It's Bullet Sunday once again... this time with two scoops of raisins for superior raisin bran taste! And a list of stuff to buy.
• XBox 360 Arcade. Yesterday I took Amazon up on their "Gold Box Lightning Deal" to get an XBox 360 Arcade for $198 WITH a $100 Amazon Credit... which, basically, means I'm getting an XBox 360 for $98. It's not that I really want an XBox 360 again (I gave my old one away)... heck, I can't even find time to play with my Nintendo Wii. But what I DO want is a (relatively) inexpensive way of streaming NetFlix "Watch It Now" stuff to my television. To do this, I could buy a $100 Netflix DV Player, or I could buy this $100 XBox 360. Since the cost is the same, I might as well get something that's capable of doing extra stuff.
Like playing Final Fantasy XIII when it's released next Spring...
Amazing, isn't it? Games are just like playing movies now-a-days.
• Mr. Squiggles. This morning I found out that a mishap involving a really angry woman at Toys-R-Us a while back inadvertently ended up with me owning this year's hottest toy... Zhu Zhu Hamster Mr. Squiggles...
I just bought him because a foul-mouthed bitch who couldn't read signs threw him on the floor. And he was only $10. And he looked cool. And who wouldn't want a battery-operated hamster? I showed him off and let him run around for a while until his batteries ran out, then stuck him somewhere I can't remember. Then this morning I found out from Beth's Twitter feed that everybody wants Zhu Zhu Hamsters, and they're going for a small fortune on eBay. I wish I could find mine. I wish I had kept his box. I wish somebody would find Mr. Squiggles and his box then pay me $100 for him. Because, yeah... while he was great for five minutes, I can't fathom him being worth more than the $10 I paid. Apparently a lot of people disagree, and now the asshole toy scalpers are making a fortune. What a sick way to make extra cash.
• Give Me Liberty. In the world of comic books, the two hottest titles of all time are The Dark Knight Returns, a grim imagining of Batman's future by Frank Miller... and Watchmen, the groundbreaking reality super-heroes book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Both of these amazing comic series debuted in 1986, and were a revelation to me (and most everybody else) at the time. After the Dark Knight & Watchmen furor blew over, the question on everybody's mind was "what's the next big thing?" For Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons, the answer was a vastly under-appreciated gem in 1990 called Give Me Liberty: An American Dream, the story of a woman named Martha Washington. Born in the slums of Chicago in 1995, she escaped her terrible life by joining PAX (the Military Peace Corps) and went on to numerous (and often very violent) adventures. I loved the book, and was desperate for more after the four brief issues in the series flew by. Fortunately, another series and a number of one-shot books followed... furthering Martha's adventures right up until her death. Now, at long last, this remarkable story has been collected in one massive volume: The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century...
And it is glorious. It's a massive tome totaling 600 pages and weighing in at over 10 pounds. Dark Horse Comics used the oversize "Absolute" format that DC Comics has been using for their releases, and it's a fantastic format to appreciate Dave Gibbons' incredible artwork...
As if that wasn't enough, the book also features new introductions to each story by Gibbons and 40 pages of development sketches and promotional material.
The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century retails for $99, but I shopped around and found it on special for $65 including tax and shipping. It's worth every penny and is highly recommended.
• The High Cost of Living. And, while I'm waxing poetic about brilliant comic book compilations, I would be remiss in not mentioning DC Comic's stunning Absolute Death book. Featuring one of my favorite comic characters of all time, Death, by Neil Gaiman and Chris Bachalo...
She's cute, smart, funny, and just happens to be there when you die... and, for reasons that are not entirely clear... when you're born. Absolute Death collects a few of her appearances from The Sandman along with her two solo mini-series Death: The High Cost of Living and Death: The Time of Your Life plus a wealth of supplemental material including a Death illustration gallery and a sketchbook by Bachalo. It retails for $99.99 and would be a bargain at twice the price... but can be purchased at discount for around $65 plus shipping.
• The Best Things. Now that I don't have any money left because I bought a bunch of stuff I didn't need and can't afford, I thought I'd mention that there was a beautiful view outside my window this evening and I got to look at it for free.
Now I'm tired from working all weekend, so I think I'll take my broke ass to bed and read a book.
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Does the Xbox 360 have the other “channels” that the Roku player offers like streaming video from Amazon.com and MLB.tv? Either way, that’s a great price. Especially for a fellow FF fan.
And Martha Washington fan…
And Death fan…
etc…
I don’t know what XBox streams… except Netflix, which is all I’m really interested in. Anything I actually buy is from iTunes, and Apple TV takes care of that. Hopefully XBox works well for movie streaming so my purchase wasn’t in vain!
Agreed. Toy scalpers can burn.
It’s just so sad. Their only function is to steal inventory and drive up prices so people can’t find or afford to buy the item at retail.
I met my husband over the Death comics. Just seeing them makes me wildly sentimental, teary, and happy. They are such good stories with such fantastic associations.
Thanks for telling me about the compilation. Digging through all of my old white-boarded ‘books is a pain!
The larger “Absolute” format is incredible for Death… Bachalo’s beautiful art is even more stunning!
Of course you can afford all that stuff. Just find the damn hamster box! 😉
Speaking of the hamster thingie, I’m ready to file a collusion suit between toy manufacturers and retailers/collectors… How could something as inane as that hamster become the next big thing otherwise?
Well… it kind of has a personality and makes noises when you pet it. It also can navigate your house like a Roomba or something…
All your talk of comics makes me realise how much I miss reading them! I’m in Australia and the exchange rate just made them so expensive to buy so instead of just reducing what I read I gave them up all together. It was too torturous to only read a few when I wanted to read so many so I had to go cold turkey. Now the exchange rate is better I think I will have to do some searching to find some of my old faves. Thanks Dave for reigniting my lust for comics!
I thought that most of the more popular comics were printed locally in most foreign countries?? A shame you can’t get them in Australia at a reasonable cost. 🙁
I think I’ll buy Mason Mr. Squiggles for Christmas. He’ll rip that thing to shreds.
That would be an expensive temporary toy… but he would probably love it. 🙂
Seems the Zhu Zhu pets are this year’s hottest item and the scam greedy freakfest on eBay will reduce them to that absolute “must have and all costs” item. Hoping that they don’t go crazy like the lack of PS3 units a few years back when people were paying $2000 for a PS3.
Netflix just released the PS3 streaming disc. So far, it works very well. I do need to hook the PS3 up to an ethernet cable as the wifi lags at times. But so far, I like being able to stream Netflix to the TV instead of just the MacBook Pro.
And speaking of game systems, it seems you got a nice deal on that XBox 360. BTW, the Netflix Watch Instant requires a Gold Live account at $50 a year.
It’s bringing bad horrible memories of the Wii shortage that plagued the last THREE holiday seasons.
And I’ve got a coupon for the Gold Membership Annual Pass, so I think I’m good… for 13 months, anyway! 🙂
I’ve never actually read Martha Washington, but it’s always intrigued me. Maybe I’ll pick that up.