Andy Wood

Are they a thing of the past now?

I guess this one isn’t a shocker when you think about it, but the venerable school yearbook is heading for the history books. With a high print cost and the connectivity of the Internet, students are skipping the bound volume.

“After more than a hundred years of publication Purdue University, in Indiana, has published its last yearbook, as has nearby DePauw University. McKendree University is the oldest college in Illinois.

Although the university still publishes a yearbook, the print-run is a mere 150 copies, only half of which are bought by students. Being on the staff of the yearbook used to be considered prestigious: now only eight students show up for the job. The downturn in print publications has also hit magazines for alumni. These, for instance at McKendree, are increasingly being replaced by online editions.”

Now – I still have mine, in fact I have them for my Junior and Senior High School. <shoulder shrug>

Simone Bianchi’s art? Coolness!

If you haven’t seen his work before now, check out issues of Wolverine from last year, I think that he has an amazing talent.

For me, me there were a few parts which where the art was a bit too dark, but overall Bianchi’s work is amazing.  And not just in his figure work either; his faces are expressive and individualistic, his panel layouts are interesting and he works in some fun perspectives.

Now as for Ellis’ writing, I have never really been a huge fan, I liked his Ultimate Human, but other titles were so-so, but this time he got his game on.  All of the characters have the ‘Ellis-ness’ about them, yet the characters still seem to retain their individualism at the same time

I am not sure where the end was going for me, so this means that I am going to have to get the next issue to make sure that I am reading what Ellis’ want me to get or not.

I go today off from work, which meant that I normally sit around and catch up on TIVO, clean the house a tad and do that "Gaming" thing.

Today though, I thought I would tackle a couple of geeky things that are most likely boring to the rest of the world.

1.) Extra Monitor Removal – I removed a monitor that has been cluttering my desktop for a while.  It is a Dell 22" monitor that I was using with my 24" Samsung, but after a video driver update.  I was no longer able to maintain a high resolution on my primary monitor while extending my desktop.  The solution:  We are going to be getting a new Dell computer and that monitor from that system will go to me so that I will have the same exact monitors and be able to run the exact same resolutions.

2.) Spare Laptop Setup – I have had a IBM T43 floating around which I had installed Ubuntu as a little linux project, but now that it is over.  I reinstalled WinXP and now am going to put it to use.  For what?  I am not 100% sure, yet.

3.) Wiring Clutter – Over the years, I have either needed or was to lazy to take care of the excess RJ45, RJ11, power strips and other miscellaneous wires that are usually needed/used in today’s computerized homes.  Now, I have a small pile of wires that I can reuse and save money by not buying them again.

And that is about it, not exciting, not glamorous and most likely not even worth ‘digging’ about either.

For all the talk of a de facto strike — a shutdown caused by studio reluctance to schedule production beyond the expiration at midnight on Monday of a contract with the Screen Actors Guild — a number of high-profile projects are simply pushing ahead.

None have done so more boldly than “Terminator Salvation.” This huge production has tantalized Albuquerque with glimpses of weird military hardware, a blast site marked by the shards of a 7-Eleven sign, and a lot full of battered helicopters, even while establishing this desert city as a manufacturing center for big-budget films.

The guild has taken no strike vote. It was widely expected to delay that step until it learned the outcome of a vote by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, another actors’ union with overlapping membership, on a tentative agreement with terms that guild leaders have called inadequate. The vote results are expected to be released next week.

Set for release by Warner Brothers next Memorial Day weekend, the fourth installment in the “Terminator” series, this one directed by McG, began shooting in May. Principal photography is not set to wrap until well into August.

Hey!  Everyone have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July.