Oh man, this is sorely tempting…

6-inch vinyl Ralph Wiggum is the first of the oversized Simpsons figures from Kidrobot. I can’t pull the trigger here but I have to wonder who will be the one I get.
If they made a 6-inch Crazy Bee Man I don’t think I’d hit fast enough.

There is also a Kang or Kodos option in the 6-inch flavor, but those guys don’t do it for me.

I finally got around to tightening up the chain on my single-speed bike last night but I must not have tightened the bolts well enough because the rear wheel slipped and the chain jumped off about half way to work this morning. Luckily I had my Trixie bolted on the bike. I was able to get the wheel and the chain back where they belonged so I could get rolling again with a minimum of trouble.

It’s made more for fixed-gear riders, but I need the 15mm wrench, the cleverly built 8,9,10mm box end wrenches, and the bottle opener as much as those guys might. It bolts right into unused bottle cage bosses with the included wing nuts so it sits right on the frame in a low-profile position that’s never in the way. I’m a fan.

I’m an old fan of David Mazzucchelli from back when he used to draw Daredevil. He stopped drawing comics a long time ago but came back this year with Asterios Polyp (amazon link), a fully-formed graphic novel and one of the best books I’ve read in years. It takes a little work to follow, but the rewards are many both visually and plot-wise. Some of the things Mazzucchelli does in here are really revolutionary for this medium but the visual tricks only help tell the story. They never distract.

I’ve never read Pynchon or Gaddis or Updike, so I can’t speak to those comparisons, but I also can’t recommend this more highly.

I didn’t read Bill Sienkiewicz’s Stray Toasters back when it was new (1988!) but I grabbed a copy of the recent re-issue of the collection. I’m a longtime fan of Sienkiewicz’s painting and there are enough full-page paintings in here to make the purchase worthwhile for me. The story (serial killer, electronic weirdness, the grip of madness) is decent if a little tough to follow at times

It’s visually impressive, but I’m not going to call it a must read.

I haven’t worked on one in a while, but I still love the idea of a DIY vinyl toy. They’re terrific rainy-day projects with the kids. I’m going to have to try these new models out.

Especially the giraffe.

I’ve got my tickets. This looks pretty damn cool.

Watched “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” tonight on DVD because Netflix streaming was down (no Dillon Panthers for me). It’s a solid heist picture with some neat twists that were probably a lot neater in the 70’s. I was entertained by all of the analog tech. I love Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw so I was well sold on this from the opening credits. The soundtrack was pretty great, too. It’s better than 6 wolfs so I’ll go 7, but it just makes the 7-cut.