Cheetah Chrome Explains How to Play Sonic Reducer
altho, I think I would use an old SG instead.

Memorial Day 1968

Since I can't run for political office on any kind of military experience, I guess I will have to rely on my juvenile paramilitary experience in the Boy Scouts.
At our next to last troop meeting, the scoutmaster walked out of the room and went and sat in the darkened dining room in the church basement. He smoked cigarettes and mumbled something to the effect o, "fuck it, let 'em do what they want, let it all go to hell, fuck it".
So, yeah, that's where I got my leadership training.

Internet Security
President Obama is talking about making an interwebs secuity czar. Why a country like the USA has "czars" is kinda weird, but, whatever.
When I was a lad I got involved with radio through an outreach kinda thing conducted by Antioch College's WYSO. This required getting an FCC license. Part of the education to getting the license was explaining the importance of maintaining the security of the transmitter and protecting it from foreign misuse. This notion was reinforced after reading Che Guevara's seminal work, Guerilla Warfare where he states that one of the first things you do when capturing a town is to capture the radio station. You can cut down on the fighting a lot if you tell people the fighting is over & the revolutionaries have won. Sucker punch a DJ v a firefight with the local constabulary.
As soon as I saw the internet with email and vast stores of just non-sensitive personal data, I saw a need for security. With the networks carrying vast sums of cash, very sensitive data and all the news and information that radio & television broadcasters carry, security is even more important. In fact, it is important on a national security level. While a "czar" might be a step in the right direction, I think a licensing procedure for the administrators of these systems and servers would also help in requiring a bit of responsibility by the individual to the state/citizenry.
While the FCC is hardly my favorite entity due to their capitulation to big businesses that they are supposed to be regulating, they actually have a valid role to play as, essentially, traffic cops. They (are supposed to) make sure that the airwaves are not infiltrated with the lies and propaganda of our enemies. While the interwebs are a bit different since the average shmoe can access sites all over the world, it is important to keep our guys on the up and up and our transmissions legitimate.
I don't know how a licensing system could be worked out. A radio is pretty much a radio, a TV is a TV but computer networks vary quite a bit and a server isn't just a server.
While the president of the USA & leader of the free world tends to think top down, I think a better step towards national cyber security would start at the bottom. Maybe it's because I am a bottom feeder.

Environmental Justice
Cincinnati councliman, Dave Crowley has been working on an Environmental Justice Ordinance for the city for a few years now. It addresses the fact that poor people and frequently minorities are frequently adversely affected by industrial pollution more so than wealthy people. While Christian Moerlein used to live across the street from his plant (yuck !), the trend in later years was to move residential property away from manufacturing facilities. It was more pleasant and healthier. Eventually we fairly legally mandated the separations between residential, retail and manufacturing through zoning laws. Some stuff was grandfathered, wealth brings choices - the fact is poorer people and frequently minorities are still frequently adversely affected by industrial pollution.
So I get it. I agree with the idea in principle but the implementation puts an added burden on the business that wants to move to the community or expand within the community that will likely lead businesses to throw up their hands and just not bother with investing in the city regardless of wether their facility might have a negative impact on residents or not. This will result in the un-alleviation of poverty and the impoverished frequently engage in lifestyles that negatively affect their health anyway.
My problem is not with the intent of this ordinance but in it's implementation that requires the prospective business to invest in supplementary documentation and then wait for an additional review by some shadowy board that is estimated to take another 2-3 months & result in a thumbs up or down.
The process needs to be as upfront and business friendly as possible so decisions can be made quickly, efficiently and economically. The prospective business needs to know the rules up front. Adding a layer to the approval process internally is fine but adding another process for the business is a bad idea.
Government is understandably slow by nature but time is money for businesses and we need economic growth and jobs in this town.

An article at Cincy, the Magazine for Business Professionals called "A Streetcar named Perspire" has some quotes from the nattering naybobs opposed to this project that bother me. I am used to ignorant, uninformed people making pointless statements but in this case I was troubled by who was saying what.

The Rev. Dock Foster, pastor of Unity Baptist Church in East Walnut Hills, is president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Cincinnati, which voted to oppose the streetcar initiative. He looks around his and other predominantly black neighborhoods of Evanston, Avondale and Bond Hill and sees unemployment in the teens, poverty and despair. Pumping money into a streetcar that doesn’t run through any of those neighborhoods is an affront to him when he sees the need for direct investment in those neighborhoods to create jobs and alleviate suffering.
“A streetcar at this time is the wrong time,” Foster says. “We have so much poverty.”
Asked if the city can’t simultaneously build streetcar and work on neighborhood problems, Foster says, “Let’s see them working on the problems. We’re like the people in Missouri. Show me.”

and

Bishop Stephen Scott, a Unity Baptist Church member, says the streetcar plan ignores the neighborhoods. “They want the front door to look good and then you walk inside the house and it’s a mess,” he says.

Perhaps he had some solutions and they just weren't quoted. The neighborhoods they cite, of course, are not the same as the ones where the streetcar routes are planned for and likely would not be a great investment in their neighborhoods.
Big problems holding back growth in those neighborhoods is crime and the government can only react to crime.
Alleged Men of God, however, are supposed to lead people to not engage in crime, to be frugal and to focus and dedicate themselves to a Godly life, to prosper, be a good family member, a community member and to work towards building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and all that other nice Calvinistic stuff these guys are supposed to be dedicated to.
The attitude of "I want a piece, too !!" doesn't seem too terribly Christlike, either.
What kind of neighbors are these guys ?
In the WCPO documentary, Visions of Vine, The Baptist Minister's Conference was one of the land owners called out for maintaining blighted, unkempt property in OTR - the neighborhood they, apparently, don't want to see improved.
When kids in a neighborhood see this kind of thing it makes an impression on them. It shows them the owners don't care about them, their neighborhood or environment.
Maybe it's this lack of character and integrity that turns community members away and towards more tribal lifestyles.

Prosit and Gemutlichkeit
the Brewing Heritage in Zinzinnati
or "Foam, Sweet, Foam…."

The College Hill Historical Society will present a multi-media presentation by Jim Bruckman, College Hill resident and great-grandson of a Cincinnati Brewer.
Free! All are Welcome!
Due to the large settlement of Germans in the 1800's, lager beer became the drink of choice in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In 1890 there were over two hundred drinking places on Vine Street alone. The National average for Americans in drinking beer was 16 gallons per year. In Cincinnati the average per year was 40 gallons! Saloons offered free lunches and the "Schnitzelbank Song." Carrie Nation visited Cincinnati in 1901, and then Prohibition in 1918.
Find out how the Bruckmann Brewery legally survived Prohibition and Flourished.
Wednesday, May 27, 7 p.m.
Twin Towers
5343 Hamilton Avenue
Wilson Art Gallery

Building Brighter Futures
or
Frank Lloyd Wright Meets Habitat for Humanity
While inspiration might only get about 1% of the credit, it's certainly worth giving some attention to.
A group of high school kids in Springfield has taken on a project to design a home for Habitat for Humanity. The host for the design project will be The Westcott House where the kids will meet for about a month and, hopefully be inspired by Wright's architecture.
The Westcott House was designed by Wright a little over 100 years ago for an automobile manufacturer and has been recently restored as a museum/event/meeting place. This is the second time they have hosted this project.
While Wright is well known for his residential work with wealthy clients, commercial buildings and museums, he also designed a "Common Man's" series of homes he dubbed, Usonian. These were smaller homes designed for efficiency, practicality, maximizing the use of space and fitting into the existing environment. This concept is probably a bit more in line with a Habitat home. Teenagers utter lack of practicality notwithstanding, here's hoping for a successful project !

Noose Son story here.

Warsaw Falcons 1983
My dad's favorite pickle was the Warsaw Falcon Polish Dill. Frankly, I didn't like 'em but they had a cool falcon crest kinda thing on the lid. He was tickled pink to know there was a band in Cincinnati that had appropriated the name.
David Rhodes Brown pulled this band together in 1982 after playing in various bands and solo for nearly 20 years. they played rockabilly, rocked out country classics (Walking After Midnight was a personal fave) and rocking rural blues. They played the local and regional venues for years, relocated to Nashville, returned with Bobby Keys in tow and eventually disintegrated with Brown continuing to play alone and with various bands in the midwest.
Brown routinely tore up on his Silvertone with the Falcons at Animations qnd Dollar Bill's and other bars around Cincinnati & NKY. While playing at Bogart's might have seemed a little more professional, it was usually just louder.

Wesleyan Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony
Remember that church downtown over on Catherine Street ? Had that little graveyard ? Methodist ? It was over by where the soap company's offices are nowadays.
Wonder whatever happened to it.....
Well, in the 1840s the Wesleyan Chapel's graveyard was pretty much full up. A Methodist church group needed to expand the capacity for more burials but were landlocked in the rapidly growing city. They decided to buy a large area of land outside any city that would never wind up being landlocked again. They bought 25 acres just west of the little village of Cumminsville & re-interred everybody up there.
As funerals back then usually involved the bereaved walking behind a horse drawn hearse to the cemetery, I can only imagine the congregation was overjoyed with the decision.
The caretaker of the church graveyard moved up to the new cemetery and moved into a house built for him there. He had a fine reputation and the new cemetery had a sterling reputation. After he died, subsequent caretakers weren't so dedicated. By the early 20th century the place was described as "indifferently kept".
In the 1930s the city wanted to use eminent domain to build a road through the cemetery that would extend Beekman through the cemetery to Colerain and Kirby, pretty much bisecting the cemetery.
DOH !

As the city had annexed Cumminsville and other areas around the cemetery, they had never annexed the cemetery. The road didn't go through.
This was rectified in the early 50s when the city, for safety reasons, annexed the property. They claimed the city could not respond to emergency calls at funerals and Veteran's and Memorial Day ceremonies. It is more likely the Republicans just wanted to add the Caretaker's one vote to their ranks.
Meanwhile interments and ceremonies became fewer and farther between. What events did start taking place there were more likely angry confrontations between the families of the interred and the managers and caretakers. Poor maintenance, poor records, missing graves, allegations of reselling graves and such happened over and over. The last caretaker was charged with embezzlement of funds & tossed in jail. This left Cincinnati and Hamilton County playing a game of hot potato with the cemetery as neither wanted the responsibility of caring for, hopefully, the final resting places of a large number of Cincinnati's original citizens and veterans of every American military venture including the Revolution. yeah, fuck your service and sacrifice - we don't wannna cut the grass.
Friends of Wesleyan Cemetery handled the duties voluntarily till the state told the city to take care of the cemetery. The city estimated that caring for the cemetery would cost about $250k/yr. An average residential lot in Cincinnati is about 1/8 acre. Who pays $70 to get their lawn mowed ?
But I digress.
Burials have slowed to a trickle if not curtailed. The city wanted to have the property to protect the citizens attending services there but now there were none.
Until now.
The College Hill/Northside Kiwanis had their first Memorial Day ceremony in decades at Wesleyan in 2007 and have continued on with it. Monday's ceremony will begin at 1:00 PM. The Kiwanis are trying to get the Governor to speak.
It's great to see new life at the Cemetery.
Thanks College Hill/Northside Kiwanis and Friends of Wesleyan Cemetery for your work.

Grave of Dr Richard Alison, Revolutionary War Veteran and past Surgeon General of the United States of America

Wesleyan Cemetery semi official website

Taste of Cincinnati
This year at Taste of Cincinnat, UDF will have a booth. They will be selling beer, chips, cigarettes and $5 money orders that they will not accept. Their booth will be immediately recognizable, painted with their bright purple orange and red colors and surrounded by loitering panhandlers and teenagers.
Taste of Cincinnati is May 23-25 on 5th street between Race and Broadway.
As always, YOU WILL DIE if you go downtown.

Please note: Pets, (unless used for handicap assistance), bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, poles and sticks are prohibited in the event site during operating hours. No coolers, bottles, cans, alcoholic beverages or weapons can be brought into the event site.

What kind of town discriminates against flag waving, boozing skateboarders with shotguns ?

Campaign Diary
Day 5
OK, this isn't going well. BOE sez my patchwork signature forms aren't a problem but the fact I didn't get their blessing to pass out the forms was. Like I need to kiss their butt so I can represent you, my fellow citizens, in the bold New Era of Empire. heck, they want money too. What a racket......

Deceptive HSUS ?

Since the video has been removed from, not only YouTube but the TB station's archives, here's the transcript:

Where Humane Society Donations Really Go
ATLANTA -- A Channel 2 investigation is looking into millions of dollars in donations given to the Humane Society of the United States.
A national consumer organization says the society solicits pet-lovers for money, but little to none of that money ever goes to help local shelters.
Critics tell Channel 2 Action News reporter Amanda Rosseter that this isn’t just consumers misunderstanding who they are giving in to – but an organization actively misleading donors to get money.
“They do their marketing very well, that's for sure,” said Trey Burley of PAWS Atlanta.
Critics say the national organization takes advantage of people who think they are giving to local shelters. DeKalb's "PAWS" shelter says there is no regular funding help from the $100 million HSUS budget.
“I think that some of the folks who donate to the national organization may be under the false pretense that that money is going to a local cause,” said Burley.
While the HSUS does work to stop puppy mills, it also gets media coverage and donations doing it; but the puppies then go to local shelters who have to pay and care for them.
“They may initialize the resources for a rescue, but again the animals go to a shelter somewhere in the country,” said Richard Rice, VP of the Atlanta Humane Society.
Critics say HSUS also takes advantage of high-profile events. After hurricane Katrina, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle promised on national TV to reunite pets with their owners—and raised $34 million for the cause; but public disclosures of where that money went add up to less than $7 million.
The Louisiana attorney general launched an 18-month-long investigation, and it then ended it when HSUS offered to build the state a new shelter.
The HSUS annual report for 2007 showed $120 million in revenue, including $5.4 million just from online donors.
Then there's $112 million in expenses -- most of which appears to have gone to legislation for animal rights bills. The list includes raccoons, mice, wild horses, burros and primates.
The center for consumer freedom says all worthy causes, but HSUS shouldn't mislead to get money.
So where does all the money go?
“It goes to lobbying, it goes to political contributions, it does go to pay huge staff salaries and benefits," said David Marposko with Center for Consumer Freedom.
Channel 2 Action News went to a local HSUS meeting to find out. The two hour discussion was about activist plans and lobbying. The Georgia director for the HSUS agrees that’s mostly what she does.
“I think that in all of our literature, it is very explicit as to what our campaigns are and what we are doing,” said Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for HSUS. “We help where we can and focus on our programs, which are national and international.”
McAuliffe said there are just too many local shelters to help.
“I always tell people, contribute to your local shelter first,” said McAuliffe.
When asked how much her budget is for the state of Georgia, McAuliffe said she didn’t have a budget and neither did the other states. McAuliffe said all money is controlled from headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Who is that Juggler in the Mural ?

Gus Sun

The mural being painted on the back of the old Regent Theater on Limestone street on the south side of Downtown Springfield with the acrobats and the prominent juggler memorializes Vaudeville promoter Gus Sun who had his offices adjacent to the theater.
Sun worked with the likes of Bpb Hope, the Marx Brothers, the Ritz Brothers, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson, Will Rogers, George Burns, Bert Lahr, Sophie Tucker and Edgar Bergen. He booked entertainers touring through 273 theaters across the country in the 20s and 30s. Inthe 40s and 50s, with the end of Vaudeville (and the rise of movies and later TV) he managed bookings in county and state fairs. His home base was in the Champion City, Springfield, Ohio where he opened the city's first theater in 1904.
The faces at the lower part of the mural are of the Chakeres Bros who operated the old movie theaters of Springfield til 1992 and whose family still maintains a chain of theaters.

Read the Noose Son story here.
More from SpringfieldLive here.

Heartless Bastards
One Day Only
Mountain - $1.99
For one day only, May 14, The Heartless Bastards latest album, The Mountain, is available for download from Amazon for $1.99.
Go here.

Reasons to Live in Ohio

Circumhorizontal Arcs
From NASAs Astronomy Picture of the Day, a picture of a circumhorizontal arc over Ohio. If everything is in alignment the sunlight refracting through ice crystals create this effect.
HA - In one day I am introduced to the words circumhorizontal arc and Hivevaginaphobia.

Campaign Diary
Day 1
How the hell do these guys get signatures on their ballot petitions ? Seems like everybody I approach either runs away screaming or threatens to kick my ass.
Hope the BOE is ok with my forms being all taped back together. They look like something that came out of the office of Dr. Frankenstein.

We Need More Police

In an example of "the best government money can buy", senators, flush with insurance lobby money & gifts, get a good laugh at police hauling citizens out of their coffee klatsch -er- Senate Hearing.
Their solution to skyrocketing health care costs ?
More police.

The Audacity of Despair

OK, with a Qualls on city council and a Quinlivan in the running, I figure why not throw in a Quimbob as well. Rox and Laure and I could form a triumvirate of Qs.
Dunno if they will be hip to my platform, tho.
I promise to eliminate taxes and services. I will eliminate the police and fire departments and delegate their chores to Shadow Hare and his Allegiance of heroes. I will secede Cincinnati from Hamilton County. I will charge non Cincinnatians the cost of bottled water for their water. I will initiate a New Era of Empire for the Queen City nd we will raise an army and conquer and enslave Norwood then seize the Cincinnati Mall for use as a prison. I will liquidate the city pension fund and use it to pump beer through the Tyler Davidson Fountain.
I am firmly pro abortion. Every female in Cincinnati will be required to have an abortion before she can graduate from high school.
I am pro capital punishment. We will commence to hanging criminals and people I just don't like from the bridges over the Ohio River. oh - did I mention seizing the bridges from Kentucky and charging tolls to EVERYBODY who crosses them ? yeah, part of the New Era of Empire thing.
Street cars ? PFAH ! I will have mass transit hovercrafts gliding through the city !
Gay marriage ? I will give you gay marriage and long drawn out bitter gay divorce as well !
Stand with me my faithful reader and prepare for a new dawn of fire and rancor !
-heh- You now know more about my policies than this guy's.......

Happy Mother's Day Everybody !

Clifton House Tour
Sunday May 10, 2009, 1-5pm
Every third year on Mother’s Day, a group of Clifton homeowners open their doors to greater Cincinnati and say, “Come on in and have a look around!” This year there will be homes from the 1800s to the 1950s highlighting several different styles, including Victorian, American Foursquare, Tudor, and a Frank Lloyd Wright. The event has drawn people from all over Cincinnati, and has been a great way to spend part of Mother’s Day.
Throughout the tour’s history, the gracious owners of 62 Clifton homes have shared this special Sunday with their neighbors.
Tour tickets will be available in advance at:

• Columbia Savings Bank
• Esquire Theatre
• Ludlow Wines
• Olive's
• Skyline Chili
• U.S. Bank
• Keller’s IGA

Tickets can also be purchased the day of the tour at CCAC, Annunciation, and the shuttle stop outside Graeter’s. Parking will be available at the Clifton Business Lot, Annunciation, and Fairview-Clifton Elementary School on Clifton Avenue. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the tour.
A shuttle will be available from each parking location to shorten your walking time and improve your chances of a leisurely viewing of all the homes.
For more information about the tour, call 513-861-2000.

And after the tour, head on down the hill for some excellent vittles & hooch in the Happy Valley of Northside.

Poco 1973
Wittenberg University got some good shows for their students once in awhile. Some years were leaner than others. My mates & I managed to sneak into the old Wittenberg Field House on more than one occasion. Oddly enough, even though we all worked in the Union dining room at some point in high school, we weren't ever able to sneak in there. Go figure.

It was guitarist Richie Furay's birthday
I wasn't a big fan of the country rock kinda sorta band. I only knew a couple Buffalo Springfield songs.
I remember it being a fun concert, tho, there was Rock-n-Roll to be had that evening.

Official Tartan for Ohio ?
State Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, has introduced a bill (SB 127) to make a plaid known as the Ohio Tartan the state’s official tartan.
This will be added to Ohio's many other "officials" including a bird (cardinal), rock song (Hang on Sloopy), insect (ladybug), animal (white tail deer), drink (tomato juice), reptile (black racer snake).........
The actual tartan, a garish red white and blue, was approved by the Scottish Tartan Society and registered with the Court of Lord Lyons in 1984.
LINK
I say, " 'BOUT TIME !!"
But, hey, I'm just a Scottish German redneck Buckeye.......
Dunno when kilts will be available.

Noose Son story here.

Is Rush on the Pills Again ?
Or is he just getting paid ?
If your extremist left wing movement that supported terrorist activities wanted to infiltrate an extremist right wing movement that also supports terrorist activities who would you call to mediate ? A pill popping blowhard talk radio celebrity ? Why not ?


Apparently Limbaugh has decided the United States should go vegan and domestic animals should be exterminated. Apparently he thinks horses don't deserve death with dignity. Apparently he knows more about farming than farmers. Well, at least he doesn't have an inferiority complex.
Your local Humane Society struggles to provide aid to abandoned, abused and diseased animals. HSUS does not. HSUS is not affiliated with your local Humane Society and does not even offer it support. Similarly, these national mega-churches do not support your local churches or communities. The people who run these national organizations have agendas and hope to dupe good people with their messages while surreptitiously working against the common man's back.
HSUS is targeting the animal agriculture business nationwide and currently it's sights are set on the midwest. It knows the farming community is onto their agendas. It knows the more liberal urban population will be easily duped by their message. Their ploy now is to dupe religious organizations in the bible belt states.
They have no problem lying to you or your pastor. They have a boatload of money and, since they don't want to give it to animal welfare organizations, they can pay off shills like Limbaugh.

New Blog in Town
Cincinnati Councilwoman and ex-Mayor, Roxanne Qualls, has taken to blogging - maybe. The people who make one blog post and call it a day are legion and, to date, she still has only one post.
It's very important for politicians to explain their views, philosophies and plans with the public while in office and not just go around making campaign promises. County Commisioner David Pepper's blog is a great example of a governer getting the word out and soliciting input from the citizenry in a conversational manner. Unfortunately Councilwoman Qualls, in her one post, has disabled comments ala Hamilton County GOP chair Alex M. Triantafilou's blog. This kinda kills the dialogue aspect and throws a lot of the great communication aspects of social software out the window. While a lot of the responses a blogger gets are "You go, man!" or "You're a fucking idiot !", community issues can be complex and plans to deal with them frequently raise questions. While I praise Commissioner Pepper for giving dialogue a chance, the guy has answered almost none of my questions. I guess that's the price I pay for being an idiot.
Quall's issues on zoning, homelessness and transportation are complex and nerdy. Explaining the transportation issues in particular begs for graphics.
Mr Crowley's Water District plans, Urban Farming Initiative and Environmental Justice plans are all worthy of detailed explanation and analysis.
Mr Bortz's take on the ins and outs of real estate development and the role that government should play would be a wonderful topic for him to take to the people through a blog.
I urge all city and county leaders to follow Mr Pepper's example and get the word out !

The Crown of Creation
More cool shit from NASA's Astrology Picture of the Day.

The Joker of Cincinnati
"I do not spend a lot of time reviewing the material I post here." -J. H aap 2009
Watching the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight, I kept thinking how much the pathological Joker reminded me of local blogger -er- media activist and soon to be failed mayoral candidate Jason H aap. For some time, Blogging Isn't Cool has referred to his blog as The Arkham Beacon in a nod to the Arkham Asylum, home of any number of cartoon sociopaths. The Beacon tends to publish hysterical urban myth, muckraking, obfuscation, character assassination and Sillyman press releases.
Heath Ledger's Academy Award winning performance of the mad criminal with Christopher Nolan's screenplay could have easily been inspired from merely reading The Beacon for a few weeks. H aap's single minded desires to tear down institutions and men could be mighty fearsome if not for their general ineffectiveness. His mad obsessions to destroy Jeff Berding, Phil Heimlich and Chris Bortz, his slavish devotion to Chris Smitherman all seem like the deranged pursuits of the melodramatic comic book clown prince. Within hours of the media frenzy surrounding a Real Life Super Hero, The Shadow Hare in Cincinnati, the Dean of Cincinnati, in true Joker fashion, issued the masked crime-fighter a challenge to a duel ! Oh, woe be to him who challenges the world view of the Erisite.
In keeping with The Joker of Gotham, The Joker of Cincinnati sees his villainy as heroism, his madness as reason and his defeats as victories. I can only imagine The Beacon's triumvirate meetings at their top secret lair resemble the meetings of The Joker, The Riddler and The Penguin (Romero, Gorshin & Meredith).
While one can easily find himself emotionally and intellectually charged by a comic book, one must always remind ones self that it is only a comic book. The real world is full of real people with real needs that require an array of often complex solutions. A Joker with a self centered world view and a penchant for tossing out golden apples is not likely going to offer any real help. But it can make for a wild read !

For an analysis of The Joker's madness try Periginatioanimae

Optional Viewing

Happy Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day and National Bike Month happening at the same time ?
Clearly a recipe for disaster as angry cyclists combat surly skateboarders in front of tiny comic book shops. It could be worse than a Star Trek convention being scheduled across the street from a Dr Who convention.
Marvel Comics will be distributing an Avengers and Wolverine comic for free and DC will be offering a Green Lantern comic, Blackest Night #0. Oddly enough there's movie projects involving all these characters percolating and the Wolverine movie is already out.
Other offerings

• Archie Comics: Archie Presents: The Mighty Archie Art Players
• BOOM! Studios: Disney/Pixar’s Cars
• Bongo Comics: 2009 Free For All
• Dark Horse Comics: Star Wars: Clone Wars
• IDW Publishing: Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe
• Image Comics: Savage Dragon #148
• Oni Press: Resurrection #0
• Viz Media: Shonen Jump Presents: Ultimo

Individual stores may have other offerings.
It might be a good idea to lobby your favorite comic book store for a bike rack.