vein. Scientists, soldiers, construction workers—great writers come from a variety of backgrounds and day jobs. But the work of a great writer is not limited by his or her past.

The U.S. government should try offering grants to all writers—not just scientists—encouraging them to write exciting, scientifically accurate science-themed screenplays. And more importantly, programs such as this should help writers find scientists that they can rely on for fact checking and research. Maybe even co-writing.

Imagine that: The federal government hooking up writers and scientists to work together on new projects. Scientists helping writers flesh out their screenplays while writers help recruit today’s kids into the world of hard science. Scientists correcting writers when they lose track of facts, and writers smoothing out the story arcs and dialogue of the microscope gazers and number crunchers.

That would be a worthy program. But ignoring writers while funding scientists to take a break from science so they can learn how to write? That’s nothing more than a study in entropy and thanatology. We might as well start paying screenwriters to design cloning technology in their spare time...

***

Speaking of Scientists: "Life is an anti-climax for some but for most of us it adds up to 16 hours of orgasmic pleasure. Researchers in Germany have calculated that is the number of hours that the average person spends enjoying orgasms during his or her lifetime.... and people spend six weeks doing nothing but playing during childhood, will watch television for a staggering five-and-a-half years ... spend seven years doing nothing but working ... [and] 24 years and four months in the land of nod." -- Allan Hall, "You've got it coming: all 16 hours of it," The Age (Victoria, Australia).

Talkin' 'bout Filmmakers: writer-producer-director Judd Apatow gets focused in an all-out interview conducted by Mike Russell. (Apatow's one of the the new comedy masterminds behind “The Ben Stiller Show,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Undeclared,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “The Cable Guy,” “Anchorman,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Fun with Dick and Jane.”) Read on...

What's PR Got to Do With It?

"PR" can mean a number things.

Typically, a PR (press release) is any news item that’s distributed by a company, concerned party, or publicist and is not actually written by, originated by, or researched by a real reporter and editor. Some companies keep their PR (public relations) division in house, but for bigger events they usually hire a big PR firm. The publicists and marketing geniuses (spawns of Satan) then try to get the word out about the company/event to the public. The PR (public relations) people do this by sending out PR (press releases) to everyone and their mother, with special emphasis on hounding the media.

In the normal media world, three things happen when a magazine/newspaper/TV reporter or news editor receives a piece of PR: (1) If they are wise, they throw it in the trash; (2) If they are not too lazy, they try to figure out whether or not there is actually anything newsworthy buried inside the flack-written fluff that is the basis of every PR; (3) If they are a regular, good ol' jurno hack, they try to figure out if they will be able to get any cool interviews or free electronics or movie/concert tickets or stock options or sex out of the publicist if they cover the “news” found in the PR; (4) The reporter/editor will research and verify (or contest) the info in the PR and then begin writing a story based upon the PR, bringing in outside research and doing interviews with people and trying to find the truth, unless they're FOX News or very drunk, in which case they'll just report the PR as fact or plagiarize it verbatim.

However, in the world of stocks, PRs are released directly onto newswires and are then avidly devoured by the public without ever being touched by reporters or editors, so anyone following the stock PR wires needs to do their own extensive DD (due diligence) to figure out what is really relevant and what is bullshit. With many PR wires, the company that wants to issue a news release just has to pay the wire service a fee, and then, bingo-presto, it’s posted online.

At the same time, the company in question and their publicity team may not actually be behind the PRs you see -- it could be the MMs (market makers) that have hired a PR team to release publicity items to help make the stock go up or down. Typically, stock-related PR found on the legitimate news wires will not be lies, per se, since people could get in trouble for distributing completely false information, but the info will likely be manipulated to the furthest extent the law allows, to help whatever party is releasing or paying for the PR.

But since the general media doesn't pay much attention to all the penny stocks out there, penny traders have to rely on PR to a great degree. And the PR, in turn, affects what the stock media reports on, what the stock bulletin boards talk about, and what the stock gurus recommend. And many of the stock-news services that release info on the wires and distribute info through newsletters and websites and spam are glorified PR firms in their own right – they’re paid (with money and/or stock) to recommend the stock they’re flaunting. Nonetheless, even when PR is mostly BS, it can still affect the PPS (price per share) or P/S (market cap divided by revenues, or stock price divided by sales price per share) and is rarely bad new (which is kept strictly on the QT). But you can use PR to your advantage if you’re on top of the news.

Penny Stocks Part 2: Bollinger is Not a Rock Band

Question: Swing trades, day trades, long-term investments. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, Pink sheets, and Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTC BB) trades. Is it business or gambling? Can the small guy ever really win, or is the system rigged against the masses?

As part of my continuing attempt to find unique and insightful stock-market trading advice -- especially in the volatile world of penny stocks and micro-penny stocks -- I now present to you another post from the mighty Ric at the discussion thread “So how do I make money then?” at the Allstocks.com’s Bulletin Board.


Things you need to know

By Ric.

Best two pieces of advice for pennies:

1) Don't let people convince you that a penny is a long hold. You will get burnt. Buy low, sell high, and never look back.

2) Due Diligence.

Two things that you must learn about charts immediately are RSI (the relative strength index) and Bollinger Bands. They are so important. Now there is so much you can learn in charts that will help you make choices but I consider the above the most important things to learn for any investors. RSI will let you know if there is buying pressure or selling pressure. It will also confirm a run. Bollinger Bands also show price pressures and are used to support other indicators. There are links below under TA for education on understanding charts.

Relative Strength Index

Definition:

Relative Strength Index (RSI), an oscillator introduced by J. Welles Wilder, Jr., could be more appropriately called the internal strength index, for it compares the price of a security relative to itself. The RSI is based upon the difference between the average of the closing price on up days vs. the average closing price on the down days over a given period, and is plotted on a vertical scale of 0 to 100. An oscillator refers to a momentum or rate-of-change indicator that is usually valued from -1 to +1 or 0% to %100.

Wilder advocated a 14-day RSI, although shorter and longer periods have gained popularity when the market exhibits certain characteristics. Generally, RSI is measured in a period between 5 and 25.

Interpretation:

There are several possible interpretations for the Relative Strength Index, any of which can be very powerful depending on the market conditions and trading/investment approach: One interpretation is that buy signals are triggered when RSI is in oversold (20-30) area, potentially meaning that the stock is about to reach its low for this trend, and sell signals are triggered when RSI is in overbought (70-80) area, potentially signaling a market top.

A second mode of interpretation is to look for support and resistance lines or common chart formations such as head and shoulders in the RSI itself, indicating potential reversals that the stock chart may not.

A third mode of interpretation is to recognize divergences in the RSI, such as when the price is moving up when the RSI is moving down or vice versa. This can mean that the price is going to "correct" and move in the direction of the RSI.

A fourth mode of interpretation for the RSI is to view it as a bullish or bearish signal when it crosses 50. When the RSI crosses above 50 it can be considered bullish, and when it crosses below 50 it can be considered bearish.


Bollinger Bands

Definition:

Investors use trading bands, lines drawn above and below the moving average, to isolate a range of prices for a given security, based on the concept that a stock generally trades within a predictable range on either side of the moving average. When a stock is near the upper or lower limits of the trading bands is when an investor should pay closest attention, according to conventional wisdom.

Bollinger Bands are considered some of the most useful bands in technical analysis, for they vary in distance from the moving average of a security's price based on the security's volatility. During periods of increased fluctuation, the bands widen to take this into account, and when the fluctuation decreases, the bands are tapered for a narrower focus to the price range. The upper band is the standard deviation multiplied by a given factor above the simple moving average, and the lower band is the standard deviation multiplied by the same given factor below the simple moving average.

Interpretation:

The standard interpretation is that Bollinger Bands do not give absolute buy and sell signals, but instead indicate whether the price is relatively high or low, allowing for more informed confirmation with other technical indicators.

Bollinger Bands are typically drawn two standard deviations from a twenty day simple moving average for intermediate-term analysis, ten day for short term with 1.5 standard deviations, and fifty for long-term studies with 2.5 standard deviations. According to John Bollinger, for the most accurate average "choose one that provides support to the correction of the first move up off a bottom. If the average is penetrated by the correction, then the average is too short. If, in turn, the correction falls short of the average, then the average is too long. An average that is correctly chosen will provide support far more often than it is broken."

Mr. Bollinger also contends that:

Sharp moves tend to occur after the bands tighten to the average, when a stock is less volatile. The greater the period of less volatility, the higher the propensity for a price breakout.

When the price hits the upper or lower bands, it is suggested to confirm with other indicators whether that price movement shows strength or weakness, respectively, which could indicate a continuation. If indicators do not confirm this movement, it can suggest a reversal.

Tops or bottoms made outside the bands, followed by the same inside the bands, indicate a trend reversal.

A move originating at one band tends to go to the other band.


Resources for IQCharts & DD for otcbb and pinksheets

Try these two DD tools to be quick and good with your facts. At pinksheets in a matter of seconds under Company Info I can give you o/s, any r/s, company name changes, or planned changes and more. Quotetracker is a program you install on your computer. I wouldn't survive without it in a quick paced market. Tons of TA and FA with dd. Shoot pinksheets is my homepage on Firefox browser for quick reference. This is the first two places I go for fast due diligence.

www.pinksheets.com {Company Info tab is loaded with information} {SEC Filing Tab - wow} {News Tab - Pr's at your finger tips}

www.quotetracker.com - after you set it up add a symbol quickly then charts, news, research, and raw data at your finger tips. Great charts.

DD is mainly knowing where to go.


FA – Fundamental Analysis

www.pinksheets.com - first place to look!!!! Go to Company info for o/s. r/s, name changes, and many other facts. Go to SEC tab to look for filings. News tabs for latest news that may not show up through normal wire service.

www2.barchart.com - after you enter stock symbol select opinion to see trend spotter

www.otcbbtrader.com – otcbb loser/winner by volume, price, shares, transaction, and more

www.otcbbtrader.com/portal/n_letter/ gen/Microcap_Recap_Report.html - otcbb market recap on otcbb and pinksheet market for the day

tinyurl.com/9s2wr - DD site that is great.

www.otcbb.com – otcbb news

www.boardcentral.com/ index.php?view=Main – most popular stock search

www.smallcapcenter.com – otcbb resources

smallcapcenter.com/ tools_QuickSearch.asp?page=QUICKSEARCH.ASP - free filter

www.stockfetcher.com - stock filter

knobias.10kwizard.com - SEC Edgar filings


TA – Technical Analysis

www.stockcharts.com – charting web site

bigcharts.marketwatch.com – charting web site

www.iqcharts.com/education - TA, candlesticks, chart patterns education

www.stockcharts.com/education/ChartAnalysis - teaches chart analysis

www.transitionstrading.com/Chart_Studies.htm - teaching about charts


General DD (Due Diligence/Research/Fact-Checking)

www.allstocks.com/edu/index.html - Research links

www.quotemedia.com/results.php - Free level II (not pink)/Delayed

www.nasdaqtrader.com/aspx/regsho.aspx - “Sho” list

www.nasdaq.com – Tons of information (insider trading/IPO’s/Most active/much more)

www.tradetrek.com/online.asp - General but with 5 day and 6 month forecasts

www.secform4.com – Free real time insider trader monitor

www.otcbbtrader.com/portal/goto.dll - Market Data

www.stockmarketyellowpages.com – search tool

www.rookiedaytrader.com – Some good advise here

www.epubsinc.com/ index.php?pageName=formtypes – Edgar form types and descriptions

www.shellstockreview.com/ssrShellsBySym.htm - Shell companies

www.daytradingcoach.com/index2.htm - trading tips, education, quotes and charts

www.investopedia.com/ - dictionary of stock terms, tutorials

www.stockcharts.com/education/ MarketAnalysis/dowtheory1.html - theory of market movement

www.stockcharts.com/education/ TradingStrategies - well known trading strategies

our-street.com/home.htm - list of scam companies

www.sec.gov – latest filings, litigations, proceedings, or suspensions


————————————————————

Secretary of States (Protect Yourself!)

Alabama - arc-sos.state.al.us/CGI/ SOSCRP02.MBR/INPUT
Alaska - www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov
Arizona -www.azsos.gov
Arkansas - www.sosweb.state.ar.us
California - kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html
Colorado - www.sos.state.co.us
Connecticut - www.sots.state.ct.us
Deleware - www.state.de.us/sos/default.shtml
Florida - www.dos.state.fl.us
Georgia - www.sos.state.ga.us/default800.asp
Hawaii - www.ehawaii.gov/dcca/ bizsearch/exe/bizsearch.cgi
Idaho - www.idsos.state.id.us
Illinois - www.sos.state.il.us
Indiana - www.in.gov/sos
Iowa - www.sos.state.ia.us
Kansas - www.kssos.org/main.htm
Kentucky - sos.ky.gov
Louisana - www.sec.state.la.us
Maine - www.state.me.us/sos
Maryland - www.sos.state.md.us
Massachusetts - www.sec.state.ma.us
Michigan - www.michigan.gov/sos
Minnesota - www.state.mn.us/ebranch/sos
Mississippi - www.sos.state.ms.us
Missouri - www.sos.mo.gov
Montana - sos.state.mt.us/css/index.asp
Nebraska - www.sos.state.ne.us
Nevada - esos.state.nv.us/SOSServices/ AnonymousAccess/CorpSearch/CorpSearch.aspx
New Hampshire -www.sos.nh.gov/index.html
New Jersey - www.state.nj.us/state
New Mexico - www.sos.state.nm.us
New York - www.dos.state.ny.us
North Carolina - www.secretary.state.nc.us/ corporations
North Dakota - www.knowx.com/northdakota/ northdakota-corporate-records.jsp
Ohio - www.sos.state.oh.us
Oklahoma - www.sos.state.ok.us
Oregon - www.sos.state.or.us
Pennsylvania - www.dos.state.pa.us/dos/site/default.asp
Rhode Island - www.state.ri.us
South Carolina - www.scsos.com
South Dakota - www.sdsos.gov/index.htm
Tennessee - www.state.tn.us/sos
Texas - www.sos.state.tx.us
Utah - www.utah.gov/ltgovernor
Vermont - www.sec.state.vt.us
Virginia - www.soc.state.va.us
Washington - www.secstate.wa.gov/corps
West Virginia - www.wvsos.com
Wisconsin - www.sos.state.wi.us
Wyoming - soswy.state.wy.us/corporat/ corporat.htm


Phone Numbers provided by HitMe101

Knight Equity Markets, L.P.
NASDAQ TRADING
800-222-4910

NASDAQ TRADING
888-515-0031

BULLETIN BOARD
800-232-3684

DELISTING/BANKRUPTCY
212-336-8656

DELISTING/BANKRUPTCY
212-336-8791

DELISTING/BANKRUPTCY
212-336-8792

INTERNATIONAL
800-762-0271

BROKER/DEALER DESK
888-302-9197

INSTITUTIONAL DESK
800-222-4895

FOREIGN BULLETIN BD
212-336-8841

HELP DESK
888-931-HELP

NITE UBS Capital Markets L.P.
JERSEY CITY, NJ
N/A

DOMESTIC TRADING
212-514-5140

FOREIGN/ADR TRADING
212-804-3354

OTC BB/PINK TRADING
800-631-3094

DEALER/SALES TRADING
800-213-2923

TD Waterhouse Capital Markets, Inc.
OTC TRADING
201-369-8830

BULLETIN BOARD
201-369-8889

BULLETIN BOARD
800-500-3905

DEALER/INST SALES
201-369-1000

DEALER/INST SALES
800-369-5775

JEFFERIES & COMPANY, INC.
BULLETIN BOARD TRDG
212-336-7007

BROKER DEALER
877-350-2855

NASDAQ TRADING
972-701-3100

DALLAS TX
800-527-6816

AGENCY TRADING
972-701-3250

DALLAS TX
877-273-9728

LOS ANGELES
310-914-1163

STAMFORD CT.
203-708-5910

866-682-2398

INTL TRADING
203-708-5890

800-525-8620

877-350-BULL

LISTED TRADING
973-912-2790

CONVERTIBLES
203-708-5868

BROKER/DEALER DESK
212-336-7007

JEFF Tradition Asiel Securities Inc.
NASDAQ
212-791-4770

OTCBB
212-791-5335

VANDHAM SECURITIES CORP.
NEW YORK NY
212-223-7510

CloseVNDM 07:30
0.015 50 Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.
NEW YORK, NY
212-422-7813

CONVERTIBLE BONDS
212-668-5764

800-682-5381

NASDAQ/OTCBB TRADING
212-422-7813

LISTED DESK
212-668-8033

INSTITUTIONAL DEPT
212-943-9055
Hudson Securities, Inc.
JERSEY CITY, NJ
201-216-9100

JERSEY CITY, NJ
800-624-0050

JERSEY CITY, NJ
212-227-7733

INSTITUTIONAL SALES
800-419-9187

201-216-0375

COLORADO
888-576-1828

BOCA RATON, FL
800-898-2777

INTERNATIONAL
888-306-1998

561-361-0951

CANADIAN ARB
201-216-1475

WM. V. FRANKEL & CO., INCORPORATED
JERSEY CITY, NJ
201-434-5005

NEW YORK, NY
212-943-6633

NEW YORK, NY
800-631-3091

SEABOARD SECURITIES, INC.
NASDAQ/OTCBB
973-514-1699

FLORHAM PK, NJ
973-514-1500

AGENCY DESK
973-514-1678

JUNO BEACH FL.
561-630-6170

Hill Thompson Magid and Co., Inc.
JERSEY CITY, NJ
201-434-8100

JERSEY CITY, NJ
212-233-2200

NASDAQ TRADING
800-631-3083

ADR TRADING
800-879-9842

CANADIAN EQUITIES
866-235-7016

BANK STOCKS
866-291-6316

CHICAGO, IL
800-999-8073

CHICAGO, IL
312-372-3828

Maxim Group LLC
NEW YORK, NY
212-895-3680

800-261-0498

OTCBB
212-895-3874

FOREIGN TRADING
212-895-3897

INTL Trading, Inc.
ORLANDO FL
407-741-5399

800-541-1977

OTCBB DESK
800-327-5703

OTCBB DESK
407-741-5394

NEW YORK, NY
212-485-3545

Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
NEW YORK NY
212-272-4810

OTCBB/PINK SHEETS
212-272-4975

NASDAQ TRADING
800-247-7882

EMERGING MARKETS
212-272-9297

INTERNATIONAL
212-272-4580

ARBITRAGE
212-272-4506

PREFERRED
212-272-5104

PREFERRED
800-231-8892

CONVERTIBLES
212-272-4484

HIGH YIELD DEPT
212-272-5100

OTCBB/PINK SHEETS
212-272-4975

VFINANCE INVESTMENTS, INC
OTCBB/PINK SHEETS
800-487-0577

OTCBB/PINK SHEETS
561-981-1314

NEW JERSEY
908-782-4469

NEW YORK
908-782-4469

PHILADELPHIA
856-234-2900

PERSHING TRADING COMPANY, L.P.
JERSEY CITY NJ
201-413-3531

NASDAQ TRADING
800-305-0161

BULLETIN BOARD
201-413-2700

DEALER DESK
201-413-2465

866-880-9410

Fulcrum Global Partners LLC
OTCBB DESK
212-803-7046

OTCBB BROKER/DEALER
212-803-7070

CANADIAN/FOREIGN DSK
212-803-9026

Sterne Agee Capital Markets, Inc.
BOCA RATON, FL
561-368-8373

BOCA RATON, FL
800-930-3536

DEALER SALES, FRANK
800-979-4568

DOMESTIC SECURITIES, INC.
EDISON, NJ - OTC
732-661-0300

MONTVALE, NJ OTC
201-782-0009

MONTVALE, NJ HQ
201-782-0888

BILTMORE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
TRADING DESK
732-791-4000

ALTERNATE
732-287-6535

—————————————————————————

Recovering a Loss

Loss vs. Gain-Needed-to-Recover-the-Loss

10% - 11.1%
20% - 25.0%
30% - 42.9%
40% - 66.7%
50% - 100.0%
60% - 150.0%
75% - 300.0%
90% - 1000.0%

Timing your entry and exit from the market is critical to making money and controlling losses.


MM Signals

100 > I need shares
200 > I need shares badly but don’t take it down to get them.
300 > Take the price down to get shares......
400 > Trade it sideways based on Supply and Demand
500 > Gap one-way or the other, usually to the direction of the 500 trade. Sometimes -if in the middle -keep the price right where it is.

Invest with your brain not with your heart. — Ric

****

Check out the Spam Stock Tracker project. -- L.B.

Penny Stocks Part 1: Psychological Trappings

Despite the dire risk of boring many readers, I've decided to blog up some investment advice.

The following is taken from a post by the mighty Ric at "So how do I make money then?," a recent discussion thread at Allstocks.com’s Bulletin Board.


PRICE IS CONTROLLED BY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAPPINGS OF THE MARKET.

By realityinc21/Diana

Stage 1 - Accumulation. Stock is quiet, trading sideways and without a lot of volatility. Most everyone ignores the stock because it has no sizzle. Insiders hold large blocks of stock and quietly gear up for the distribution.

Stage 2 - Breakout. Volume jumps up, psychological barriers are broken. Insiders begin to tell their friends of upcoming significant fundamental change. Pros take notice and buy the stock on the coat tails of the well informed. The public ignores it because they have not read about the company in the paper yet. It must be a scam.

Stage 3 - Uptrend. As a larger audience learns of the company and its promise, more buying comes in to the stock and it begins to climb. Pros begin to sell, but slowly. Average investor begins to buy.

Stage 4 - Pullback. The stock has gone up too fast, and some profit taking arrives. The jumpy investor who got the entry timing right but lacks confidence in his or her decision sells the stock with a small profit, and smiles in the mirror. The Pro holds on, Average Investor looks through the newspaper to find justification for ownership of the shares.

Stage 5 - Resumption of the Uptrend. The pull back is short lived, and the stock bounces and continues higher. The wannabe regrets the sell, but provides self counsel on the merit of making a profit, albeit a small one. The Pro might sell a little bit more, but still holds the majority of the original position. The Average Investor is getting excited now, and thinks about what could have been if only he had bought when he first noticed the stock.

Stage 6 - Exhaustion of the Uptrend. The media takes notice, and communicates the company's merits to the masses. The masses buy the stock, and it goes up sharply with strong volume. The Pros sell with enthusiasm. The Average Investor owns it now, and is telling everyone who will listen. The wannabe Pro jumps back on, after all, he was smart enough to buy it when the trend started, so he knows the stock well. Will hope make it go higher?

Stage 7 - Gravity Works. Pro selling begins to weigh on the uptrend, and the stock fails to go higher despite high volumes. The stock starts to go down instead of up, and the Pro is almost sold out. The Average Investor continues to cheer lead, hoping to rally support. The wannabe ignores what the market is telling him, taking a loss is too painful to consider. The company is featured on the cover of a magazine.

Stage 8 - The Second Guess. The stock bounces and starts to go back up. The wannabe Pro averages down while the Average Investor gets back to advising friends of his stock picking acumen. Pros sell their remaining holdings and begin to look for another deal to play, or perhaps start short selling the stock.

Stage 9 - Out of Gas. The bounce is a fake out, and the stock moves lower again. The public owns this stock, and they have no more power to buy. The Pro are making money on the short sales now, but are despised by the masses. The Average Investor makes calls for short selling to be made illegal—after all, the short sellers are the demons causing the sell off.

Stage 10 - Dead Cat Bounce. The Average Investor and the wannabe Pro have no pain tolerance left, and finally sell for a big loss. The short selling Pros are the only buyers to take the share off their hands, and provide the needed liquidity. The stock bounces, and some short-term traders make a quick profit. The Average Investor either swears to never buy a stock again, or tells lively stories over drinks about the one that could have been.

Stage 11 - Post Mortem. Pros have forgot about the stock and are considering carpet samples for their new home in Florida. Average Investor continues to follow the company and buys loads of cheap stock to try and overcome the regrettable loss.

The stock market is mean. You can be a good analyst, but if you can't overcome the psychological traps of trading, you will do what the crowd does. To be successful, you have be one step ahead of the crowd, and trade with unemotional discipline. There are strategies to take advantage of each stage of the market cycle that can be applied just by looking at a stock chart. They just require a bit of knowledge.

----------------------------------

Everyday for the next 30 days, read this 10 times a day.

Ask yourself 10 times a day "what kind of trader am I going to be??" Am I going to be a crying whining little bitch or am I going to shake it off?? Am I going to buy to high because I do not know how to read a chart or am I going to f**cking learn how to read a chart?? Am I going to be the entertainment for this board or am I going to go the library and check out all the books that I can read on day trading and investing and stock charting. Am I going to learn how to do my own due diligence or am I going to buy on the recommendation of people from this board?? (It is pretty obvious that is what happened) they were great recommendations but you were about 5 steps behind. It looks like by the time you were buying everyone else was selling. Am I going to take this laying down or am I going to get my Goddamn money back. No one can make those choices for you!!

May seem like I am being a cold hearted bitch but this the real world baby. The question you have to address right this minute is… am I going learn on the fly or am I going to back it up and learn about what the f**ck I am doing?? You dove in headfirst now you have to learn how to swim. If you are not willing to learn how to swim—bail and take your loss. Day trading is time consuming. I would venture to say that most of the people on this board spend 5 to 10 hours a day researching-charting-reading sec filings-going over financials—reading news releases—communicating with other traders on strategies—then finally buying—then the same process begins for the exit. It may not seem like it right now but I am trying to help you. As will others. Sugarcoating the facts will not help you. You need a good dose of reality and I just gave it to you!! I.e. reality incorporated....

The only consolation that I can give you is: I have been in your shoes. After over 20 years of dealing with the market I still was not prepared for the depth of day trading. I learn new things everyday and make mistakes everyday. After 4 years of making at least 5 trades a day I am a newbie just like you. It is a process. Welcome to day trading and good luck with your choices. Reality incorporated Establish a set of trading rules that work for you. These are my rules. You have a adapt your own. Maybe this will give you some guidelines to go by.

----------------------------------

MY PENNY STOCK RULES:

1. I never buy on impulse or get emotionally attached to a penny stock—think LOGIC—I buy it, I sell it, I make money and I rarely look back.

2. I never buy a stock JUST because I like it or worse someone else likes it.

3. I rarely buy a micro penny stock trading under a volume of 50,000 mil—80 to 100 mil is better (always remember there has to be buyer for every stock you buy)...

4. I rarely hold a micro penny stock over night.... My definition of micro penny is under .10 cents ...Rarely over a weekend...NOTICE I SAID RARELY. THERE ARE SOME STOCKS THAT HAVE A BUILD UP AND IF THE VOLUME IS GOOD AND I FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT MY DD I WILL HOLD IT FOR THE RUN. At $7.00 to $10.00 a trade I can buy and sell it every day on news or hype or earning whatever. .(THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED DAY TRADING)

5. I never buy a penny stock on the way up. IE CHASING I watch the pre market trading and set a buy price and a sell price and stick to it (missed out on NEOM by sticking to my rules—I noticed it at .11 and refused to buy to high) UPSIDE IS I DO NOT HOLD 500,000 SHARES OF NEOM AT.43 CENTS—-DOWNSIDE I DID NOT MAKE 50,000 DOLLARS. I DID MAKE A COUPLE OF GRAND BY PLAYING THE GAP AFTER THE RUN. IF YOU MISS THE RUN PLAY THE GAP. LIKE THE MAN SAID—THERE IS ANOTHER STOCK JUST WAITING TO BE BOUGHT.

6. I never think about GETTING RICH OR RETIRING on penny stocks...My goal is to make $200.00 a day and not lose my original investment. Most often I exceed my goal. (When I lose money it is usually because I have not followed my own rules)

7. I never ride a stock down—I will sell it and re-buy it. EXAMPLE: BOUGHT CTKH AT .002 AND .0022. SOLD HALF AT .0046. SOLD HALF OF THAT HALF AT .0069. IT STARTED GOING DOWN AND I BAILED OUT AT .006. BOUGHT AGAIN TODAY AT .0032. LOGIC-DO YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE MUTUAL FUND MANAGERS WOULD HAVE HELD ONTO IBM IF IT DROPPED 50%?????—(WELL SOME WOULD) LOL I THINK NOT...RIDING A STOCK DOWN IS LIKE THROWING 50% OF YOUR MONEY OUT OF A CAR WINDOW AT 75 MILES AN HOUR AND HOPING IT FLIES BACK TO YOU. OR BETTER YET "IF YOU LOVE IT LET IT GO—IF IT LOVES YOU IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU". THAT’S BULL****—IF IT LOVED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE IT NEVER WOULD HAVE LEFT... I have actually bought and sold the same stock 3 times in one day. ATNG WAS A RECENT 3 TIME BUY AND SELL. BOUGHT AND SOLD IBZT 3 TIMES ONE DAY. (not usually but it does happen).

8. I never insult or bash another fellow trader...I respect other people's trading methods. I LEARN FROM THEM. What the hell—It's not my money.... ( It's not like they are setting on third base at a black jack table and take a hit on 15 and the dealer has a 6 showing and I have $500.00 dollars riding on that hand). I DO LISTEN AND LEARN AND BENEFIT FROM THEM.

9. I never trade with MONEY that I am not willing to lose.

10. I follow the market and market trends (not just the stocks)

11. I never buy a stock without reviewing, analyzing and understanding the charts. I learned how to read charts and believe in them....They do not lie...I MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THEY MAKE OR PRODUCE OR SELL WHEN I BUY IT BUT I DO REVIEW THE CHARTS ON THE FLY AND PUT IN A BUY ORDER FOR SMALL AMOUNT TO GET IN THE DOOR. MOST TRADERS KNOW WHEN A RUN IS COMING AND HAVE ALREADY DONE THE DUE.

12. I never get gambling and investing confused. I INVEST IN REAL ESTATE.... MY BUSINESS....SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE CAP STOCKS WITH A HISTORY-MANAGEMENT TEAM-FINANCIALS—ASSETS—CASH—ETC...30 YEARS+ GROWTH AND INCOME MUTUAL FUNDS WITH 12% OVERALL GAIN IN GOOD AND BAD TIMES (THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS AND THAT IS THEIR JOB). I GAMBLE WITH PENNIES... MY DEFINITION OF PENNIES IS ANYTHING UNDER $5.00.

13. I always take 50% of earning from each week and e-transfer into INTEREST BEARING TAX account. THEN I LEARNED HOW TO INVEST THAT MONEY IN REAL ESTATE TO MINIMIZE TAXES. INCORPORATE, PROTECT AND SHELTER.

14. I ALWAYS TAKE MY ORIGINAL INVESTMENT OUT OF THE EQUATION WHEN IT IS FEASIBLE TO MAKE ENOUGH MONEY ON THE TRADE TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE .IE...WHEN THE STOCK IS ON A RUN UP SELL PORTIONS AT TIME TO RECOUP ORIGINAL INVESTMENT. IF IT IS A STOCK I PLAN TO KEEP LIKE TFSM—I BOUGHT AT 1.06. AT 2.12 I WILL SELL HALF AND RECOUP INVESTMENT AND KEEP 5000 SHARES FOR FREE. HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE THIS WEEK.

15. I ALWAYS HAVE FUN.........ACTUALLY I HAVE A BLAST....

16. I LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY....

17. I CAN'T SPELL, TYPE WELL OR USE PROPER GRAMMAR—AND I SWEAR LIKE A SAILOR...BUT IF YOU PUT A DOLLAR SIGN IN FRONT OF IT—-I WILL FIGURE IT OUT..........THAT CERTAINLY DOES NOT MAKE ME STUPID...IT MAKES ME SMART BY RECOGNIZING MY LIMITATIONS. LEARN YOURS.

18. I ALWAYS MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS AND TAKE ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACTIONS.

19. I LAUGH EVERYDAY...MOSTLY AT MYSELF AND SOMETIMES AT OTHERS....

20. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT—THE MARKET HAS A RHYTHM—EACH STOCK HAS A RHYTHM—LIKE GREAT SEX—A RHYTHM...FIGURE OUT YOUR OWN RHYTHM WITH THE MARKET AND DUE YOUR OWN DD... LEARN THE RHYTHM OF THE CHARTS. IT IS CALLED "HARD WORK". THE REST WILL FOLLOW. TAKE THE TIME TO PASS ON YOUR GOOD FORTUNE TO OTHERS. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK.

-- realityinc21/Diana


***

Some other reliable gurus I've run across at Allstocks.com’s Bulletin Board are FatherOfTwo and QuestSolver, but there are a lot of talented folks on this forum and on other sites online. No matter how highly or lowly rated anyone is, however, your best bet is to track their advice for a while -- and look at their old recommendations -- to see how often they're right and wrong.

Once you've found someone who can find the winners, also think about whether or not their advice and trading style fit your needs and your own style and attitude. This vetting process will help you figure out whose picks you should follow in the future, which in turn will speed up your own ability to make money on the fly. -- L.B.

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz Frank Miller

Although expertly plotted and paced, the original "Sin City" graphic novels never told the most original stories, but instead happily existed in a world of spiced-up homage. The plots were fun and twisty, if thin, but the dialogue often seemed pointedly campy -- the running joke being that everything in "Sin City" was an exaggerated version of old-school hardboiled crime/noir novels and movies.

The stories worked best when a sense of reality seeped in, most notably in the earliest storylines featuring Marv. Frank Miller later got carried away, allowing more fanciful and fetishistic superhero-type characters (ninja hookers, bright-yellow bad guys) to overtake the simulated veracity of his noir world.



But telling wholly original tales was never the point of "Sin City." Instead, Miller seemed to be looking for a strong vehicle to showcase the breathtaking new black-and-white drawing style he'd developed. His relief work -- pitch-black backgrounds splashed and splattered with abstract white patterns that upon closer inspection coalesce into recognizable characters momentarily suspended in time -- is especially stunning.

The stories in "Sin City" are thrilling enough, however, to inspire a number of movies or a serialized TV show. A subtle writer and a director with realistic-tendencies could have developed the plots and characters into fully realized forms onscreen, while the escapist plots and snarky dialogue would surely have pleased a large audience.

Robert Rodriguez is not a man of subtlety or realism, but he showed great courage and a lack of ego in allowing Frank Miller the opportunity to write and direct alongside him. With that in mind, one cannot deny the brilliance with which Miller and Rodriguez played up their strengths in adapting "Sin City" into a feature film.



Re-creating the ineffable "Sin City" artwork is impossible, but the close visual approximation that Rodriguez was able to maintain through cinemagraphic and FX acumen is astounding. Regrettably, "Sin City" the movie also serves to highlight all the weaknesses and flaws found in the often two-dimensional, sometimes cheesy (but always sinfully lovable) "Sin City" comic books, but it's successful attempt at being absolutely true to its source material is a triumph.

Yes, a more mature and nuanced filmmaker-writer team might have created a better film from the "Sin City" comics (but perhaps nothing as visually and pedantically loyal to its source); and one can certainly argue that movies should aspire to be more than adaptations of comic books or regurgitations of old crime/detective/noir story ideas (or revamps of old movies, foreign movies, and expired TV shows, for that matter); and comic-book purists such as Alan Moore would say that stories told as sequential art should stay in print and not be abused as movie fodder.

And Rodriguez -- a brilliant cinematographer (even when shooting DV) and an expert at creating fast-paced adventure -- has a tone-deaf writing style and a lackluster ability for pulling believable performances from actors. "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" suffered from the same flaws and highlights as "Sin City": flashes of brilliance and eccentricity and excitement tempered absurdity, plot holes, and groan-worthy camp; extreme violence with no emotional heft or impact; daring experimentation undercut by a complete ridiculousness.

Then again, no other filmmaker alive today is as capable of consistently and regularly bringing their entirely realized and uncompromised cinematic vision to the screen, reaching a large audience, and making money while not bowing to studio pressure, union pressure, or a politically conservative society. And no other filmmaker is making films that look or feel like Rodriguez’s films. He is an iconoclast, and in this day and age of constant remakes and sequels and church-marketed, product-tested, megaconglomerate cinema, that has to be appreciated and applauded -- even if his films do fall far short of perfection, even if they do too often immerse themselves in a juvenile mentality, even if they aren’t everything we hope for from the new vanguard of Hollywood.



Plus, as a longtime reader of “Sin City,” I can’t help but marvel at the perfection of the film’s casting—I’d long dreamed of bringing Mickey Rourke back from the depths and casting him as Marv in a “Sin City” film, so Rodriguez read my mind in that regard. And it was nice to see that Rodriguez didn’t shy away from violence and nudity, happily accepting an R rating despite the studios’ current loathing of anything that will keep kids from being able to buy tickets. With “Sin City,” Rodriguez shows Hollywood that audiences will still queue up for a bit of T&A and blood, just like in the good ol’ days of Roger Corman and Adrian Lyne. Perhaps this will open a door for better films from other filmmakers that have found themselves trapped in studio-mandated PG13 hell.

My only complaint with the T&A in “Sin City” is Jessica Alba being cast to play a stripper even though she doesn’t do nude scenes. Like lovely Natalie Portman in Mike Nichols’ “Closer” and Salma Hayek in Rodriguez’s “From Dusk Till Dawn,” Alba gives strippers everywhere a bad name with her chaste and clothed portrayal an exotic dancer. Having a no-nudity clause is respectable, and having a nude-free movie is fine, but don’t play a stripper if you refuse to show the goods, I say.

All in all, “Sin City” functions incredibly well for what it is, but until Rodriguez begins working with a more grounded writer, pays more attention to the performances of his actors, and tones down the theatrics just a tad, he’ll never become the Sam Peckinpah he has the potential to be.

****

Frank Miller’s Greatest Hits: “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” (and the rest of Miller’s Batman work), the Martha Washington sci-fi series (starting with “Give Me Liberty,” drawn by Dave “Watchmen” Gibbons), “Ronin” (one of my personal favorites), “300” (a historical epic), various Daredevil and Elektra tales, and “Hard Boiled” and “Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot” (both with art by the incomparable Geoff Darrow). For more, visit The Complete Works of Frank Miller.

****

If you liked "Sin City," don't miss maestro David Cronenberg's celluloid adaptation of the lesser-known graphic novel "A History of Violence." (The comic was written by John Wagner and drawn by Vince Locke.)

***

Sinful Art: Not at all safe for work, but a pretty funny and damn near mesmerizing look at what's underneath it all .... Scroll over the ladies to see the goods and click on the figures to see their back sides ... This is naked art, people, not porn -- Mise à nu (2005, Reynald Drouhin). From those fine folks at Incident.net.

Founding Fathers' Formulations Faked to Further Church in State -- Find Out Far More Below, Folks!

An intelligent and politically conservative acquaintance of mine mass-emailed the following to everyone he could think of:

“James Madison, the fourth president, known as ‘The Father of Our Constitution’ made the following statement: ‘We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.’”

The above quote isn’t very shocking—politicians have evoked the Bible for centuries, and the Founding Fathers of the young U.S. of A. were as likely as anyone to drop the word God into a conversation, axiom, or pronouncement. After all, the Western culture of that time period was even more totally entrenched in Judeo-Christian beliefs than it is today, and there was little concern for being politically correct toward religious cultures that barely existed within the geographic, social, or political sphere of Americans or Europeans. And many of the founders of America were deeply religious men.

However, it’s important to take a historic perspective on such statements. One has to ask, Would James Madison or any of the Founding Fathers make such overt references to the Ten Commandments and Judeo-Christian beliefs as being cornerstones of our government if they lived the more diversified and global culture of the 21st Century? And also, did James Madison mean to imply that the United States of America is a wholly Christian nation, as my politically conservative, mass-email loving friend seemed to be hinting? And if so, how much importance should we stake on the single statement of one man who lived a couple hundred years ago?

If we see the Founding Fathers as sacred, then can we honestly cherry pick only a handful of these men to steal quotations from? And even if we only concentrate our efforts on Madison, we can’t ignore the direct responses Madison’s views received from such fellow Founding Fathers as President Thomas Jefferson or the great American thinker Benjamin Franklin. Call me old-fashioned, but I do believe that the words of the Founding Fathers are important.

Their views and ideas were instrumental in forming the U.S. and keeping it strong well after their own lives had worn away, and, tangentially, shaping the entire world we live in today. But winning the argument that Christianity is an integral part of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. courts, U.S. schools, and so on needs more than a single quote from a single man. Especially when that quote is a lie.

Yes, that’s right. This Ten Commandment quote—which rightly or wrongly could be interpreted as implying that Judeo-Christian religious law is the basis of the U.S. Constitution and political system—is nothing more than a widely circulated piece of right-wing revisionist history. An archconservative propaganda advertising-campaign turned Internet “fact” turned endlessly forwarded email.

It’s quite a controversial quote, in point of fact: It’s been printed in hundreds of places but its true origin is unknown. According to some reports it’s a complete fabrication, although a few experts believe that the statement may simply be attributed to the wrong person, or perhaps the words were misinterpreted, although the correct version and/or attribution for the quote has not been found as far as my research has been able to uncover.

The following exposé excerpts are from a left-leaning website, so conservatives will certainly find bias afoot when the article partially blames Pat Robertson knowingly spread this false quotation amongst the populace. However, the verified and genuine Madison quotes below are edifying and undeniable. If you want to swear by the Founding Fathers, then you’d do well to first learn their true words. (And remember, compared to Jefferson and Franklin, Madison was often seen as being a right-wing chap—but these quotes show that even a conservative, religious man like Madison could make many modern-day neoconservatives seem like madmen).

National Magazine Ad For TV Preacher's Graduate School Recruits Donations With Bogus James Madison.

... The inaccurate Madison Ten Commandments quote was circulated among the Religious Right chiefly by David Barton, a Texas man who peddles a revisionist history arguing that the United States was founded as a ‘Christian nation.’ In 1996, Barton admitted that the quote is bogus and recommended that people stop using it.

In 1993, the curators of the Madison Papers at the University of Virginia were asked if they could verify the quote. They replied that they could not. Wrote Curators John Stagg and David Mattern, ‘We did not find anything in our files remotely like the sentiment expressed in the extract you sent us. In addition, the idea is inconsistent with everything we know about Madison's views on religion and government, views which he expressed time and time again in public and in private.’

[Madison] opposed tax funding of religion, publicly funded chaplains in the Congress and the military and even expressed regret for issuing proclamations declaring official days of prayer during his presidency. [Note] that in an 1819 letter to a friend, Madison wrote, ‘[T]he number, the industry and the morality of the Priesthood & the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State.’... ”

-- By Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Madison also said: “The experience of the United States is a happy disproof of the error so long rooted in the unenlightened minds of well-meaning Christians, as well as in the corrupt hearts of persecuting usurpers, that without legal incorporation of religious and civil polity, neither could be supported. A mutual independence is found most friendly to practical Religion, to social harmony, and to political prosperity.”

And he said: “Ye States of America, which retain in your Constitution or Codes, any aberration from the sacred principle of religious liberty, by giving to Caesar what belongs to God, or joining together what God has put asunder, hasten to revise & purify your systems, and make the example of your Country as pure & compleat, in what relates to the freedom of the mind and its allegiance to its maker, as in what belongs to the legitimate objects of political & civil institutions. Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion & Govt. in the Constitution of the United States the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history.”

And he said: “Torrents of blood have been spilt in the old world, by vain attempts of the secular arm, to extinguish Religious discord, by proscribing all difference in Religious opinion. Time has at length revealed the true remedy. Every relaxation of narrow and rigorous policy, wherever it has been tried, has been found to assuage the disease.”

More relevant quotes can be found at AU.org's post, "What God Has Put Asunder: James Madison Quotes On Church And State."

Also, I highly recommend the Snopes.com "National Capital" urban legends article, which references the much passed-around (most-likely fake) Madison Ten Commandments quote as well as expertly showing how to spot false info of this nature, including other instances of Ten Commandment and U.S. Law fact-twisting found in a popular chain emails and right-wing propaganda.

And Christian journalist James Watkins' objective, balanced, and entertaining "One Nation Under the Supreme Being of Your Choice" is required reading for Christians, Deists, Unitarians, Agnostics, Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindoos, et al., with even the slightest interest in the men behind the founding of the United States of America. Watkins takes powerful shots at both "the 'revisionist left' [that] would like to make [the founding fathers] secular and the 'religious right' [that] would like to make them saintly," juxtaposing some startling quotes from Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, and more.

What Makes Brachish Run?

Scattered points of interest slapped down on the page like a fictional hooker slapped down by her pimp...

Yes, it's true—I haven't posted on this blog for a long time (regrettably) and I won’t have time to post much in the near future.

I’ve been too busy with work crap (one day I might have to rant here about how ridiculously low-paying the publishing industry can be, and how outrageous it is that the media world can get away with screwing so many people out of overtime pay), I'm constantly noodling with a screenplay in my spare time, and I’ve been spending inordinate amounts of time losing money by investing what little capital I have in companies like the following: AMRE, DWCH, KNOS, ICMH, NNOS, and WDAM (all of which have serious, exponential growth potential—if they don’t go of out of business first—and are currently available at knock-on-wood “rock-bottom” prices, meaning they’re highly speculative penny stocks and could very well ruin me if they don’t kick it in gear soon. These are mostly cutting-edge technology companies with ideas that caught my eye first, my imagination second, and my wallet last).

I've linked some of my favorite stock-research websites on the sidebar of Celebrity Cola, so have a look if you have a thirst for high-stakes gambling.

Anyway, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Brendan Benson, New Pornographers, Matisyahu (the Hassidic-convert reggae rapper-singer), the new Gorillaz album (not as catchy as the first album, but a good record nonetheless), and Aussies like The Waifs and Missy Higgins. I’ve also rediscovered the joys of old Missy Elliot, and I finally got a copy of “Without Earth and the Moon” by The Moon and “Resurrection” by the Aerovons (both very good, if not as mind-blowing as I’d hoped considering the high-pedigrees and/or amazing origin stories behind these almost-lost masterworks).


I’ve fallen behind when it comes to seeing current films, but on the comic-book front I finally got around to reading some of the graphic novels collecting the work of Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred (primary artist), and Laura Allred (colorist) on the 2000-2004 X-Force/X-Statix run. Others have said it before, but I’ll reiterate: Stupendous art; cynical but emotionally and socially relevant story; unarguably violent, sexy, smart, and funny. This is unlike any X-Men-related comic you’ll ever read, it’s a limited commitment of your time (since it has a clear beginning and end), and it’s just a beautifully done piece all in all. Don’t miss it. Wait till you see what happens to the rambunctious Edie Sawyer/U-Go Girl. You'll cry like a baby. Great news: the X-Statix (aka, X-Statics) are being brought back in small doses with X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl and Mike Allred has a few cool projects in the works, including his groovy issue of DC's Solo (out now!).



***

I came across this Warhol-inspired piece of pop art by an artist named Euria, and since it’s related in name and theme (in a way) to this Celebrity Cola blog, I thought I’d share the image here:


Celeb-Cola (pop art by Euria)

***

This month’s Shout-Outs go to: Wendy (Tales From the Dorkside and Film Geeks 2.0), Eric Berlin (Dumpster Bust), Sequential Tart, my old pal Susan, and the new Google Blog Search.

And Will Brady recommends CronyJobs.com.

Now please go and visit the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which notes the important fact that "global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s." It's the truth!

***

This makes me blush: "... Several months ago, one of the most talented and creative members of the blogging community had featured Alexa's site in a posting. Lucas Brachish is the pseudonym used by a magazine editor and well-known, published writer, living in New York city...." -- David Harper, SpaceCoastWeb (Sunday, October 9, 2005)

Nice, right? But even better yet, this quote is from another fine and informative SpaceCoastWeb blog article, "A nod to link exchange schemes." Disclosure: I lived in Florida for many, many years, and I love checking out Mr. Harper's SpaceCoastWeb for news on my old state, as well as insightful and literary posts involving everything under the sun of the ol' planet Earth. (For instance, SpaceCoastWeb turned me on to the Eggcorn Database, another site worthy of multiple visits.)