Tuesday, June 19, 2007

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I have a handful of things to work through for my next couple of posts, but I thought I'd stop for a moment to give y'all an idea of some of the things on my Mental Etch-a-Sketch.

Garth Ennis
He has been responsible for writing some of the best stories in comic books with a powerful run in Marvel Comics' brutal anti-hero, The Punisher. The "Welcome Back, Frank" storyline is credited with revitalizing The Punisher for Marvel as well as being the basis for "The Punisher" movie (the one that didn't suck). He's also responsible for some of DC Comics' brightest achievements through their Vertigo imprint. It would be insanely difficult to isolate one particular storyline in his run in DC Comics' John Constantine: Hellblazer. You could start out at the beginning with "Original Sins", but my favorite was "Dangerous Habits". "Dangerous Habits" reads like a well-executed and supremely funny dirty joke. What convinced me that Garth Ennis is not only one of the best comic book wrtiers, but one of the best writers I have ever read was "Preacher," co-created with long time collaborator, artist Steve Dillon. All I'm gonna say is that "Preacher" is about Jesse Custer, a Preacher possessed with an unholy spirit of unimaginable power. He's on a mission to find God - and make him answer for what Jesse has learned. "Preacher" is a phenomenal achievement in storytelling. I cannot say enough about this. Go to your nearest comic book shop and get the 9 softcover graphic novel collections and the hardcover collection of cover art. DO IT NOW. You'll thank me for it.

DrunkCyclist
I love this site. You don't have to be a cyclist or a bicycle enthusiast to understand that DrunkCyclist is about more than the Tour de France, chamois pads, and helmets. While DrunkCyclist is centered on anything related to cycling, there's a huge emphasis on domestic and international politics as well as on environmental affairs. Plus, DrunkCyclist has a great, brash sense of humor.

TreeHugger
I try to reduce the environmental impact of my life as much as possible as well as helping others with charities I strongly believe in. I thought that what I was doing was enough, and while it may not ever be enough, we all have to try. TreeHugger covers a wide variety of topics that affect us in some way or another. This is probably one of the most important websites you will ever visit.

UFCMania
MMA is changing and growing into one of the most visible sports. Hell, even the Oxygen Network is cashing in with their "Fight Girls" reality show focusing on female Muay Thai boxers (and yes, I know Muay Thai is not MMA, but just a part of it). While there are plenty of websites to get your MMA news fix from, most are happy to post speculation and rumor alongside bona fide news and their comment sections are littered with sub-juvenile users who feel it incumbent upon themselves to rant inanely about how they could kick Ken Shamrock's ass or similar bullshit. UFCMania focuses on the UFC (duh), and their reporting has been even, fair, and their site is updated frequently. On Fridays, they post fan-made videos that show off a great amount of editing skill.