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reading green arrow I mistakenly thought that my day had gotten off to a very productive start. It wasn't until later that I learned that it hadn't gone as well as I had believed. Let me explain. Before sunrise I walked over to deliver my check for the monthly condo association fee. With this being a holiday weekend, it seemed like a good idea to do that now before it slipped my mind in the rush of holiday activities. Having that done so early in the day was a success in my mind and I enjoyed walking outside for just a little while. Various people on the cul-de-sac had left their holiday lights on providing a nice glow before sunrise. Later in the afternoon, I woke to find a message on my answering machine. The message was from the condo association treasurer. She just wanted to let me know that the fee had been increased for the new year and that I had written my check for the old amount. Sigh. She wasn't upset, she just wanted to know what I wanted to do to make up the balance due. Well, I decided that it was best to just write another check for the difference and then walk that over to her. I didn't mind the second trip, I just felt foolish for having forgotten about the change in amount. I think that in my mind, the new amount didn't go into effect until next month when the new year would be started. It makes sense to me now. We pay ahead and not after the fact. ... I had limited myself to one online auction this month. With my property taxes due this month and my buying gifts for family, I had to limit my entertainment spending in some way and cutting down on auctions seemed like a good choice. In fact, I hope to keep it that way in the new year. Besides I have plenty of new reading material from Christmas. Sitting under my tree are five books that I received as gifts. What I find interesting is that the ratio of non fiction to fiction is three to two. Last year, if I remember quickly I got more fiction books than non fiction. The funny part is that I didn't start any of those books. Instead I chose to read the stack of Green Arrow comic books that I had won back on the eleventh of this month. Oliver Queen, Green Arrow of DC Comics, is probably most often thought of as a second string character at best. Oh, he may have been an early member of the Justice League of America and hung out with Green Lantern for years, but I doubt that the average person on the street would know of him. Besides what person chooses someone who shoots arrows against criminals over Batman? Well, I think that that would be me. Honestly, Oliver has a larger role in my early comic book reading days than Batman. I remember him hanging out with Hal many years ago. At that time Ollie was still with Dinah and generally speaking he seemed to be living the good life. For me Oliver Queen had some real charm to him so I was somewhat shocked to hear that sometime in the 1990's DC decided to kill him. Well, as they often say death is relative in comic books just as it is in soap operas. Oliver came back to life under the pen of Kevin Smith of Clerks fame to much hype. I sampled an issue here and there, but Smith didn't catch my interest. Something was missing. Judd Winnick of Real World fame is now the current writer and unlike Smith, he did get my attention with his writing. Oliver is back with a strong supporting cast that includes his son Connor and Mia Dearden, a new apprentice of sorts. Winnick writes some strong dialogue and is able to have Mia become H.I.V. positive without it being overblown or a marketing device. Each issue that I have read has been fantastic and I suspect that I will be adding the book to my monthly reading list. ... With nothing of interest on television tonight, I sat back to watch the horror film Dark Water with Jennifer Connelly in the lead role. Now usually horror films to me occupy the lowest rung of creativity when it comes to movies. I don't understand their appeal at all, but was willing to give this movie a chance because I adore Jennifer Connelly. Most reviews that I read complained that the movie was slow if not boring and I can see what they meant. However, knowing that this was a remake of a Japanese horror movie, I knew that the overall tone would be very subdued and I didn't mind the pacing at all. I can't say that it was the best movie that I ever saw, but I prefer this kind of horror over say any of the Friday the 13th movies. |