Two weeks ago I railed against Sunday nights...

Over on MySpace this week I cursed holiday shopping.

I sat at a coffee shop this afternoon thinking about how frustrated I was with the whole writing thing and how it wasn't moving forward.

I have been a selfish prick.

This evening I clicked on a story about a model. Not one I had the pleasure of working with... just one I was familiar with from all the sites we both were on. The story told how this young and beautiful 21-year-old died yesterday morning along with two friends when her car went off the side of an icy road and crashed into a tree. This girl had her whole life ahead of her and in an instant it was all gone. Whatever her dreams, they would fade away never having been obtained. The families of these three will forever remember the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas as the time the lost their loved one... leaving them only with memories and regrets.

I'm not a religious man, but times like these I envy those with strong religious beliefs. To feel certain that those who have died have moved on to a better place. To know unquestionable that death is not the ending of life, but merely the transition. It's the one thing that I can't just believe in but I hope that its true. I hope that these three souls have made the journey to heaven... because the thought that a life ends so completely like blowing out a candle... that's a thought that can haunt you for a long time.

How Rex Grossman COULD make the Bears miss the playoffs.

Last year, about half way through the season, I took a serious look at the then 2-7 Carolina Panthers and figured they could still make the playoffs. They had just found their running game and their schedule was pretty good. I laid out how I thought they would do it, which games they'd win and which they'd lose and I got them all right... well, all but the very final game that they lost to New Orleans. Had they won, they would have made the playoffs.

I showed some people my thoughts when the Panthers were still 2-7 and was laughed at so I didn't show anyone else. Well, today I was looking at the Chicago Bears and could see almost the opposite thing happening to them. So I figure I would post this and let the world see... and if I'm right, ESPN better be calling me.

So this is my theory:

With Rex Grossman now healthy and ready to play, he’s going to dress and be standing on the sidelines as Kyle Orton takes on the dangerous Pittsburgh Steelers. Not wanting to give Rex his job back, Kyle tries to do a little more than normal and like many young quarterback who try to play beyond their experience… he makes some mistakes which allows the Steelers to take the lead and play ball-control, clock-killing offense and win the game. Meanwhile: Carolina beats Tampa, Atlanta beats New Orleans and Minnesota takes out the Rams. Making Carolina 10-3 and well in charge of the south. Atlanta, Tampa and Minnesota tied at 8-5 for the wildcard and Chicago still on top of the north at 9-4 but no longer the second seed.

The following week, the defense is now worried about the offense and feels they need to make more big plays against Atlanta. Lovie has left Kyle in but he is ineffectual against the Falcons and Vick find holes in the over-aggressive secondary. Atlanta gets the win in an upset. Meanwhile Carolina beats the homeless Saints giving them an 11-3. Atlanta goes to 9-5; Chicago falls to 9-5… Minnesota beats the Steelers in the dome to move to 9-5 and Tampa takes out New England to go to 9-5. Suddenly there is a tie in the north and four teams even for the wildcard.

In a desperate move to save the season, Grossman is made the starter but can’t find his timing after the long layoff. Meanwhile, the defense feels the pressure to score allowing Farve to pick them apart. Green Bay wins and Chicago falls to 9-6. Minnesota beats the hapless Ravens to climb to 10-5. Carolina knocks of Dallas to win the South at 12-3. Atlanta beats Tampa, leaving the Falcons at 10-5 and the Bucs at 9-6 and tied with the Bears for the last wildcard.

Final week of the season, Chicago goes to Minnesota and loses in the dome. Vikings take the North at 11-5. Tampa beats the Saints again to finish 10-6 and take one wildcard. Atlanta loses to Carolina but still takes the other wildcard at 10-6. Chicago is left out in the cold at 9-7.

A seemingly unstoppable team felled by the simple act of a quarterback suiting up.

I have a theory on how to save the comic industry…

Okay, maybe save it is a strong term. How about help find those elusive ‘new’ customers that everyone wants to find... that’s a more reasonable expectation level for my idea. Anyway, about 8 months ago I ended up with a lot more free time than I was used to and found myself accompanying my wife on her frequent trips to Borders. More specifically the coffee shop in the bookstore where on any given hour you will find a large number of people sipping java and reading. And I noticed that a lot of those people were reading graphic novels. Now before you try jumping a head of me here… I’m not suggesting that comic shops buy themselves a espresso machine and two comfy chairs.

From there I would wander over to the graphic novel/manga section and find it difficult to actually get to the shelves because of children from age 7 to 14 sitting in the isles reading the books. Mainly manga, but some more mainstream titles. When I do get over to the titles, I dig through to find something I haven’t read… V for Vendetta, Gotham Central, 1602… and take it back to my table, get myself a pot of Earl Grey and read. Soon this lead to me sitting there with my laptop writing scripts and doing most of my work; I got on a first name basis with most of the employees.

I also ended up switching comic stores twice this year. My original store shut down then I went to one for a while but finally ended up at a store where a friend works. I still drive 25 miles to get there and grab my books and leave because it’s crowded as hell on Wednesday evening. Now as a comic collector, I love hanging out at the comic shop but most shops now a days just don’t have the space to hang out… especially on new comic day. There really isn’t a reason to go to the shop more than once a week at most.

So… my theory or idea is to create a new type of comic store; a SUPER comic store. Make it like a Borders but more focused on comics/manga/sci-fi. But it needs to be more than just one store. A new chain of stores with a ‘Seattle’s Best’ or ‘Coffee Bean and Tea Bag’ with comfy chairs and tables. Maybe a wireless network set up and plus for people to hook up their laptops. Now the key is to focus on trades and graphic novels with only a small monthly comic supply but no back issues more than six months old.

The idea is to make a place to go more than on new comic day. A place where you can read, hang out, maybe play Vs or Heroclicks. A place where you can read Watchmen, drink a mocha with whipped-cream and not worry about standing in front of a book someone wants. A place that ‘looks’ friendly and inviting to the new customer when the wander in, not a long skinny shop where everything is in plastic bags and the guy behind the counter is reading the latest Wizard with Jessica Alba in a swimsuit on the cover.

A side effect of this type of store, being a chain of stores, would be the advantage of ordering in bulk… and perhaps directly from the publishers instead of through Diamond. A chance to give small publishers shelf space in a high profile location.

Now… we just need to find someone with enough money to start a chain of stores… email me if you have a huge wad of cash.